DAYLIGHT

RANDY EDELMAN

Rating:

Original Review: A highly enjoyable action score for what was a highly enjoyable action film by the undisputed king of trailer music. In complete contrast to the histrionics of Diabolique and the mysticism of Dragonheart, Daylight is a much more muscular and punchy score which is perfectly suited to the film's star, a certain Mr Sylvester Stallone. The main title, 'Daylight', is a classic action blockbuster theme which could have come from the pen of Zimmer himself - piano and synths playing a heroic, upbeat melody and bold percussion building up a dramatic rhythm, accentuated with cool electric guitar riffs - before moving effortlessly into 'Latura's Theme'. Surprisingly, the theme for Stallone's character is lovely: beginning with a slow, sentimental string piece with a piano melody played by Edelman himself, it suddenly rises to one of those gorgeous full-orchestra crescendos about half way through, and at that moment it instantly became my second-favourite Edelman theme of all time (after the majestic 'Wonders of an Ancient Glory' from Dragonheart). 'Latura's Theme' becomes the cornerstone of the entire score, played either softly and with feeling by full orchestra in the more thoughtful or emotional cues like 'Leaving George' and 'The Tunnel Claims Its Own', or at full blast with a fast and powerful beat like in the brilliant 'Kit's Plan'. 'Survival' is another great cue, again melding synth and string perfectly with just a twinge of melancholy; the first hint of muted brasses come into play during the exciting 'Rats'; 'A Short Swim Under Water' takes on a slightly tense sensation with the addition of a rattle and little twangs on an electric guitar, and 'Light at the End' has a resolutory, relieved feeling about it with the introduction of subtle woodwinds into the proceedings. I do have a couple of criticisms to make: the last cue, 'Madelyne's Fate' is a very unusual cue on which to end the score - to me, it feels like a middle-album action cue rather an End Title - 'Light at the End' would have been a much better cue to finish on, with its majestic rendition of the main title. Also, I ought to mention a thing a friend of mine said about Edelman always tending to give his themes a full and rousing airing right at the beginning of the score, thereby leaving no room for improvement or development later on. This is true, but it really is a tiny, tiny detail in what otherwise is a great album (even the Donna Summer song at the end is quite good!). The genuine excellence of Edelman's music for Daylight came as a big surprise to me - I have to admit I never really noticed it during the movie - but after hearing it now on CD, I feel it was one of the best but most underrated action scores of 1996.

Track Listing: Running Time: 48 minutes 08 seconds

Universal Records UND-53024 (1996)

Music composed and conducted by Randy Edelman. Orchestrations by Ralph Ferraro. Piano solos performed by Randy Edelman. Recorded and mixed by Dennis Sands and Elton Ahi. Edited by Joanie Diener. Mastered by Yas Maeda. Album produced by Randy Edelman.


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These web pages were designed and maintained by Jonathan Broxton copyright 1998. All opinions and views expressed on these pages are my own and are in no way intended to reflect those of my employer, the Trent Institute for Health Services Research, or those of the University of Sheffield.