TWISTER

MARK MANCINA

Rating:

Original Review: Twister is a landmark score in so much as it provided composer Mark Mancina with his first real opportunity to emerge from out of the shadow of the Media Ventures organisation and develop a truly original musical voice. Score fans know that, since leaving Zimmer and co., Mancina has become one of the most respected young composers in Hollywood, with scores such as Moll Flanders and Return to Paradise to his name, but Twister was the turning point, if you'll pardon the pun. This deceptively simple but thrill-a-minute film starred Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt as meteorologists with a special interest in tornadoes, who scour the American mid-west literally chasing them in an attempt to study their form and, more specifically, how to predict their appearance. That's about it, really, but in all honesty that's enough. Jan De Bont's rollercoaster ride packs in enough spills, thrills, special effects and flying cows to last an absolute lifetime, as well as a romantic sub-plot, some moments of high comedy and even a boos-hiss rival in the form of Cary Elwes. It's a great movie. Twister also boasted one of the most memorable main themes of 1996, a wildly heroic, upbeat and aggressive orchestral piece which leaps out at you like Aaron Copland on acid. Unlike Mancina's earlier work on scores such as Speed, synthesisers play a much less prominent role in Twister, and as a result the score is much stronger. Many of the cues feature great renditions of the main theme. Notably, 'Wheatfield' gives the theme an early outing in all its glory; 'Downdraft' features driving strings and some ominous hooting clarinet effects that signify the imminent approach of the tornado, and 'Going Green' is a powerful scherzo with the added benefit of Trevor Rabin's emotive wailing guitar. In addition, 'Wakita' gives Mancina the opportunity to stretch his lyrical muscles and adapt his theme into a tragic string lament as the posse encounter what remains of a small town devastated by the tornado, while the majestic 'End Credits' give way to Eddie and Alex Van Halen's virtuoso electric guitars in their specially-written instrumental number 'Respect the Wind'. As the score becomes more action packed and dangerous, Mancina develops a recurring staccato string rhythm to keep everything moving (most noticeable in the exciting 'Cow'), and introduces some almost imperceptible wind effects into the music. These are cleverly performed on grinding low-end cellos, and almost act as the "voice" of the twister itself. The glorious voices of the LA Master Chorale (who often work with James Newton Howard) also begin to become prominent in many tracks, adding a real sense of emotional intensity to the music. In cues such as 'The Big Suck', 'Ditch', 'Bob's Road', 'We're Almost There' and the appropriately-named 'God's Finger', the incorporation of the choir gives the music a quasi-religious overtone, as if man's continual defiance of mother nature is resulting in a some kind of heavenly retribution. One thing which really strikes you as being in Twister's favour is that it has not fallen into the dreaded temp-track trap. Mancina has developed a truly unique and original voice for his score, a passionate, driving composition which stands as one of the best efforts of his career to date, and is one of the highlights from the action-adventure genre in recent years. Surprisingly, Mancina's score is comparatively difficult to come by, probably due to the market saturation by the very successful songtrack album which featured a stellar group artists including Mark Knopfler, Van Halen, k.d. lang, Goo Goo Dolls, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Shania Twain. If you can find it, though, the score album comes heartily recommended.

Track Listing: Running Time: 51 minutes 11 seconds

Atlantic Classics 82954-2 (1996)

Music composed and conducted by Mark Mancina. Orchestrations by Bruce Fowler, Y.S. Moriarty, Ladd McIntosh, Don Harper, John Van Tongeren and Mark Mancina. L.A. Master Chorale conducted by Paul Salamunovich. Featured musical soloists Trevor Rabin, Doug Smith and Mike Fisher. Recorded and mixed by Shawn Murphy, Christopher Ward and Steve Kempster. Edited by Zigmund Gron. Mastered by Joe Gastwirt. Album produced by Mark Mancina.


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