THE WORLD’S FASTEST INDIAN

J. PETER ROBINSON

Rating:

Original Review by Tom Kiefner: What sort of images does one conjure up when the title to a film is called The World's Fastest Indian. Does one think about the famous indian athlete James Thorpe? Perhaps some sort of long marathon race run by a member of the Navajo tribe? Perhaps some sort of speed record for a short sprint run by an unknown named indian. Until a review was read in the local newspaper I had no idea that it was about a motorcycle and it was based on a true story and a speed record was set at the Bonneville Salt Flats which stands to this day. And in addition there is a story of the main character played by the talented Anthony Hopkins and a young boy and the wonderful relationship that was formed. J. Peter Robinson was a composer who was known more for his horror music than a pretty serious drama. Films such as Nightmare Cafe, Return of the Living Dead Part 2, and New Nightmare were some of his standard fare. How could he possibly fit into this kind of film? As it turns out it is the third film Robinson has done with director Roger Donaldson, the two previous films being Cocktail and Cadillac Man. Their relationship had been formed and as it turns out an excellent one indeed! Robinson has produced a fine score for a fine movie.

Robinson created the basic score by sitting at a grand piano, watching the story unfold on the screen "totally mesmerized by Anthony Hopkins performance" as J. Peter tells it. He created a wonderful series of piano improvisations while watching the film, in fact 40 minutes worth in the very first day alone, according to the liner notes. He then molded and orchestrated it into something you'll want to listen to over and over again. While it is lacking in a truly memorable, stuck in your brain melody, the variety more than makes up for it. The opening track "Burt and Tom" is a nice simple piano theme, accentuated by violins simply stated, complete with string plucking. "Bike Shop" has a Thomas Newman style and flavor with quirky marimbas and twangy guitar. "Departure" is exactly as described, a goodbye track featuring softly played strings, harp, oboe, and clarinet. "Trial Run" has a frantic almost it will never end percussion which reminded me of the same type of beat and style as the guitar rhythm used in Shaft. The race music, featured on the track "The World's Fastest Indian" has a nice blend of percussion build up, complete with the pounding pulsating dissonance and a true feeling of racing faster and faster! This is a great track to listen to if you are a bit sleepy and want to wake up-you certainly will! "Back To My Shed" is nice summary statement of the entire score, a pleasant way to end a wonderful 40+ minute score.

Many newer recordings today have no liner notes at all. Opening the CD booklet reveals a series of pictures and an endless listing of credits! Milan has chosen to include a paragraph from both Roger Donaldson and J. Peter Robinson, giving insight from both sides. The story about how they tried to communicate via the internet on the score between Los Angeles and New Zealand and finally Robinson making the trek to Kiwi land was interesting. As a result some of the recording for this CD was done in New Zealand and Los Angeles. The Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra is in top form for this recording as is almost always the case. There are truly gifted talented musicians such as Mike Lang, Malcom McNab, Bill Reichenbach and so many others. They have dedicated themselves to playing and understanding film music. And this soundtrack is so varied in style and musical flavor, awe is the word for the true professional results they achieved! They are to be highly commended for their performance. And what better place to record the orchestra than the Warner Bros. Eastwood Stage. The digital equipment today, along with the professionalism of the highly trained engineers has thankfully taken most of the guesswork out of recording. For the most part, much of that "distant sound like" recording is a thing of the past. The sound is crystal clear with good balance and miking. "Having it down to a science" is a good way to explain and sum it up for you.

While the "in your face" melody is lacking, something which producers and directors are less likely to want these days, the versatility of the tracks more than makes up for it. There is a nice flow between tracks so the entire CD is an excellent listening experience. In fact there is a switching to the next track and you are not even aware you are listening to the next one! Several times I found myself looking on the CD player to see what track was playing! Some CD's make no sense at all the way they are put together-not the case with this one. Repeated listens definitely make this score a lot more desirable to listen to. My first listen was one of puzzlement but as I continued repeated playings more and more of some of the subtle nature surfaced and I found I liked the soundtrack a lot more than my first initial impression. Give it some spins and you won't be disappointed.

You can purchase this CD direct from Milan at www.milanrecords.com

Track Listing: Running Time: 44 minutes 38 seconds

Milan M2-36146 (2005)

Music composed and conducted by J. Peter Robinson. Orchestrations by J. Peter Robinson, Paul Buckmaster, Dennis McCarthy, Jon Kull and Larry Rensch. Recorded and mixed by Tom. Album produced by J. Peter Robinson.

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