Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email

2015 June 01 • Monday

The more Tim Burton is left to his own devices, the more disappointing the movie. So it seems to me, anyway. Pee-wee's Big Adventure is the only great Tim Burton movie I can think of and it's probably the one with the least amount of input from the director. The rest are various combinations of inspired creativity and half-baked meanderings.

Mention Tim Burton and the name Danny Elfman is likely to follow closely. As far as I know, there are only two Tim Burton movies Danny Elfman did not write the music for. One of them, Howard Shore's score for Ed Wood, is the 373rd Soundtrack of the Week.

As usual, the movie did not live up to expectations, despite having the right cast, the right sets, the right costumes, the right look and the right music.

Shore weaves his own themes in and out of music that has ties to Wood's films or to the period (Perez Prado, Korla Pandit). te. His main title cue, with its engaging use of theremin, is particularly good.