Pelican Brief

Original Soundtrack (Artist), James Horner (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 11, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000008JCQ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #200,328 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Main Title

2. The Pelican Brief

3. Researching The Brief

4. Hotel Chase

5. The Killing

6. Bourbon Street

7. Planting The Bomb

8. Chasing Gray

9. Darby's Emotions

10. Darby's Theme

11. Morgan's Final Testament

12. Garage Chase

13. Airport Goodbye

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 stars - Style vs. Re-Use, March 11, 2010

By 

Actor, Dancer, Techie "Avid Book Buyer" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pelican Brief (Audio CD)

Every composer has a style. John Williams has a style. It's recognizable. But even within the Star Wars soundtracks the music can be incredibly unique. (Case and point; "Battle in the Snow" from "The Empire Strikes Back" is still one of the most unique and enjoyable pieces of music he's ever written.) Hans Zimmer has a style. It got a bit repetitive between "Gladiator" and the "Pirates of the Carribean" movies, but just listen to "The Dark Knight" and "Sherlock Holmes" and you will see a great deal of range.

James Horner ... well, maybe it was just the time between the mid-1980's and the mid-1990's but he seemed to keep repeating himself (with the exception of "Braveheart" and "Sneakers"). Maybe he just overextended himself during that time. I knew as soon as "Aliens" came out that the scene where Bishop is piloting into the doomed atmosphere generator had elements that were very similar to (if not the same as) a section of music from "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" where the Enterprise was attempting to flee the Genesis device. Well, lately I've seen other instances.

"The Pelican Brief" is no exception. It's a mix (sometimes annoying) of some very good and very repetitive music.

The first 3 tracks ("Main Title", "The Pelican Brief" and "Researching the Brief") were different, subtle and pulled me in. Then we hit the first action sequence; "Hotel Chase". It had "Playtronics Break-In" from "Sneakers" ALL over it. Put them side by side and you see so many of the same elements ... and "Sneakers" came out a full 2 years earlier. In fact, with the exception of one action sequence ("Chasing Gray") they all use those elements. That's 3 tracks that sound far too similar. "Chasing Gray", however, backs off of those and is quite enjoyable.

The rest of the soundtrack is quite enjoyable (hence the 3.5 rather than a 2.5) including the almost weird "Bourbon Street". "Airport Goodbye" was touch and go since I heard elements of "Field of Dreams" in that too.

I don't know ... I don't want to be one of those folks who call him a "cut-n-paste" composer, but this album comes pretty close at times.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Average album with 3 stellar cues, April 13, 2004

By 

T. Elder (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pelican Brief (Audio CD)

3 reasons why you should get Pelican Brief by James Horner:

1. The Main Title ****
2. Darby's Theme *****
3. Airport Goodbye *****

These cues are excellent and some of Horner's best. Darby's theme which is reprised in Airport Goodbye is majestic and beautiful. The Main title is subdued but has a hauntingly noble quality about it. Airport Goodbye is a suite the portrays the happy ending of the movie.

Why 3 stars overall? The action/suspense music on the album is not my favorite and is not, in my opinion, very listenable (unless you need some music to crush pop cans to). The album is worth getting, however, for the three cues mentioned above.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why Horner is a music genius, March 12, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Pelican Brief (Audio CD)

I had the toughest time watching the movie THE PELICAN BRIEF. And it had nothing to do with the acting, the cinematography, or any of that. I just kept getting so caught up in James Horner's stunning score, that I'd miss whole scenes of dialogue. I finally rented the DVD and still had to go back and rewatch scenes to catch it all. It's not the film's pacing, as Alan J. Pakula does a terrific job as usual in direction, and Tom Rolf's editing is spot on. It's just the score, which again and again overcame me. Jerry Goldsmith used to say that a score shouldn't be distracting because it's there to support the visual presentation. If that's true, then perhaps Mr. Horner failed in some ironic way by creating what I'd consider one of his best works. Regardless, the mood of the overall film is captured perfectly. It's just that it's almost too good to be used as underscore. I'm saddened that the CD is out of print, and perhaps his popularity will bring it back.