Thomas Newman – “Passengers”
Album Reviews | Mar 24th, 2017
Record Label: Sony Classical
Genre: Film Score
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Besides John Williams and Hans Zimmer, Thomas Newman is one of my favorite film composers working right now. Whenever he releases a new score, I have to check it out. The latest is the Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence movie Passengers. I haven’t seen the movie yet but fans of Thomas Newman will be pleased with this score.
I was supposed to review this score back in December but I suck, sorry. I wanted to write a quick review of the score because it’s one of the better Thomas Newman scores that he’s composed over the years. If you haven’t listened to it yet, and you like Newman’s work you really should! There are 26 tracks in total and just makes for a great listening experience. The score has all those things that make up Newman’s signature sound that you might have heard in Wall-E, Road to Perdition, Finding Nemo, The Help and many others.
When listening to the tracks, Wall-E creeps into my brain immediately. There’s lots of those motifs and styles that Newman did for that score that he does for Passengers. It’s not blatant but definitely similar. Just like how the late James Horner composed, he always used certain things to make it his own sound. Thomas Newman is the same way. “Precious Metals” is a track that stands out and gives me the “warm fuzzies” when listening to it; the same feeling that many of Newman’s score gives me. It sounds weird but I generally feel great after hearing a Newman score. “Sleepwalk” and “Passengers” are other ones that have that feel-good vibe. Who the hell knows what’s happening in the movie, but as a stand alone, the tracks are excellent!
Besides those tracks, there’s some action cues or faster paced tracks like “50% of Light Speed,” “Cascade Failure” and “Zero Gravity.” What stands out are those signature Thomas Newman tracks though. I’m not sure if this is my favorite score from Newman but it’s definitely one of his best. Who knows if the movie is worth seeing; it’s out now on Blu-Ray and Digital HD, but the score is excellent.
Bottom Line: Another amazing score by Newman
Notable Tracks: Hibernation Pod 1625, Awake for 7 Days, Precious Metals, Sleepwalk, Passengers, Starlit, Accidental Happiness
Overall Rating:
