by Ryan Keaveney

Music Composed by Thomas Newman
Rating: *** 1/2

Sometimes it’s the most unlikely composer assignments that result in the most interesting scores. Perhaps not as strange as Marc Shaiman scoring a Jerry Bruckheimer production, Thomas Newman takes over for cousin Randy for Pixar’s digital box office bonanza about fish with personality. Finding Nemo is sure to give Capt. Highliner sleepless nights. It also completes the Newman Family’s entry into computer animated features: Randy’s done three, and brother David scored Fox’s Ice Age. Thomas of course is the Newman widely lamented for eschewing his natural ability for gorgeous Americana string melodies, with his penchant for quirky acoustic percussion and rythms. He is perhaps the most influential film composer alive today — his music is lampooned and ripped-off in television, advertising and feature films. Almost to the point where you have to go back to Newman to hear it done correctly, and Finding Nemo is a good example of how he does it, and does it right. There are many disparate ingredients in this seafood salad of a score: calming string textures, colorful percussion, sound effects, jazz and lounge, marking a complete turn from the swinging bombast of Randy Newman’s Toy Story and A Bug’s Life scores, but in the process injecting a fresh vibe into family film scoring.

The album opens with “Wow”, which states Newman’s main theme, a delicate riff on his theme from Meet Joe Black. The theme is given generous play throughout the score (“Nemo Egg” – does it get better then this? “Stay Awake”, “News Travels” and “Fronds Like These”). It’s warm, gooey, usually on strings, with a bit of piano for punctuation. Very pleasant, and typically Newman. That accessible Newman sound is quickly joined by his school of samples and American Beauty-esque guitar whimsy (“First Day”, “Field Trip”, “Curl Away My Son”). The martial string and snare rythm from Road To Perdition make an appearance in the cute “Mr. Ray, Scientist”, and the dramatic brass from The Shawshank Redemption dribbles into the dissonant “The Divers”. Other major motifs include a funky-dreary piano motif that usually underscores moments of tension (“Lost”, “Swim Down”), another is a bold brass fanfare (“The Turtle Lope”, “Darla Filth Offramp”, “Time To Let Go”).

Thomas Newman

Newman proves he can mickey-mouse with the best of them, adding comedic gestures in “Short-Term Dory” and kid-friendly menace in “Friends Not Food” (using what sounds like synth strings), and “Mt. Wannahockaloogie”. I swear that Thomas sounds like his brother in the opening of “Darla Filth Offramp” – the bristling string rythm with brass blasts and jittery percussion line. There are plenty of oddball moments here too: Newman channels ’60s lounge with an Ennio Morricone-like flute riff in “Foolproof”; pseudo-surf rock in “The Turtle Lope”, which is reprised briefly in “Darla Filth Offramp” and swaggering guitar riffs and bongos overtop string pizz in “Scum Angel”.

The album concludes with a decent rendition of “Beyond The Sea” performed by British pop star (but not quite someone in North America) Robbie Williams. Usually modern takes on big-band tunes make me cringe, but this one fits in with the score nicely. Recording and mixing of Newman’s score is top-notch and sufficiently dynamic. Newman doesn’t employ a mammoth unit to perform the score, so a lot of the solo instruments play out crisply.

This is a very long album, and it’s whale-like proportions might have you bailing before you sink. Thirty-nine cues spread over almost sixty minutes is a difficult feat to pull off. Despite that, the album works. This is a charming, and eccentric score, with personality and quirks that make it distinctive and worthwhile. It probably won’t get the attention it deserves, perhaps because it’s not loaded with shakuhachi blasts for code-talking Native Indians, or perhaps it’s because it’s light on action. But those with the taste for the unique will angle themselves a real catch.

Music Composed and Conducted by Thomas Newman; Orchestrated by Thomas Pasatieri; Engineered by Tommy Vicari and Armin Steiner; Produced by Thomas Newman and Bill Bernstein; Availability: In print; Label (Catalog): Walt Disney Records, Catalogue # (DIS600787); Release date: May 27, 2003

01. Wow (2′31)
02. Barracuda (1′29)
03. Nemo Egg (1′16)
04. First Day (1′15)
05. Field Trip (‘57)
06. Mr Ray, Scientist (1′28)
07. The Divers (1′56)
08. Lost (1′03)
09. Short-Term Dory (‘43)
10. Why Trust a Shark? (1′17)
11. Friends Not Food (1′51)
12. Fish-O-Rama (‘29)
13. Gill (1′40)
14. Mt. Wannahockaloogie (1′20)
15. Foolproof (‘32)
16. Squishy (1′32)
17. Jellyfish Forest (1′32)
18. Stay Awake (1′47)
19. School of Fish (1′03)
20. Filter Attempt (2′05)
21. The Turtle Lope (2′04)
22. Curl Away my Son (1′28)
23. News Travels (1′13)
24. The Little Clownfish from the Reef (1′15)
25. Darla Filth Offramp (2′22)
26. Lost in Fog (1′05)
27. Scum Angel (1′22)
28. Haiku (1′41)
29. Time to Let Go (2′22)
30. Sydney Harbour (‘28)
31. Pelicans (1′12)
32. Drill (‘50)
33. Fish in My Hair! (1′29)
34. All Drains Lead to the Ocean (1′36)
35. …P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney… (‘39)
36. Fishing Grounds (1′41)
37. Swim Down (1′46)
38. Finding Nemo (1′19)
39. Fronds Like These (1′57)
40. Beyond the Sea – Performed by Robbie Williams (4′26)

Total Playing Time: 60′01