Review by Paul Cote

Rating: ***

As near as I can tell, Red Riding is a British miniseries about Yorkshire serial killings in the ‘70s and ‘80s. It is definitely not a direct adaptation of a fairy tale about a little girl who gets eaten by a wolf. I checked. However, it does feature music from three fine UK composers who get very little attention State-side; Adrian Johnston, Barrington Phelong, and Dickon Hinchliffe. It’s always good to hear more music from any of these gentlemen, so it’s nice that Silva Screen has included music from each composer’s contribution to Red Riding for this album. Unfortunately, this type of film rarely allows for the sort of music that’s works as well on album as it does on-screen, and the results aren’t quite as interesting as one might have hoped for.

Adrian Johnston wrote a lovely, understated, and bittersweet score to last year’s Brideshead Revisited, and while the idiom in Red Riding is much folkier, some of that sensibility trickles into his segment for the miniseries. While much of the music is in low-key suspense-mode, Johnston does provide a gentle and affecting theme that occasionally pierces through the bleakness. It reveals itself in complete form in a subtly moving duet between cello and acoustic guitar in “Paul,” but it reaches brings us to a more satisfying catharsis in the episode’s finale, “Never Come Back.” Johnston has written more immediately striking music, but the theme has a lingering emotional resonance that makes me wish Johnston would get more high profile work.

The next segment is by Dickon Hinchliffe, the only composer of the three that I wasn’t previously familiar with. I’ll try to keep an eye on him in the future, as he writes some of the most striking music of the miniseries. His is a much more old-fashioned approach to the horror-suspense, and at his best his music serves as a sort of meeting point between Bernard Herrmann and Christopher Young. “The Ripper” is probably the best piece of his score, carrying both massive Young-inspired string arrangements and liberal doses of Herrmann’s tango motif from Vertigo. The rest of his music doesn’t quite maintain that intensity, but he keeps things intriguing throughout and probably contributes the most consistently engaging score of the three.

Barrington Phelong’s segment shifts gears a good deal, as he moves away from horror/suspense and into more general dramatic/romantic music. His music is probably the most consistently melodic of the set, but it’s also the most generic. He gives us themes, and his music has a vague Michael Nyman sensibility to it, but it ultimately fails to make any sort of impression. Phelong has written some fine music in the past, but his music seems a little out of place in this context, and a little too bland for its own good.

That said, there’s much to recommend in Red Riding. It’s not the most consistently interesting listen, but the highlights are very fine, and the album flows remarkably well given the three composers involved. I don’t know how often I’d listen to it start to finish, but I’ll probably return to pieces like “Never Come Back” and “The Ripper” frequently. Recommended – maybe not highly recommended, but recommended.

Music Composed by Adrian Johnston, Dickon Hinchliffe and Barrinton Pheloung; Label: Silva Screen; Availability: In-print; U.S. Release Date: March, 2009

Red Riding: 1974 – Adrian Johnston
01. Eddie (1:37)
02. Devil’s Ditch (2:36)
03. Microfiche (1:16)
04. Panegyric (:57)
05. Paula (1:27)
06. Swan (1:35)
07. Barry’s Life’s Work (1:29)
08. Shangrila (1:55)
09. Redmoor (2:30)
10. Sunshine Down South (2:11)
11. Karachi Club (2:54
12. Never Come Back (1:52)

Red Riding: 1980 – Dickon Hinchliffe
13. The Ripper (4:06)
14. Your Answer (1:19)
15. The Moors (2:01)
16. The Karachi Club (1:49)
17. The Ridings (1:50)
18. Ripper in the Belly (2:09)
19. The Confession (2:43)
20. Christmas (1:34)
21. Hall’s House (2:09)
22. To Fitzwilliam (2:46)
23. Five Men, Five Guns (4:00)
24. The Karachi Club Shooting (3:45)
25. Peace at Last (2:05)

Red Riding: 1983 – Barrington Pheloung
26. Jobson’s Theme (3:42)
27. Finding Hazel (3:59)
28. Missing Girls (1:49)
29. Love Theme (1:11)
30. Tragic Beauty (1:08)
31. Mandy’s Theme (1:17)
32.Lost Children (2:12)
33. Finding Hazel (Alternate) (4:06)

Total Playing Time: 64:01