The oft scrutinized James Horner is a composer that nearly everyone targets with criticism.  The remarks generally center on his habit of repeating music he had written from earlier scores and recycling the content in some manner toward his present work.  While some of the criticism is legitimate, much of it unfortunately overshadows his talents as a premiere composer within the industry.  Personally, I think he likes to reference his past work to somehow tie a thematic string from one score to the next, almost as if to sum up his music as one massive orchestral package.  This thematic string is very loosely tied with his latest score for "All the King's Men."

 

In this latest effort, Horner creates music that is a bit more original in construction than we are used to.  Perhaps the only glaring reference point for me was when I detected the secondary theme from "Braveheart" quoted during one instance on the soundtrack.  Aside from that, I'm sure many other critics can point out additional 'Hornerisms' on this.  I'll focus more on the overall impact of the music.

 

By and large, it's an effective soundtrack.  The music carries with it a darkened undercurrent of drama as the film deals with political motives, thus the dramatic cues are a natural selection for this subject.  The score also ties in music from the south, integrated with fine subtlety in the score since the country motifs are never too pronounced. All this is well and good, but I personally felt that my listening experienced was trapped in a rather gloomy underscore.  Noting that this was intended, I can accept the style and intent, but I simply found it to be dull in too many segments for me to truly enjoy this.

 

Ultimately, this is a score that simply tailors itself to fit the film.  And while this is not an entry  that makes for a completely captivating listening experience,  it might help you reach the conclusion that there is still a lot of originality left in James Horner.  I'm looking forward to it being in full display in Mel Gibson's upcoming, "Apocalypto." 

 

Final Score: An original, dramatic approach from James Horner nearly lifts "All the King's Men" to success.  Ultimately, it's a score that should be sought by dedicated fans of the composer himself or listeners who specifically enjoy serious, dramatic scores.