"Looney Tunes: Back in Action"
Composed by Jerry Goldsmith

Jerry Goldsmith is having a party, and you're invited! So it is with this score of "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" that one of my favorite composers is able to have a dash of fun and produce an upbeat, campy and playful score.

There are more than a few times that Goldsmith turns on the autopilot for movies of lesser quality, and part of me believes that happens since he may become uninspired by the product that is placed before him. No doubt he shines more often than most, but in this case, I was more than a bit happy to see he had the scoring honors, thus marking a return to animation since his gorgeous and sweeping score for "Mulan".

Going in, I was fully expecting the stop and go technique of animate feature scoring -- cues of music that features a quick burst of alternating styles to match the mayhem on the screen. While some do not have the knack to pull this style off and keep a listener entertained when hearing the CD, Goldsmith is more than up to the task and he creates a blend of music that is appealing both within the movie and the soundtrack itself. There are quite a few tracks that are able to build a momentum on their own, including the stylishly hip motifs in Tracks 7 through 9. The campy tunes within these tracks proved to be my favorite moments within the score.

Goldsmith also does a bit of conservative experimentation, including a use of a whistle, various styles of drum beats, and melodic sound effects that sync in nicely with the overall composition. None of the tracks run lengthy, and while this is a detriment to most Varese releases, the cohesion of one track to the next works wonderfully, yet in a very offbeat way. It is like listening to an updated version of the classic animation medleys from yesteryear, only without the nuisance of electronic sounding underscore.

While this stretch of time is a slow period for the great Maestro, and many speculate that this may be due to health concerns, all I can say is that this score seems to have allowed Goldsmith to re-energize and tap back into some of his creativity that may have been in a slumber. No doubt, any soundtrack enthusiast can slip this one into the player and immediately convert a grim day into one that bristles with fun.

If you're tired of the Media Venturing and the knock-offs, get back into the game and pick this one up. After all, you have the invitation!

1. Life Story (0'18) 2. What's Up? (1'24) 3. Another Take (0'48) 4. Dead Duck Walking (3'13) 5. Out of the Bag (3'42) 6. Blue Monkey (0'54) 7. In Style (1'09) 8. The Bad Guys (2'57) 9. Car Trouble (3'45) 10. Thin Air (1'24) 11. Area 52 (1'27) 12. Hot Pursuit (2'26) 13. We've Got Company (1'50) 14. I'll Take That (1'19) 15. Paris Street (1'21) 16. Free Fall (1'15) 17. Tasmanian Devil (1'10) 18. Jungle Scene (1'40) 19. Pressed Duck (3'22) 20. Re-Assembled (0'50) 21. Merry Go Round Broke Down (0'16) Audio Clip: Car Trouble

Varese Sarabande