A Christmas Carol
Composed by Alan SIlvestri
 
Sound Clips: Carriage Chase | Ride On My Good Man
 
Running Time: 46:09
About the Soundtrack: The score for A Christmas Carol is available as a download only release by Walt Disney, making quite a few soundtrack fans disappointed that a physical CD purchase option was not made available. Indeed, it appears that some view Disney as the real Scrooge in this scenario, no offense to Ebenezer. The score itself marks another collaboration between Alan Silvestri and Robert Zemeckis, who have teamed up on quite a few blockbusters in their time. This digital soundtrack release features 17 score tracks and 1 song at its conclusion, performed by Andrea Bocelli.

What You Need to Know: I guess it's never too soon to get into the holiday spirit! I admit, it was a bit difficult for me to embrace the vibe of this score in early November, given that Christmas was still a good 40+ days away at the time in which I listened to this album. The one determination I was able to make, however, is that Alan Silvestri's A Christmas Carol will definitely be a prime time soundtrack selection come mid-December. This is an experience that combines the festivities of the holidays with the less than bright corners of Scrooge's world. Silvestri created a soundtrack that catered both to the season and the story that is part parcel to it.

The difficult component to gauge about A Christmas Carol is the overall originality. Unlike Polar Express, Silvestri relies more heavily on the celebrated melodies of the holiday to support the score. Where in Polar Express there was a strong and original main theme driving the score, A Christmas Carol takes the traditional carols we've all become familiar with and uses that to drive the score. The content that is most "original" here focuses on the darker corners of this tale. Thus, the uplifting material is music we're already familiar with and the less engaging underscore offers what can be considered the new content. It's a bit of a split, and if you're not game about enjoying Christmas tunes as part of a new soundtrack experience, than you may be left out in the cold with this one.

Listeners who fully embrace a traditional Christmas score, however, will love this album. Silvestri delivers a polished product and his professional output makes for some of the best Christmas tunes that one can dive into. Though it's not wall-to-wall, when the holiday melodies are heard, the sound quality (even with a download-only release) is marvelous and would be difficult to rival by the more traditional Christmas albums. Ultimately, and given that this is a film score, I would have hoped that more of an original presence could have infiltrated Silvestri's work, thus I am recommending this album but not unconditionally.

Final Score: A Christmas Carol is an expertly produced but predictable effort. A nice album to enjoy only when you're locked into that holiday mood; unlike Polar Express, it's more difficult to detach this score from the season that it is associated with.