~An opinion on Andrew Powell's controversial score~

I am a fan of the pop group Alan Parsons Project, and has been so for two decades.The "concept" albums they're known for are structured very much like a musical or film score and the eclectic music itself seems to reflect some indescribable "inner melody" I feel connected to (as is also the case with, e.g. John Williams).

APP-songs (now only "Alan Parsons") have been labeled "sentimental" and "overblown", but I think this is wrong. There is rather a strong sense of melody, often minor-moded, that is absolutely wonderful. These ballads, often supplemented by a full orchestra, radiate "class" and intelligence and avoid the obvious pitfalls of clichée (although, on occasion, only barely). There are, of course, also straight-forward rock tunes, and some spectacular instrumentals in the "rock meets symphony"-idiom.

The latter is maintained by Andrew Powell, who has been the regular conductor and orchestrator for APP all the way. The APP instrumentals are instantenously catchy, but at the same time lyrical and dramatic.

This is the type of music that director Richard Donner fell in love with while it played on the car stereo during location-lookout in the English countryside. Innovative as he (sometimes) is, he figured that this would be greatly applied to a medieval fantasy like LADYHAWKE, as a contrast to the visuals, perhaps?

Anyway, this is what he asked Powell  to do - sort of to avoid the obvious, symphonic Korngold-approach (which in itself is actually quite far off from medieval music as such).

I think Powell succeeded to a certain extent. The contemporary sounds (drums, guitar, synth) supplementing the orchestra erase some of the time-specific locations, heightening the thematic value of the film to universal or generic levels. But at the same time, I agree with the critics who say that it has a tendency to sound a bit dated, or "goofy", in the movie, drawing out the dramatic impact of certain scenes.

But that has more to do with the preoccupation with rigid conventions rather than, in my opinion, an actual critique of Powell's and Donner's approach.

To conclude: As an Alan Parsons fan, I enjoy this music, and as an album I think it's great. As an orchestral film music fan, I agree on the notion that this is weird, but I still think it's innovative.

And then, of course, we must not forget the "non-contemporary", purely orchestral parts of this album (prominently featured on Crescendo's 1996 expanded release) - these definitely prove Powell's capability in that arena as well...