Magnolia (Score to 1999 Film)
You're forgiven if, after all the hype forAimee Mann's original compositions featured on thesoundtracktoMagnolia, you overlooked Jon Brion's instrumental score. While he helped Mann produce several of the songs that brought the film into tight dramatic focus, he also put together the orchestral score that played underneath the scenes, which subtly adds tension without calling attention to itself. One track was used as the coda to the Mann-Supertrampsoundtrack cut. Brion's work here includes eight additional tracks and a reprisal of the "Magnolia" theme. Enlisting an actual 80-piece orchestra brings out a dimension not evident on Brion's other soundtrackHard Eight, which features all synths. While "WDKK Theme" is a playful 45-second instrumental jingle, most of the tracks are somnambular, as if the entire trip were a near-hallucinatory, foreboding walk down mansion passageways dark with wood. (Not surprisingly, this is most evident during the 11-minute epic "Stanley/Frank/Linda's Breakdown.") While the jury may still be out on whether the movie was an artistic success, the music has certainly made an impression.--Rob O'Connor