Gentle, heartfelt serenity is the tonal focus of James Horner’s score for Deep Impact, with some meticulously crafted and absolutely gorgeous-sounding orchestration coupled with a number of memorable themes making this particular film music expansion well worth checking out.
Another year, another James Horner expansion! We truly are so lucky to continue getting these releases, with all those missing and highly sought after minutes of score finally restored in all their glory, and to say Deep Impact particularly was an insta-buy for me is putting it mildly indeed as I absolutely adore its main theme. But we’ll get to that later, as this expanded soundtrack – crafted expertly by La-La Land Records – begins with “A Distant Discovery (Film Version)”; solemn strings and brass open this four minute cue, with twinkling percussion then evoking a gentle sense of wonder as a rather lovely piano motif begins to play. This wondrously ethereal sound continues for the next couple minutes, floating in this absolutely sublime serenity (man I really miss Horner’s meticulous attention to orchestra, its so delightfully apparent here), until a crash of drums suddenly ushers anxious action into the fray. Frenetic strings and worrisome brass are central from here on, building and swirling with increasing wariness until a tense finishing crescendo is finally reached. This tonal worry then continues into the rather ghostly “Press Conference No. 1”, with eerie electronics accompanying forlorn piano notes, vocals and strings through the solemn track’s two minute runtime until the orchestral ensemble simply fades away.
Deeply atmospheric piano opens “You Used To Be A Person/Car Pullover”, with morose strings and choir then swelling until thudding electronics overtake to seed tension up to the end of the track. High-pitched, ominous strings are then the focus of the four minute “Beck’s Basement”, with rumbles of militaristic drums and moodily low-pitched brass also simmering underneath. The subsequent “Press Conference No. 1 (Revised)/Press Conference No. 2” (now that’s what I call a track title) then builds on the rising tension of prior cues with a striding strings pace alongside anxious percussion and brass, before another theme is then introduced in “Crucial Rendezvous”; for the first time a little orchestral hope rears its head in the score, with noble brass introducing a heroic theme for the film’s main characters. Its a rather proud and grand piece overall that plays with typical Horner-styled brassy grandeur here – sounding absolutely phenomenal as it does so, I might add – before the theme then fades in favour of the serene piano motif from the album’s opening track, and finally; the main theme itself. It’s a very subtle introduction here, debuting on quietly reserved strings and woodwinds, but the stirring hope the theme gives off even in this small first rendition is absolutely gorgeous. Makes me smile every time I hear it.
A whopping thirteen minute setpiece is up next with “Our Best Hope…”, and wary piano builds to an emphatic percussive crescendo in its opening minute. Said piano then pairs with unsettled brass and drums for much of the rest of the track, building slowly with action gradually rising into centre stage alongside increasingly determined renditions of the heroic theme, until an aggressively horror-like strings crescendo finally crashes the lengthy cue to a close. Horner always was an expert at seeding orchestral tension – see “The Ambush” from Clear And Present Danger – and this track is yet another excellent showcase of that. “The Comet’s Sunrise” then continues the now at fever-pitch tension for its first minute before suddenly collapsing, with a forlorn brassy rendition of the heroic theme looking solemnly ahead. A dramatic sense of sorrow then occupies much of “A National Lottery (Film Version)” with low-pitched brass and strings as the focus, though a noble rendition of the heroic theme does help to lift the mood at the track’s midpoint. Thankfully some swelling optimism returns for “The Wedding”, firstly with a twinkling playthrough of the piano motif before then moving into several absolutely stunning renditions of the main and heroic themes on heartfelt strings, woodwinds and brass.
“The Long Return Home” floats with gentle melancholy throughout its runtime, firstly with high-pitched and rather ethereal strings before moving into sombre brass takes on both the main and heroic themes. After some rather anxious string hints toward the main theme in “Sad News (Film Version)” that continue through into the first half of “Leo’s Decision” opposite brassy interspersions of the heroic theme, “The President’s Speech” cements the growing and rather dour mood with solemn plinks of piano, serene strings and a grim sense of finality in low-pitched brass. All hope isn’t lost though as the heroic theme returns in the first minute of “Drawing Straws” on emboldened brass, with wary strings then leading a brief period of rising tension until the main theme returns for an absolutely gorgeous flourish. Final and Standout Cue “Goodbye and Godspeed” then simply holds nothing back, building to a number of spectacular orchestral crescendos with the piano motif, main and heroic themes all proudly centre stage for a pretty phenomenal end credits piece. If there’s one track you listen to from Deep Impact – it’s this one.
Overall, James Horner’s Deep Impact is a lovely score. The composer always had a very meticulous attention to orchestral detail, and with it’s gorgeous strings, serene piano, sombre vocals, hopeful woodwinds and noble brass altogether making for some absolutely stunning setpieces, this particular soundtrack is another highly enjoyable showcase of that compositional talent. Leading it is a genuinely spellbinding and quite memorable main theme, heard best in the sublimely romantic “The Wedding” and through several spectacular flourishes in the closing “Goodbye and Godspeed”, and it makes for a well needed counterpoint to the album’s at times quite dark and grim sound (as the film itself is a more ‘grounded’ take on the asteroid disaster movie, unlike the more bombastic Armageddon). Joining the main theme is then a grander, more noble and brassy piece for the heroism of the film’s main characters (“Crucial Rendezvous”), as well as a gently serene piano motif (“A Distant Discovery”), with the former thundering through some quite spectacular action (“Our Best Hope…”) and the latter floating ethereally through some gorgeously tranquil atmosphere (“The Wedding”). All-in, this results in a score that has plenty to enjoy, and while it’s not Horner’s very best – the main theme is an absolute stunner.
Score: 7.5/10
Standout Cues: Our Best Hope, The Wedding, Goodbye and Godspeed
Buy the 2-CD expansion for James Horner’s Deep Impact here, by La-La Land Records.
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