HOWEVER, if you DO write a review, I DEMAND that it is detailed (without spoiling it for those who have not heard the score yet, ofcourse) and give it at least a *****/***** rating, or else I will be pisssed! Remember this IS en ELMAN score, and I am SFT!

SFT

PS: This is not a joke!

PPS: I repeat: This is not a joke

PPPS: No, I really mean it, THIS IS NOT A JOKE!

Would someone be able to put up scans of the front and back cover of the cd? And how about tracklistings? I canīt wait!!

Seriously, I AM GOING INSANE!!! I WANīT THAT ****ING SCORE!!!

Does the cover really look like what they have at the official site?

Now everyone, in a few days, Jeron and I will once again team up to write the "Sleepy Hollow" review.

--Crono/Kyp
Writer/Director/Producer

http://www.scorereviews.com/sleepyhollow.shtml

Front Cover: 400x396 JPEG, 213k
members.tripod.com/~CaptEcco/slhollow1.jpg

Back Cover: 500x424 JPEG, 325k
members.tripod.com/~CaptEcco/slhollow2.jpg

The legal stuff (so I hopefully won't be yelled at):
All images Đ1999 by Hollywood Records
www.hollywoodrecords.com

And now for my review...

I must say I was very surprised by this score. When I listen to a new CD the whole way through, I usually keep a tally of the tracks I like the most. In this case, I gave up on that practice by the time I got to track 10... every single second of music was AWESOME!

Jeron's statement that this score is "All Elfman" is very appropriate, because it is something of a semblence of all of Danny's styles. Combine Nightbreed with Dolores Claiborne and through in a dash of Edward Scissorhands for good measure... it might not work in your head, but Danny pulls it off masterfully. He takes his present style and applies it to his early approach with marvelous results. I thought The Matrix would remain top on my list of the best scores of 1999, but Sleepy Hollow has definitely claimed that honor.

As many are very aware (some pleased, others frustrated) that Elfman has lately adopted a much more low-key style and approach. I liked A Simple Plan and Anywhere But Here, and although I wasn't crazy about A Civil Action, i think it was an okay score nonetheless. I was expecting another low-key score because of this trend. Needless to say, that was a very stupid mistake. I should have known... Elfman + Burton = Awe. This music is epic, huge, and inventive. Its sense of terror, foreboding, and impending discovery is virtually beyond description. From the very beginning it captures you and throws you into its dark forests and pulsepounding magic and it never lets go. Even the finale of the end credits leaves you begging for more, even though you have already been listening for over an hour.

What about thematic material? It is abundant... very abundant. There are three themes that I think I have counted so far... they're so twisted and intelligent it's sometimes hard to tell if you're actually hearing one of the themes. There's first the main theme, which serves either as a theme for Sleepy Hollow or for Ichabod; I'd have to see the film for sure. It's the least memorable of the themes, but it works great nonetheless.

The second theme is, of course, the theme for the headless horseman himself. It's classic Elfman, a dark, pounding brassy march (although it is rarely played as a march) which always appears at just the right moment. It's spine-tingling and is sure to inflict goosebumps in a few of its appearances.

Then there's the love theme. Even the love theme is creepy. If I was listening close enough, it makes its first appearance in track 7, and even then it was so unstable and brooding that I barely even realized it was a love theme. Of course, Elfman does take away the creepiness when necessary, and when this happens it becomes a beautiful, haunting melody (track 18 is a good example).

I can't even begin to get into the action cues though, or the rest of the score. You just have to hear it for yourself. It is, without a doubt in my mind, the best score of the year, and perhaps Elfman's best work since Edward Scissorhands. It definitely ranks with his greatest hits. If the Academy is listening, this is the Elfman score to nominate, and if it doesn't get some sort of recognition, be it Oscar, Grammy, Golden Globe, or whatsoever, then I swear that I will join SFT in making sure the persons responsible pay for such a grievous mistake. This is an incredible, fantastic, wondrous score. And if it weren't for SFT's strict policy of detail, I would have summed the entire review up into one, single word: MASTERPIECE.

Overall Rating: *****/*****

Track listing:

1. Introduction (4:15)
2. Main Titles (3:09)
3. Young Ichabod (1:20)
4. The Story... (4:28)
5. Masbeth's Terrible Death (1:35)
6. Sweet Dreams (1:11)
7. A Gift (2:26)
8. Into the Woods / The Witch (3:32)
9. More Dreams (1:42)
10. The Tree of Death (9:36)
11. Bad Dream / Tender Moment (3:33)
12. Evil Eye (3:43)
13. The Church Battle (3:33)
14. Love Lost (5:16)
15. The Windmill (6:18)
16. The Chase (3:11)
17. The Final Confrontation (4:16)
18. A New Day! (1:26)
19. End Credits (3:17)

TOTAL RUNNING TIME about 67:50

Selected Credits:
Album Produced by: Danny Elfman
Orchestrations by: Conrad Pope, David Slonaker, Albert Olson, Steve Bartek, Mark McKenzie, & Marc Mann
Conducted by: Allan Wilson
Adult Choir: Metro Voices
Boys' Choir: The London Oratory School SCHOLA
Music Editor: Ellan Segal

I hope this review meets your approval, SFT.

James
NP - Sleepy Hollow

We'll let it go this once

All this waiting is torture! And you idiots have allready had that score for 48 hours now! AHHRGHHHH!!!...

SFT

~Jeron

--Crono/Kyp
Writer/Director/Producer

I think I should also point out that my explanation of the themes is a little off... I fused and confused a few of them.

I am not going to look at the tracks until I see the movie, however, I would have to say that track 4 is one of the most amazing I have ever heard. I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!

N.P. The Messenger <so far ****/*****>

By the way, this is about the only good thing that happened to me as that tragedy happened in my hometown (A&M if you don't know what I'm talking about).

Did you know either of those students that were killed during the bon fire incident? I called the friends I have (there) to make sure they were alright. Fortunately they were.