Before anything I have to recognize my special weakness by the work of Christopher Young, venerated and observed composer in these pages and, perhaps, not excessively valued by the great public. As opposed to many of his colleagues, Young is not lavished in excess, therefore each new work is received with anticipation and logic expectancy; Hard Rain complies hugely the waiting. In the beginning it can seem one more of the action film scores nowadays, with its frequent orchestral snaps and its customary tension and emotion passages, but as opposed to the current referrings in this type of works (you must read Hans Zimmer, and his acolytes Mark Mancina and Nick Glennie-Smith), Young is not limited to straddle better or worse a visual situation already in and of itself tense and explosive, seeking to create a parallel climate and equally interesting and attractive in the one which projects his stupendous thematic, rhythmic and orchestral managing. Not only the big brass and percussion section (with the addition of certain electronic touches, so of pleasure of his author) delineate to the perfection this assignment, but the contribution of the famous Toots Thielemans to the harmonic (there is no other performer of this instrument?) result exquisite and perfectly located. A song from the Jars of Clay of appropriate title, Flood, closes this stupendous disk. A.M.

/ MILAN 35835-2 / 52'