The Caveman's Valentine: Music from the Motion Picture. Decca 440-013-586-2.(Review)

The Caveman's Valentine: Music from the Motion Picture. Decca 440-013-586-2.

The music from most motion pictures contained on CDs is usually nothing more than a souvenir of the film, a reminder of one's cinematic encounter but hardly a fulfilling musical experience in itself. This album is different, largely because the music is different. The original score for The Caveman's Valentine, composed by Terence Blanchard, is unique in sound and concept. If it weren't so fragmented, a necessity when having to fit it to the various scenes in a movie, it might even work as an extended suite. Perhaps Blanchard could be persuaded actually to arrange an orchestral suite from the varied bits and pieces presented here, something along the lines of a 20- or 30-minute work. I'd welcome it to the modern repertoire.

I hadn't seen The Caveman's Valentine when I listened to the disc. The film hadn't opened yet, and I knew nothing about it. What's more, neither the cover jacket nor the booklet insert told anything about the film's content, except that it stars Samuel L. Jackson and was directed by Kasi Lemmons. Rather than ...