The original motion-picture soundtrack to the animated children's film
Balto is notable for its theme song, "Reach for the Light," written by
Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, and
James Horner, which is the first solo recording by
Steve Winwood in five years. Presented in long and short versions, it's a pleasant-enough ballad, if a bit too formal to be as inspirational as it seems to want to be. The rest of the album consists of
Horner's symphonic score, which doubtless responds ably to the needs of the movie's adventurous plot, though on record it lacks distinctiveness. ~ William Ruhlmann