Another fine outing from
the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (under the baton of
Paul Bateman), this time in bold support of
the Crouch End Festival Chorus (conducted once again by
David Temple). Much of the running time is given over to classical pieces, along with the work of
Patrick Doyle, but there is room for entries from
Danny Elfman (whose main title for Mars Attacks gets a thorough going-over),
Basil Poledouris, and others, with even the odd surprise (such as the inclusion of
Poledouris' theme composition for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games). There really is little to say, overall, given that the driving impulse is to give oneself over to the music and be swept away (and occasionally pounded -- "How the West Was Won" is hardly subtle!). The disc has been encoded for Dolby Surround and mastered to HDCD specifications, and overall sounds great. ~ Steven McDonald