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Music Conducted By
Jerry Goldsmith

Orchestrations By
Mark McKenzie

Additional Music Composed
For The Picture By
John Debney

Recorded By
Bruce Botnick

Performed By
The Hollywood Studio Symphony

Original Album Produced By
Jerry Goldsmith

Label
Varèse Sarabande
CD Club Release 888072199392

Previous Release(s)
Varèse Sarabande
302 066 523 2

Year Of CD/Film Release
2021/2003

Running Time
02:03:17

Availability
Limited Edition Release

Cues & Timings


Disc 1:

1. Looney Tunes Opening (What’s Up Doc?) / Rabbit Fire† (1:09)
2. What’s Up? (1:25)
3. Another Take (:48)
4. Dead Duck Walking (3:14)
5. She Likes You (:46)
6. The Shimmy / Out Of The Bag / Save Dad / The Car‡ (3:53)
7. Not A Billion (:45)
8. Blue Monkey (:58)
9. Extra Crispy (:36)
10. The Shower / Psycho Parody* (1:15)
11. In Style (1:10)
12. The Bad Guys (2:57)
13. Hit Me (:30)
14. Car Trouble / Flying High (3:46)
15. Hurry Up (:25)
16. Nice Hair / Burning Tail (:55)
17. A Visit To Walmart / Free Drinks (:36)
18. Wrong Turn Coyote †† (:54)
19. The Launch ‡‡ (:27)
20. Thin Air° (1:26)
21. Area 52 (Take 54)(1:29)
22. You’re Next (:25)
23. Wacky Marvin In The Jar° (:49)
24. Hot Pursuit (2:26)
25. We've Got Company / Man & A Woman / I’ll Take That (3:21)
26. The Painting / The Scream/ It Is Spring / Bugs with Mandolin§§# (3:20)
27. The Red Balloon (:26)
28. Paris Street (1:22)
29. Free Fall (1:17)
30. The Hook / Africa (:33)
31. Tasmanian Devil (1:09)
32. Jungle Scene (1:42)
33. Pressed Duck (3:26)
34. Re-Assembled (:51)
35. Waiting For A Train*° (2:49)
36. A New Puppy*° (3:06)
37. To The Rescue*° (4:24)
38. Heroes* (2:39)
39. Merry-Go-Round Broke Down (That’s All Folks!) § (:16)
40. End Title Suite (5:17)

DISC 2:

1. What’s Up? (1:29)
2. Another Take, #9 (:53)
3. Trumpet Wa-Wa (:07)
4. The Shimmy (:12)
5. Out Of The Bag (1:17)
6. The Car, Part 1 (:15)
7. The Car, Part 2 (:12)
8. Psycho (:37)
9. Car Trouble (3:22)
10. Wrong Turn, Part 1 (1:14)
11. Wrong Turn, Part 2 (:25)
12. Wrong Turn, Part 3 (1:08)
13. The Launch (:30)
14. The Blue Danube / The Barber of Seville / Can Can ## (:36)
15 Vivaldi Concerto # (:15)
16. The Hook (:29)
17. Pressed Duck (3:39)
18. Merry-Go-Round Broke Down (That’s All Folks!) § (:23)

The Original 2003 Soundtrack Album:
19. Life Story† (:19)
20. What’s Up? (1:25)
21. Another Take (:48)
22. Dead Duck Walking (3:14)
23. Out Of The Bag (3:44)
24. Blue Monkey (:54)
25. In Style (1:09)
26. The Bad Guys (2:56)
27. Car Trouble (3:46)
28. Thin Air ° (1:26)
29. Area 52 (1:29)
30. Hot Pursuit (2:26)
31. We’ve Got Company (1:50)
32. I’ll Take That (1:22)
33. Paris Street (1:21)
34. Free Fall (1:15)
35. Tasmanian Devil (1:09)
36. Jungle Scene (1:40)
37. Pressed Duck (3:22)
38. Re-Assembled (:52)
39. Merry-Go-Round Broke Down (That’s All Folks!) (:55)

Music Composed and Conducted by Jerry Goldsmith

Additional Music by John Debney • Produced by Jerry Goldsmith • Performed by The Hollywood Studio Symphony

*Composed by John Debney • †Composed by Carl Stalling, Arranged by Cameron Patrick • ††Composed by Carl Stalling with Additional Music

Composed and Arranged by Cameron Patrick • ‡Composed by Jerry Goldsmith with Additional Music Composed by Cameron Patrick

‡‡Composed by Cameron Patrick • §Composed by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin, Arranged by Cameron Patrick • §§Contains Musical Pieces

Composed by Modest Mussorgsky, Arranged by Mark McKenzie • #Contains Musical Pieces Composed by Antonio Vivaldi, Arranged by Mark McKenzie

##Contains Musical Pieces Composed by Johann Strauss, Gioachino Rossini, and Jacques Offenbach, Arranged by Mark McKenzie • °Contains Excerpts from

“Powerhouse” Composed by Raymond Scott • °°Contains Excerpts from “Un Homme Et Une Femme” Composed by Francis Lai and Pierre Barouh

Soundtrack Ratings

Disappointing

Functional

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 Outstanding

Looney Tunes Back In Action (album)
 
A welcome return to the podium for Jerry Goldsmith following the debacle over Timeline and concerns over the composer's health, which has obviously prevented him working the scoring schedules he once did. It's also the belated tenth outing with manic movie maker Joe Dante, which finds Jerry Goldsmith on familiar territory with another madcap, high spirited romp, calling on the composer's unique brand of comedic scoring.

Looney Tunes Back In Action serves up a whole host of bells and whistles but the most notable aspect about the score is this is more about comedy than cartoons. The opening cue (What's Up) introduces the style of the score with a very light 80's pop theme for guitar, but move on and the score becomes a lot more contemporary with Dead Duck Walking a major highlight, introducing a playful but more dramatic take on his main theme as well as a thrilling bad guy theme. It's at this point the score rolls out the various thematic highlights full of orchestral slapstick. Out Of The Bag introduces a cool Jazzy spy theme, more U.N.C.L.E. than Bond though, plus a cute homage to the composer's own Gremlins rag. Blue Monkey includes a beautifully executed homage to Herrmann's Psycho and whether intentional or not, a nod to Elfman with a couple of Pee Wee moments later on. Album highlights continue with both The Bad Guys and Car Trouble introducing some rhythmic action and the infectious western theme for Yosemite Sam, in its self a pastiche on those old TV western themes.

In the second half of the score further highlights emerge with cues like the criminally short Area 52 taking in slashing strings, more guitar and one of the best ghostly voices heard in film music. Further action is served up with both We've Got Company and the bombastic Free Fall. Tasmanian Devil hints at the more aggressive Goldsmith rhythms before closing abruptly, while cues like Jungle Scene and Paris Street slow things down and give the score a whiff of romance and the exotic.

Back In Action is wild concoction of themes and motifs all barely getting a chance to shine, before the composer literally changes his tune and moves on to the next. But surprisingly it all remains coherent and one of the reasons may be down to the fact that the orchestration avoids the 'kitchen sink'. The ensemble of orchestra and rock are all left with room to breathe, giving the score a genuinely transparent sound. While the electronics and whistles create a sound field of incredible depth, giving Bruce Botnick one of his best recording credits to date.

Traditionally comedy scores likes these are notorious for not having much of a life outside the movie they were written for, their huge orchestrations no more than an impenetrable wall of sound, that may have been fun to play in the studio but out stay their welcome when released on soundtrack album. Thankfully Looney Tunes Back In Action is a refreshing change, with Jerry Goldsmith's Merry Melodies proving a genuine treat.