British composer Mark Thomas pulls out all the stops to produce a wonderfully spirited, melodic and Americana-tinged score for Flicka 2, 20th Century Fox's sequel to the 2006 theatrical feature. This is Thomas's third score for director Michael Damian, who is an accomplished musician himself and has a strong belief in the role of melody and the power of music in his storytelling. The Flicka 2 score features many tender moments where the solo guitar takes the lead over soft strings, but also darker orchestral music as well as big, sweeping thematic writing matching the grand vistas of the film's Wyoming setting...

Mark Thomas's score for Flicka 2 is something of a surprise. There's more heart in this soundtrack than I was expect. If you can get past the fact that this is music for... er... Flicka 2, then you'll get a huge kick out of this - it really has to be heard to be believed.

This is no cheesy kid's film soundtrack. No, the music here is way more beautiful, more complex and more rewarding than you'll be expecting.

The main inspiration throughout this album seems to be the work of Ennio Morricone - there are a few Morricone moments, most notably in tracks like 'Flicka Recovers' which sounded very much like a homage to Cinema Paradiso. In the same track there is also a segment of music that sounds not unlike 'I Dreamed a Dream' from the musical Les Misérables.

'Ranch at Night' also reminded me of Alan Silvestri's music for Back to the Future III.

Thomas takes a b movie and delivers a soundtrack that is much better than the film deserves. While the movie may have passed you by, the music is well worth getting hold of.

9

Darren Rea