Lakeshore Records release Dolores – Music From the Documentary with original score by Composer Mark Kilian. Dolores tells the life story of Dolores Huerta, among the most important, yet least known, activists in American history. In the 1950's, this working-class wife and mother of eleven children helped to establish the first farm workers unions alongside Cesar Chavez. From the tireless fight for racial and labour justice, Huerta, one of the most defiant feminists of the twentieth century, develops a platform for feminism and gender equality. Although her enormous contributions have gone largely unrecognised, Huerta continues the fight to this day, at age 87...

Mark Kilian's score for Dolores is both subtle and deeply layered. It's the sort of score that you don't need to have seen the documentary, or even know who Dolores Huerta is, this is music that works just as well as an album in its own rights as it does as an accompaniment to Huerta's story.

The score has a run time of 56 min, 02 sec (23 tracks) with each conjuring up images in the listener's mind. This is particularly true with tracks like 'A Day in the Life Of Dolores' and 'Death of the Future'.

'Forced Family Time' and 'Lifelong Activist' reminded me of Dennis McCarthy's 'He's Toast' from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's third season episode 'Life Support'. While 'Grape Boycott' brought to mind the work of The Penguin Cafe Orchestra.

While not an essential purchase, there are enough interesting themes here to make it worth at least checking out.

7

Darren Rea