Hollywood Records release the original soundtrack for the movie The Roses, featuring an emotionally resonant score from Emmy-winning composer Theodore Shapiro. The Roses is a reimagining of the 1989 classic film The War of the Roses, based on the novel by Warren Adler. Life seems easy for picture-perfect couple Ivy and Theo: successful careers, a loving marriage, great kids. But beneath the façade of their supposed ideal life, a storm is brewing - as Theo’s career nosedives while Ivy’s own ambitions take off, a tinderbox of fierce competition and hidden resentment ignites...

Theodore Shapiro's score for The Roses cleverly captures the underlying issues for the couple at the core of the film, whilst remaining accessible and memorable. The album consists of 22 tracks (36 min, 39 sec) with plenty to sink your teeth into. I personally loved the suspenseful 'Shrooms', which slowly builds to a crescendo. It's main theme is also woven into 'A Game of Sabotage'. Other highlights include 'Ivy and Theo Meet Cute' and 'Theo and the Whale'.

Speaking about his approach, Shapiro shares: "The score to The Roses is based around two simple themes - one of them where the two notes of a chord come together, and one where they drift apart, following the trajectory of Theo and Ivy’s marriage. The sounds of the score are unstable - steel drums, guitars with extreme chorus effects, and ondes martenot - all of them unstable in pitch and reflecting the wobbly foundations of the marriage."

The album contains two reworkings of classic songs. Susanna Hoffs lends her voice to two brand-new duets: 'Happy Together' with Rufus Wainwright, and 'Love Hurts' with Eric D. Johnson of Fruit Bats and Bonny Light Horseman.

Shapiro delivers another impressive score which fans of the movie will totally fall in love with. There's also enough quality material here for casual soundtrack collectors to appreciate.

8

Darren Rea