Patrick Doyle - Great Expectations: The Score (1997)

Patrick Doyle's score to Alfonso Cuaron's contemporary update of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations is a provocative amalgam of styles that results in a continually intriguing record. Working with a variety of different musicians -- including guitarist John Williams, pianist Cyrus Chestnut, saxophonist James Carter, whistler Carey Wilson and vocalists Césaria Évora, Miriam Stockley, Kiri Te Kanawa and Tori Amos -- Doyle has created a rich tapestry of sounds that draws from classical music, traditional film scores, opera, flamenco, Latin music, pop, new age and jazz, among many others. While some segments don't work as well as others, the album is an adventurous, unpredictable score that's welcome in an era of overblown, schmaltzy and underwritten soundtracks.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo