Score Report, 12/21

The Score Report, 12/21

The soundtrack to the tense sci-fi thriller miniseries Childhood’s End comes to us from Lakeshore Records, released digitally this past Friday the 18th, and due out on CD early next year. The score was written by former Nine Inch Nails member Charlie Clouser, whose work with the band included co-writing and programming for a lot of their biggest hits. Since then he’s become famous for scoring the Saw franchise, which probably gives you an idea of the sort of musical tension you’re in for here.

We’re also getting Carter Burwell’s work for the Charlie Kaufman film Anomalisa. Burwell is perhaps best-known for being the go-to composer for The Coen Brothers, writing music for the likes of Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou, and There Will Be Blood. Kaufman specializes in darkly comedic meta work, including Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The film plays out in stop-motion, but what really brings the music to the fore is that the movie is an adaptation of a musical performance created by Kaufman and Burwell. The stage version featured actors and musicians seated with music stands containing scripts and scores, aimed at giving a purely auditory experience. The music is part of the storytelling DNA here, not part of the backdrop. The album is due out January 1st.

One of the big success stories of December was The Wiz Live, and the soundtrack is available as of this last Friday. Featuring Shanice Williams, Queen Latifah, NE-YO, David Alan Grier, Mary J. Blige, and more, the live retelling of the classic musical was such a smash that it ran for an encore performance a week later, so of course a soundtrack album was inevitable. Featuring classic songs penned by Charlie Smalls and Luther Vandross and a phenomenal cast, this isn’t one to miss.