Like the Mike Nichols political dramedy it accompanies, James Newton Howard's score for Charlie Wilson's War journeys from the American Midwest to the Middle East and back again, juxtaposing homespun folk melodies and accents with colorfully ethnic instruments and rhythms. Howard is more effective at this kind of pan-cultural fusion than most, and his melodies sound as natural and evocative when performed on fiddle and pedal steel as they do when interpreted via wailing vocals and hand percussion -- of course, the orchestral sections are also far too ponderous for their own good, as Howard once again mistakenly equates scale with dramatic impact. But even if Charlie Wilson's War succumbs to the composer's usual weaknesses, it nevertheless sends his music in promising new directions. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Charlie Wilson's War
12/18/2007 | Varese Sarabande
All Music Guide Review
Track Listing
Credits
- Shawn Murphy
- Score Reader, Score Mixer
- Buck Reid
- Pedal Steel
- Sally Stevens
- Vocal Contractor
- Robert Townson
- Executive Producer
- Roger Wilkie
- Orchestra Leader
- Robert Zimmitti
- Percussion
- Delphine Robertson
- Music Coordinator
- Sandy DeCrescent
- Orchestra Contractor
- Kathy Nelson
- Executive in Charge of Music
- Suzana Períc
- Score Producer, Supervising Music Editor
- Pete Anthony
- Conductor
- Gabe Witcher
- Fiddle
- Deva Anderson
- Music Supervisor
- Patricia Sullivan Fourstar
- Mastering
- Satnam Ramgotra
- Tabla, Frame Drum
- Adam Michalak
- Mixing, Score
- David Buntz
- Direction
- Grant Gershon
- Choir Conductor
- Hovig Krikorian
- Vocals
- Dave Holden
- Technical Score Advisor
- Tom Syrowski
- Mixing, Score
- Chris P. Bacon
- Technical Score Advisor
- Julia Newmann
- Scoring Assistant
- Pamela J. Sollie
- Scoring Coordinator
- John Bilezikjian
- Oud
- Jim Keltner
- Drums
- Alex Acuña
- Hand Percussion
- Eddie DeLena
- Recording
- George Doering
- Guitar
- Mark Eshelman
- Mixing, Score
- Pedro Eustache
- Wind Instruments
- Mike Fisher
- Percussion
- Harry Garfield
- Executive in Charge of Music
- Julie Gigante
- Orchestra Leader
- Gary Goetzman
- Executive Producer
- Ray Herndon
- Guitar
- Viktor Krauss
- Bass
- Ali Jihad Racy
- Wind Instruments
- James Newton Howard
- Score Producer
- Matt Rollings
- Piano
- Mike Nichols & Elaine May
- Executive Producer










