The Rocketeer

Along with Star Trek II, this is my favourite Horner score. I spent ages trying to get it and was rewarded by an enjoyable, exciting and all round excellent hour of music. The sparkling main theme goes through many variations during the score, from an understated piano version to a souped-up full orchestral version for the action scenes. The action cues are all excellent, second only to Star Trek II, admittedly they are often derived from the Horner Star Trek scores but I don't really have a problem, it's the way that Horner blends his older ideas with his new themes that is one of his strong points, not a weakness. Jenny's theme is not a romantic theme and since I have never seen the film, I cannot say for certain what Jenny's role is, but the theme is superb none the less. The two songs are actually worth listening to as they are good, well arranged and performed by all concerned. The only slight criticism of the score is the playing does occasionally get a little out of tune, especially some of the trumpets when playing in the higher registers, but that aside, it is an all round excellent score and as it says in the Gramophone Good Film Music Guide, if you want just one James Horner score, get this one, it's one of his best.