| After a two-year gap, Bryan Adams chose the animated movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron to make his triumphant return. The soundtrack is by no means a solo effort, but he has cowritten and sings on eight brand-new songs. Two of them are deemed so good they appear twice. The first of these, "Here I Am", is an uplifting tune that plays as the film's end credits. The other is the film's finale, "I Will Always Return", which seems like a statement on the artists' career. Of the others, the most interesting is the duet with Sarah McLachlan on "Don't Let Go", lending it a particularly atmospheric air with their combined breathy vocal stylings. This being a story of a mystical heroic horse, the lyrics are consistently upbeat and optimistic. Behind those lyrics is a collection of composers providing the melodies. Leading the team is Hans Zimmer, who's now an old hand at the animated genre (cf The Lion King and The Prince of Egypt). Towards the end of the album are four cues totalling 20 minutes of his instrumental score. These are perfectly in keeping with both the songs and Zimmer's style, featuring big orchestral themes overlaid with electronic augmentation. All together it's an hour of exactly what both artists do best. --Paul Tonks |
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