I had been after this CD for a long time and was worried that it might not be as good as most of the reports about it stated. I was relieved to find that it is every bit as good as I'd heard it was. The performances are first rate and the selection is excellent. I was very pleased to have a recording of some of the tracks from Batman Forever as I didn't really want to buy the soundtrack but did want some idea of what it was like. Since this was the only part I had heard complaints about, I was a bit sceptical, but was delighted to discover that they are excellent. The Main Title doesn't really have a theme that builds very well and so was not quite what I remembered from seeing the film, however the other selections, especially the Nygma Variations were very good. The other tracks are all performed well, the Apollo 13 Launch Track has a much more vigorous performance than in the original although it is a fraction fast at times, but the moment that covers the scene where the rocket actually lifts off is much more exciting than the original. As with Batman Forever, I did not want to buy Judge Dredd or First Knight, (although I have got it now and it's great!) and so the excellent suites contained on this album was very welcome. The rest is fine except that the bagpipes in the Braveheart End Title are actually Scottish Bagpipes whereas Irish ones were used in the original and so the affect is not quite the same. However, I it comes across as a beautiful track and the slight re-arrangement for the different type of pipes does no harm at all to the music. The track by Miklos Rozsa is a bonus tribute to the composer who died during 1995.
Rating ~ 