I must admit that I never thought I'd get close to describing a Thomas Newman score as generic. I say close to as, let's face it, Newman is the kind of composer who sounds like himself and does a creditable job, even on his off days. After their successful collaborations on Fried Green Tomatoes and The War, director Jon Avnet re-teamed with Newman for this romantic soap opera set in a newsroom, following the rise of an ambitious woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) and the seasoned pro (the very seasoned Robert Redford) as they slowly fall in love. Apparently based on a true story, but in typical Hollywood fashion, with all the interesting bits removed to make it into a more straight forward and upbeat film. Newman's score isn't at all bad, it simply isn't anything special and lacks that spark of originality found in even the more "traditional" of his efforts.

The album starts strongly with Miss Sierra Logger (not the most obvious of track titles), where the pleasant main theme is introduced, but even here, there is little of the distinct Newman string sound, it feels smoothed out. Sanitized if you will. That pretty much sums up the bulk of the underscore, strings led, but not quite possessing the strong atmosphere or identity of most of his scores. The occasional unusual instrument is included and adds a little extra dimension, but they feel more like token gestures than normal. The darker episodes are perhaps the most impressive, notably the brooding Los Locos and the similarly percussive Cellblock C. Uprise is also a more churning piece of melodrama, with a marked latin flavour and a shakuhatchi thrown in for good measure. However, a sign that the score's overall atmosphere is less strong than usual is that the two source cues are actually a welcome change in tempo, particularly Tito Puente's funky Hong Kong Mambo.

Up Close and Personal is really a fairly traditional love story and so the score doesn't want to be too avant garde or draw attention to itself, just quietly underline the romance and drama. Having said that, it's not especially romantic music and it's the more dramatic episodes that are the most memorable. I suppose it's unfair to complain that a score is less inventive than usual, especially as - apart from the darker moments - it's still quite lovely and a pleasing listen. However, even in the genre of quiet, romantic and dramatic film scores, it's not much more than a slightly above average entry. Nice enough, but with Newman, that expected extra level of invention and spark largely fails to materialise.

Rating ~

1. Miss Sierra Logger (2:36)
2. A Week Eight Days (2:33)
3. Uprise (1:30)
4. Vulgar Innuendo (0:56)
5. Hong Kong Mambo (3:47)
   Performed by Tito Puente
6. Up Close (2:45)
7. Moral High Ground (1:41)
8. So Much Cherry Piecrust (2:31)
9. Café (6:37)
   Performed by Eddie Palmeri
10. Sun & Moon (1:11)
11. Los Locos (2:11)
12. Upwind (2:46)
13. Cellblock C (2:38)
14. Philly Rebound (1:21)
15. No Justice (2:03)
16. Bonefish (1:50)
17. She Knows Now (2:23)

Total Time ~ 42:10