Only the Lonely

This must go down as one of the most atypical and bizarre entries in Maurice Jarre's extensive filmography. Only the Lonely was evidently some kind of romantic comedy starring John Candy and directed by Chris Columbus (most famous for the Home Alone movies). Of course any film which also happens to be the title of a well known song means the instant requirement to feature said song (recently repeated in the alleged comedy that was Don't Go Breaking My Heart) and yes, we get Roy Orbison crooning out his classic song before we embark on Jarre's somewhat mixed up score.

Starting out with more tender material, performed on some kind of whistle or recorder (although with quite a mellow sound), it gives the impression of being cod medieval background music for some historial epic. This melody gives way to a brief and smooth saxophone melody, however the most substantial theme is only introduced in fragments. This is much more on familiar Jarre territory (perhaps a bit too familiar, but I can't quite place what it sounds like); not perhaps as sumptuous as usual it is none the less far more typical. These themes are intertwined with some darker material and a few synthesized sections, but you'd be hard pressed to get any impression of any dramatic or comedic thread from the music or the track titles. The album is edited together to form a more or less continuous suite and so the music glides from one thing to another. Despite this, it tends to leave one with the feeling of just changing without progressing.

The themes aren't varied to any great extent and tend to just pop up unannounced and disappear again just as quickly. There are plenty of nice moments, most notably when the major theme appears, but these moments are few and far between. Van Morrison's laid back Someone Like You rounds out the album, which is just as well since Jarre's score doesn't come to any obvious conclusion. I suppose that this sums up the entire score; it just appears, a few things happens and ends just as abruptly as it starts. Add to the fact that the basic material isn't terribly exciting and you get a terribly uneven effort that probably makes sense in context, but on CD leaves little impression.