The Mighty Macs
(Cd) Limited Edition

Movies about sport have always seemed to inspire film music composers to create great musical moments, the majority of these not only enhance and support the movie or movies that they were written for but in most occurrences have a life of their own away from any images on screen. In most cases the music for movies that are within this category whether they are based upon fictional or true events are upbeat, anthem like and full of energy and vitality. But many have yielded a wealth of more intimate and emotional thematic material. One only has to take a listen to past triumphs where the subject matter of sport in a film have been given a crescendo filled score, as in Goldsmith’s high octane but at the same time poignant and hopeful sounding HOOSIERS aka BEST SHOT. Randy Newman’s highly acclaimed soundtrack for THE NATURAL which is simply stunning and Bill Conti’s uplifting and infectious music for the ROCKY films which have become film music classics. There are also other examples as in Bernstein’s THE BABE, and again Goldsmith springs to mind with the highly emotive and Gaelic flavoured RUDY, plus Vangelis provided CHARIOTS OF FIRE with a score that although fully electronic possessed heart, soul, emotion and melody. I am pleased to say that THE MIGHTY MACS is no exception to any of the aforementioned, composer William Ross has produced a soundtrack that is brimming with emotive and proud sounding themes and passages that immediately grab the listener’s attention. The composer utilizes a symphonic approach that in many ways for me at least did have a sound and style to it that was akin to, THE NATURAL and also HOOSIERS. This is a wonderfully lyrical and expressive soundtrack, a score that is overflowing with rich and robust themes that pull at the heartstrings in one moment and in the next instant set the adrenaline racing, it is filled with grit, passion, hope and also there is something else which I can only describe as being the musical equivalent to stubborn determination and a resolve to win. THE MIGHTY MACS is based on actual events which began in 1971, it tells the story of Cathy Rush who takes the job of head basket ball coach at the all girls Catholic Immaculata College in suburban Philadelphia. It is a story of fortitude, desperation and high emotions. As coach she faces many challenges the main one being to attempt to compete against established and perpetual winners in the sport and receive the blessing from the establishment. The movie was actually shot in 2007 but due to not being able to find a distributor was not given a theatrical release till 2011, the director had been approached by Disney but the studio wanted to add dialogue and course language to the film so Director Tom Chambers decided not go with that option. The musical score mirrors and enhances the moods in the film wonderfully at times being understated but also on other occasions stepping up to the mark and driving the action on screen forward and upward. The composer’s music fully supports but never overpowers it does indeed fit like the proverbial glove. William Ross is a masterful and talented composer, conductor and arranger who although works prolifically within in film and other mediums seems to have been overlooked and underrated by many, let us hope that with the release of this compact disc and also some up and coming releases this wrong will be rectified, because he is composer of great worth, originality and aptitude and deserves recognition for his many contributions to film music and music in general.