I have been walking since my heart attack in 2018. I average around 2 1/2 – 3 hrs of walking a week. During the walk I would listen to a variety of genres of music (mostly soundtracks) and find myself learning by analyzing the orchestration, arrangement and emotion of the music while I’m walking.
Today’s listening session is Thomas Newman’s score “Erin Brockovich”
Synopsis
This storyline portrays an unemployment mother, Erin Brockovich who’s desperately searching for a job; during her search she gets involved in a car accident with a doctor and files a lawsuit against him but ends up losing in court. The lawyer that represented Erin in court tries to appease with her on losing her case. She eventually ends up showing up at the law firm and successfully browbeats him in giving her a job at the firm for her loss compensation. While no one at the law firm takes her seriously, it changes when she gets involved with a suspicious real estate case involving the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, and she discovers that they are quietly purchasing the land that was contaminated by hexavalent chromium, a deadly toxic waste that the company is illegally and improperly dumping, and in turn, poisoning the residents in the area. As Erin digs deeper, she finds herself leading point in a series of events that will involved her law firm in one of the biggest class action lawsuits against a multi-billion dollar corporation.
The Score
I find that Thomas Newman’s piano sound in the score is original and organic. You can listen to other keyboardist that have their own sound, and you will know who there are by just hearing a few measures of them playing, for example, the late Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Bruce Hornsby or Vince Guaraldi all have their own sound when it comes to them playing the instrument. Thomas Newman’s piano seems to have that same kind of sound in his scores. This score particularly showcases the acoustic piano and electric piano (fender rhodes) that blends effortlessly together throughout the score. This score is investigative, positive, engaging, a sense of hope and struggle and persistence. Rhythmic motifs and percussive tones bedding the groove in the music giving it a sense of continuous optimism.
Listen to Thomas Newman’s score
