X-Men: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

SOUNDTRACK X-MEN (MICHAEL KAMEN)

Michael Kamen has become one of the most respected movie soundtrack producers and composers of the modern age. And he's never lost his connection with pop music, either: most recently, he conducted the orchestra for Metallica's S & M. Juilliard-bred, Kamen has orchestrated work for David Bowie and Kate Bush, among others, and his work with Eric Clapton on the movie score for 1987's Lethal Weapon merged his two worlds into one. The summer blockbuster X-Men is a perfect match for the man who brought both Terry Gilliam's classic, Brazil, and Die Hard to life. Here, the battle of Professor X (Patrick Stewart), who must protect mutants born with unusual powers--they can mindread and fly--against the holocaust threatening their freakish existence creates massive tension that Kamen's score elaborately fulfills. Using the L.A. All-star Orchestra at full throttle, Kamen is at his Wagnerian best for "Museum Fight" and "The Final Showdown," and is noticeably more gentle with the epilogue, "Logan and Rogue." Kamen knows how to action-pack a score for maximum effect. --Rob O'Connor