A Brand New 60's Score by Thomas Kiefner (January 7, 2003)
I purchased this soundtrack prior to seeing the movie and on first listen I was somewhat disappointed in what I heard. However, I have learned over the years that sometimes the first listen for me is nothing more than just that.
About a week later, on Christmas Day, I went and saw the film. Immediately, from the main titles, which are graphics, I understood what John Williams was trying to accomplish. The "Catch Me If You Can" theme perfectly fit what my eyes saw. This is a movie that was probably shot last year but had the look and feel of a 60's film. The score perfectly fits the mood and situations of the film. "Recollections" (The Father's Theme) is a track that is worth the entire price of the CD. A new and unique sound from John Williams again. While it may sound like improvisation, the liner notes tell you otherwise. The saxophone solos are by Dan Higgins, who I recently heard on Miracle on 34th St. He does a wonderful job on several of the tracks on this CD.
I really want to give this recording ****1/2 but there is no rating for it. The only thing that I found very distracting on this CD were the placement of the source music tracks. There are 5 of them and they are very necessary as far as the film is concerned but listening to the soundtrack I want to hear the original music. Not original music and then source followed by original music again. Of course there is a simple solution if you have a CD burner. I made my own and put them in order as they appeared in the film without the source music!
The sound quality and orchestra are superb. I can highly recommend this to be added to your collection.