The Beyondness of Things

Those fond of and familiar with the often lush, romantic dimensions of five-time Academy Award winner John Barry's film scoring (exemplified by Somewhere in Time and the Oscar-winning Out of Africa) will find much to admire here. Barry's first non-soundtrack release in a quarter-century plays like a symphonic trance, his singular genius for emotionally longing string and brass arrangements occasionally punctuated here by a lethargic, distant saxophone, plaintive harmonica, or mournful solo-horn phrase. But those previously unswayed by Barry's charms may find that this impressionistic, poetically contemplative collection might just be too much of a good thing; Goldfinger--or Dances with Wolves--it isn't. Still, music this dreamily evocative can hardly be termed Muzak; it's the perfect soundtrack to a rainy, introspective afternoon or an unashamedly romantic interlude. --Jerry McCulley