“Gorky Park is one of Horner’s better fusions of jazz/ rock and full orchestra. In the early 80’s Horner employed pounding rhythms in his scores to 48 hours, Commando and Gorky Park. While the Russian influence is represented by uses of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture, Horner again makes room for one of his sweeping love themes, as well as some deep brooding passages hinting at the corruption implicit in the film. The standout tracks, though, are the rock influenced action sequences which although reminiscent of the above mentioned scores (down to inheriting a ten note leitmotif played on steel drums, almost note for note), there’s no denying that it represents Horners best synthesis of Orchestra and percussion. No matter how derivative the casual listener may deem these pieces to be, to the Horner afficionado, there’s no denying their ability to get the heart pounding. Horner has since abandoned this genre in favour of the more romantic, sweeping epic (eg Legends of the Fall, Rocketeer and the ubiquitous Titanic). Grab this as an illustration of the best of a young, experimental James Horner in his prime.”
Review by Paul Meaney on Amazon.
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