Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves: (Michael Kamen) Somewhat of a phenomenon, this album has sold extremely well long after the movie was discarded as a major flop. The soundtrack had the foresight at a time to combine a large score and a very popular song in one CD package (even in 1991, this wasn't an entirely successful approach, but as we know, it caught on through the decade). Still selling an astounding number of copies even as the decade comes to a close, the Robin Hood album brilliantly appealed to two entirely separate crowds. The teenage crowd purchased it immediately because of the strong appeal of Bryan Adams at the time, and the score had a long-term effect on the action/adventure score community as well.
The song speaks for itself. A juggernaut at the top of the hit album charts for a lengthy time, it could have single-handedly propelled this album to blazing status. The version of "Everything I Do, I Do it for You" that appears on this album is slightly different than that which appears on the CD single that was heard repeatedly on the radio. The version here has a slight variation in mix (only the true Adams fans will likely care much about the difference), and the version presented here also has an encore presentation... with a few extra minutes of the song without vocals tacked onto the end. The song went on to receive Academy Award recognition.
The score itself has its fair share of followers. Kamen was becoming red hot as an action composer at the time (already popular from Die Hard and the likes), and his music for the film follows the same adventurous spirit of James Horner's Willow, which was the staple of the films' trailers. And although the score has all the brass-heavy elements of an appropriate score for the film, it turns out to be the more subtle moments of the score that provide its highlights. The overture and final battle scene cues are easily recognizable and enjoyable in a simple swashbuckling sort of way, and yet the same type of music was done better by Horner in Willow and John Debney in Cutthroat Island around the same time. The stand-out cue is "Marian at the Waterfall," during which the lush orchestral performances at at their best.
As for the rest of the album, it washes out as bland in the end. The orchestral performances includes some unfortunate blunders (in parts making the music unlistenable once you've noticed the mistakes for the first time --you can't hear anything else). The second song (the final track on the album) is obviously not up to par next to the Adams one. Therefore, I wouldn't recommend the album to film score listeners simply based on the musical merits; you'd have to watch the film first to decide. Even yet, the overture is a piece that can often be heard performed by high school and college bands across the nation today. - Filmtracks.com
1. Overture/Prisoner of the Crusades (8:27)
2. Sir Guy of Gisborne/Escape to Sherwood (7:27)
3. Little John/Band in the Forest (4:52)
4. The Sheriff and his Witch (6:03)
5. Maid Marian (2:57)
6. Training/Robin Hood (5:15)
7. Marian at the Waterfall (5:34)
8. The Abduction/Final Battle (9:53)
9. Everything I Do, I Do it for You (6:38) -song
10. Wild Times (3:12) -song
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