Andy's Robin Hood is Worth the Price

Andy Price is probably not the first composer that comes to mind when thinking about Robin Hood score composers.  Michael Kamen is undoubtedly the most famous Robin Hood composer in recent times for the 1991 film starring Kevin Costner.  Others have included Erich Korngold's The Adventures of Robin Hood in 1931 and the most recently, Marc Streitenfeld's score to Ridley Scott's 2010 Robin Hood.  Andy Price is an English composer who scored the BBC television production of Robin Hood from 2006-2009.  Despite the scores place on a TV show, the quality is certainly not low budget and certainly elevated the show it accompanied.  Price undoubtedly drew inspiration from some of the other great fanfares in modern times, especially John Williams' Superman for his Robin Hood fanfare.  Similarities aside, the main theme is one heroic, enjoyable piece, which is easily remembered and whistled long after the show is over.  The one criticism I would levy is the sound byte nature of the cues on album.  Clocking in at 57 minutes the 2006 album features 37 tracks and the listening experience is somewhat inconsistent.  These deficiencies can be overlooked somewhat because of the otherwise high quality of the themes and the orchestral performance.  Action highlights include Outlaws, Gisborne's Trap, and my personal favorite cue on album: Rescue.  Price also crafted a beautiful, romantic melody to accompany Marian featured in Marian's Theme, Robin and Marian, and I Never Told Her I Loved Her.  Add the opening track and the end credits to the aformentioned tracks and you have an enjoyable 14 minutes of high quality listening.  All in all a worthy musical accompaniment for Robin and his band of merry men.***1/2  Purchase on Amazon.