Signs Soundtrack CD

Original score composed by James Newton Howard.
Recorded at Todd Scoring Stage, Studio City, California and at JHN Studios, Santa Monica, California.
"Signs-Main Titles" was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Instrumental Composition.
Personnel: Katie Kirkpatrick, Gayle Levant (harp); Eun Mee Ahn, Al Hershberger, Irina Voloshina, Anatoly Rosinsky, Katia Popov, Tamara L. Hatwan, Robin Olson, Aimee Kreston, Alan Grunfeld, Ken Yerke, Lily Chen, Rene Mandel, Sungil Lee, Franklyn d'Antonio, Mark Robertson , Richard Altenbach, Bruce Dukov, Julie Gigante, Natalie Leggett, Phillipe Levy, Sara Parkins, Roger Wilkie, Armen Garabedian, Liane Mautner, Josephina Vergara, Dimitrie Leivici, Rafael Rishik, Mario Diaz de Leon, Endre Granat, Haim Shtrum (violin); Matt Funes, Marlo Fisher, Steven Gordon, Rick Gerding, Michael Nowak, Robert Becker, Brian Dembow, Keith Greene, Jennie Hansen, Roland Kato, Janet Lakatos, Victoria Miskolszy, Darrin McCann, Denyse Buffum, Shanti Randall (viola); Timothy Landauer, Dennis Karmazyn, Paul Cohen , Antony Cooke, Stephen Erdody, Armen Ksadjikian, David Low , David Speltz, Sebastian Toettcher, Cecilia Tsan, Christine Ermacoff (cello); Jim Walker , Louise Di Tullio, Geri Rotella, David Shostac (flute); Amanda Walker, Gary Bovyer, James Kanter (clarinet); Barbara Northcutt (oboe); Kenneth E. Munday (bassoon); James Sawyer, Phil Teele, William Booth, William Reichenbach (trombone); Tommy Johnson (tuba); Richard Todd, Steve Becknell, Tim Morrison, Brian O'Connor, Jim Thatcher (horns); Randy Kerber (piano); Alan Estes, Emil Radocchia, Joe Porcaro, Peter Limonick, Robert Zimmitti (percussion).
Audio Mixers: Jay Selvester; Marc Gebauer; Kristen Smith.
Recording information: JNH Studios, Santa Monica, CA; Todd Scoring Stage, Studio City, CA.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Jeff Atmajian; Brad Dechter.
With Signs, composer James Newton Howard again joins director M. Night Shyamalan for their third collaboration following The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, and clearly the film presents another thrilling encounter with the supernatural. From his opening "Main Theme," Howard ratchets up the tension, and his music thereafter alternates only between the ominous and the suspenseful. He overloads his lower tones, employing eight basses, five percussionists, and even a tuba, but also uses a large string section for short, fast, repetitive figures meant to keep viewers on the edges of their seats. This is not particularly imaginative music, just good old Saturday afternoon scary movie fare, the only distinguishing characteristic about it -- consistent with Shyamalan's style -- that it is so relentless. There's just no let up; dread pervades every moment of the director's films, to the point of emotional exhaustion for some, and the score has to have the same uncompromising approach, which can make it a little hard to take when listened to all the way through. ~ William Ruhlmann

Score By:James Newton Howard