Year One Soundtrack CD

As a composer who has become a favorite of the prominent movie comedians of the 21st century (Will Farrell, Ben Stiller, etc.), Theodore Shapiro has a double burden in coming up with music for their films. He must create music that matches the genres and settings of the films, and must also join in the fun by gently sending up the whole thing. Those twin objectives are apparent in his music for YEAR ONE, director Harold Ramis's showcase for Jack Black and Michael Cera, set in what is called the "Ancient World." That puts Shapiro in mind of various Middle Eastern styles, as well as the sort of movie music that Maurice Jarre wrote for LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. He manages to evoke these sounds well, but he also contemporizes them and provides a comic wink by throwing in the occasional trip-hop rhythm or electric guitar. After all, this isn't a movie built on historically accurate depictions of the cradle of civilization. It's a movie built on Jack Black's shtick, and the composer is most attentive to underlining the laughs.

Recording information: Sony Pictures Studios, Culver City, CA.

Personnel: Joel Shearer, George Doering (guitar); Michael Fisher, Brian Kilgore (percussion); Carmen Rizzo (programming); Pedro Eustache (wind).

Audio Mixer: Chris Fogel.