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Brian May (Australia)

The Quest / The True Story Of Eskimo Nell

Review by Gary Hill
Let’s be clear right at the beginning, the Brian May here is not “that” Brian May. This person is a soundtrack composer from Australia. This CD gathers up two of his soundtracks and releases them on one album. This is entertaining symphonic music that is exactly the kind of thing you expect as soundtrack music. I find it to be quite an entertaining listening experience. It should also be noted that this kind of music isn’t all that well suited for track reviews, but that’s what we do here.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2025  Volume 1. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2025.
 
Track by Track Review
The Quest
                
Main Title

There is a sense of mystery, drama and beauty to this. It’s symphonic and has a real magical feel to it.

The Pond

There is a sense of building and drama in this. The dynamic range between mellower and louder sections is pretty wide.

Monster Rises

Drama and a sense of foreboding are heard on this track. It’s powerful and stunning at times. It has a lot of energy.

Enter Cody

This has a lighter energy and air to it. Things seem more right with the world here.

Down The Rails / No Brakes

Energetic symphonic music is on the menu here. This feels like it could have fit in as part of the soundtrack to a western at times.

Devil's Knob

Gentler and pretty, there is a sense of nature to this.

Cody To The Rescue

This has some seriously dramatic moments. There are some more triumphant ones, too. This is a varied piece of music.

Pulling The Girls Ashore

Another piece with a lot of drama in it, some of the melodies on this really resonate with me.

Charlie Pride

A magical, swirling kind of arrangement gives way to something more playful as this continues. It eventually turns rather menacing and dangerous sounding.

Back At The Pond

There are some cool melodies at times on this. The number has a healthy helping of variety and is intriguing and varied.

Cody Takes A Swim

There is a real sense of danger on this track. It’s loaded with drama.

Underwater

This has a sense of wonder to it.

The Secret Of The Pond

Drama is delivered in healthy quantities here.

Cody's Frog Dream

There is a lot of weirdness built into this track.

Finale And End Credits

This brings more of a joyful vibe as it ends the first soundtrack here.

The True Story Of Eskimo Nell
                                
Opening Title And Mexico Pete's Arrival

There is a sense of gentle majesty in some ways on this number.

The Window And The Flight

There is a seeming contrast between gentle, playful sections and more menacing ones as this cut works forward. The second half of this has more of a triumphant sounding sense of adventure.

The Frozen North Love Theme

This is quite pretty and rather gentle in nature.

The Alaskan Kid

With a sense of danger and mystery built into it, this is intriguing.

Hey Fellas It's Eumerella

This piece feels playful.

Elly's Tune And The Frozen North

More dramatic and exploratory in nature, there is some magic built into this.

The Stage Coach

There is suitably some Western music concept at play here.

Camel Trek

Dramatic and a little playful, there are hints of desert music here.

Camel Arrival At The Goldfields

Continuing with themes from the previous piece, this also brings some Western textures. It feels like musical theater in a lot of ways.

The Mine Chase

There is a pretty wide range of volume levels here. The showcases a lot of drama. It’s quite a bit longer than a lot of the things here.

Alcoholic Aftermath

This is a weird little playful piece of music with muted horns and other things creating a sense of being out of it.

The Womper Song

This number actually has vocals. It turns instrumental modes after that part of the track.

The Snowy Trek

There is a lot of magic and drama built into this piece. It gets fairly powerful before it’s over.

Eskimo Nell's Hotel Prelude

This playful pieces sounds like it would be at home in the background of a cartoon.

Mexico Pete's Theme

A classy, symphonic piece I really dig this.

Dead Eye Dick's Reprise

This is mellower and more thoughtful.

The Frozen North Theme

Pretty and seeming to paint pictures with sound, there is an expansive vibe here.

Main Title Theme (The Womper Song)

This does a nice job of tying up a lot of the musical vibes from the rest of the soundtrack and turning them into a satisfying conclusion.

 
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