"I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn," -Anne Frank
Like life, my opinions on Adam Young's scores fluctuates, and it looks like we're on the uphill climb.
I loved this score. It's comparable to Omaha Beach as well as Project Excelsior but in ways you wouldn't expect. While both Omaha Beach and Corduroy Road are about war, their tones are so incredibly different.
Corduroy Road seems to be in the perspective of the South, and possibly even from the eyes of a slave. What makes this score so powerful is not its beautiful and uplifting vibes, but its impactful and well-delivered message, which is something I found that Project Excelsior lacked.
Another aspect that makes these scores so captivating is their ability to transport you to another world, to create the image in your head, and while this is another thing that Project Excelsior lacked, Corduroy Road comes in strong with beautiful imagery with sound and a theme and aesthetic that runs through the score like a bloodline.
Listen to Corduroy Road here.
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| artwork by James R. Eads |
1. Country Hymn
Kindred and humble, this track establishes the sweeping beauty of the South before the war with the clear piano and strings.
2. Georgia Boys
Musically unique with some vocals by Adam himself, this track boasts with cheerfulness and culture of the South with twanging guitars and drums, despite the impending horror.
3. Up With the Stars
Mournful and beautiful, this song comes in with a strong piano to distract from the darkness of war.
4. Sherman
Strong with the sounds of nature, this track builds on the strength and determination of William Tecumseh Sherman with guitars and pounding drums.
5. Kennesaw Mountain
Solemn with piano and rain sounds, this track transforms into the hesitant and bloody cry of war with a lonesome horn line throughout.
6. Atlanta
Deep with acoustic strings, this song tells of the perils and hard work of the desolated city, as Sherman knows they must move on.
7. The Deep South
This song tells the story of the Union soldiers building their 'Corduroy Road' with unique blends of strings, acoustic, vocals, nature, and mechanical sounds, and hitting home with the men seeing the beauty they've tarnished.
8. How Sweet The Sound
Encouragement for both the North and the South, this track, simple with acoustic guitar, tells of grace even through the worst.
9. March to the Sea
Strikingly beautiful, this track starts of with heartbreakingly familiar melodies and bringing it home with ethereal piano, even with the sounds of crackling fire as the state burns, but bursting with beauty in the second half with synths representing the stars.
10. Fall of the Confederacy
Hard hitting with snippets of previous songs, this track shows the new South in the regretful light of the man who led it all.
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10/10, Adam.
~The WordShaker
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