Editor Reviews:

Amazon.com:
Like the movie it accompanies, this score feels very much like an "Africanized" regular Hollywood production--but not too much, so as not to throw off timid viewers/listeners. James Newton Howard wrote his cues for a standard large orchestra, augmented here and there with touches such as exotic instruments, the African Children's Choir, and superstar Senegalese musician Youssou N’Dour. N'Dour contributes vocals to the first track, "Blood Diamond Titles," but for a long stretch after that, it's pretty much business as usual: swelling, portentous strings (almost every track); a syrupy romantic theme ("Maddy & Archer"); pounding action cues ("Diamond Mine Bombed," "Solomon & Archer Escape"). Things pick up again with the three songs tucked away at the end of the CD. The Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars and Sudan's Emmanuel Jal and Abdel Gadir Salim, in particular, deliver a shot of genuine energy that's sorely lacking from the rest of the CD. This soundtrack--and the film--would have been livelier had there been more of that music. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Rating : - A diamond in the rough
I collected film scores back in the 1990s when epic score after epic score was written to bolster an average film into a 'classic' status. Since James Horner's 'Titanic' in 1997, film studios have been unable to afford some of the marquee composers, and even when a familiar name is used, this dying art has been overloaded with techno music and feeble filler.

James Newton Howard has progressively become one of my favorite composers. His work has gotten stronger over the years, and it has propelled him into the top most-wanted by production studios. Previous achievements have flown under the radar as they were unfortunately attached to a failed film. His work was outstanding on Waterworld and The Postman, though both films were mocked by movie-goers and critics alike. There are others, but I want to concentrate on "Blood Diamond".

This film score is a work of art. It's rare that a full orchestra is utilized anymore, but Mr. Howard never takes the easy way out. The theme is...well...stunning, and the surrounding music is utterly enjoyable. Many composers concentrate on themes while ruining action sequences by making them brassy and obnoxious. John Williams is regarded as Hollywood's top film composer, and while he writes perhaps the most memorable themes, the filler throughout the album is hard to sit through without the movie to accompany it. Few artists have accomplished the feat of writing movie-music as well as an album. Blood Diamond succeeds on both levels.

This is a beautiful accomplishment and ranks up there with Braveheart, Legends of the Fall, Gladiator, The Insider, The Last of the Mohicans, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Medicine Man, The Crow, Crimson Tide, 1492 and a host of others.

Hat's off, Mr. James Newton Howard. Please keep the art form alive for us all to enjoy.