's specializes in new recordings of film scores, frequently ones that never had albums. That is emphatically not the case here, which leads producer/conductor to ask himself, "as there are already original albums available for all three movies...why the need for a 'highlights' CD?" 's answer is that he and his orchestrators were trying to create suites from the three films that could be played in a concert hall by an orchestra. Why couldn't they be played that way as is? Apparently because the modern is such a combination of "orchestra, samples, ethnic percussion and keyboards," and needs to be adapted. This is true even of the highly orchestrated scores of these movies composed by ( ) and his mentor, , ) that evoke, and to some extent make fun of, the cinematic swashbucklers of old. "The Pirates film trilogy is unashamedly overscored," writes annotator , and he doesn't mean that as a criticism. After all, this is a film franchise based on a theme-park ride, and one need only call to mind the image of actor as the loopy in the lead role to appreciate the tone the movies take. and explored that tone in their thrilling, over-the-top, and occasionally under-the-table music, which is played here by the 85-piece with the appropriate zest. One can only hope that gets his wish and that this music finds its way into the repertoire of pops orchestras the world over. ~ William Ruhlmann