Dolores Claiborne

by Steven McDonald Elfman really shows his abilities with this powerful score -- while there are sweeping, dramatic moments, he avoids using the kinds of structures and textures that he almost made a cliché with his Batman scores, choosing instead to broaden his palette, muting the brittle edges and improving the overall dynamic. The music is thus allowed a chance to whisper as well as roar, with the resulting album proving Elfman's value as a composer.