It's Thanksgiving in the U.S., typically the day that kicks off the Christmas season. While Christmas, er, "Holiday" ads have been airing on TV for weeks already, it's time to really get into the Christmas spirit. The forecast is calling for Snow... Mark Snow!

Yes, it's the veritable classic, Ernest Saves Christmas.

Surprisingly, this is a fully symphonic effort (orchestrated by the very capable William Ross and Don Davis) from Snow, known mainly for his synth-based television scores. It's also incredibly bouyant (wasting no time getting started with an overture in track 1, "Ernest Saves Christmas", moving into the sweet "Christmas Spirit" and "Airport Shenanigans"). While by no means exceptional, it's a fairly effective Christmas flavoured score that helps set a holly-jolly mood ("Lift-Off", the appropriately titled "Snow For Christmas").

Just twenty-seven days until Christmas. Start getting ready! And check back for my Holiday music.

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By request, here's Christopher Young's Unforgettable (yes, another Chris Young title!).

Directed by John Dahl, this supernatural medical thriller may have faded at the box office, but it provided another opportunity for Young to roll out his standard bag of tricks and in the process write one of his most effectively uneasing scores. Think of it as Hellraiser-lite ("Crucixion Cerebellum"), Unforgettable is an stealthy blend of that score's melody with the brisk percussion rythms and undulating strings of Murder at 1600. Certainly not a break in style or sound for the composer (parts -- "Fireball", and "Departed Return" for example -- are interchangeable with Young's Copycat, and Jennifer 8), yet still a welcome addition to the Chris Young discography.

Released as a promotional disc by Intrada with a batch of other titles (Species, Sweet November) the album runs almost 52 minutes over 15 tracks.

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