The soundtrack to Robert Zemeckis' groundbreaking film adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's popular children's book -The Polar Express celebrates the season with both classic and contemporary holiday flair. Composers Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri provide the latter, relying on swelling choral arrangements, tender ballads, and polarizing yuletide offerings from Stephen Tyler and Josh Groban. Tyler struts his stuff on the amiable but derivative "Rockin' on Top of the World," a three-chord rave-up that finds the Aerosmith mouthpiece channeling a pack of howler monkeys, but it's Groban's syrupy, future American Idol favorite "Believe" that serves as the soundtrack's commercial centerpiece. Tom Hanks does his best Gene Wilder on the whimsical and strangely unnerving title track, a wonderfully unhinged performance that will have Willy Wonka fans clamoring for more, and the winsome vocals of preteens Matthew Hall and Meagan Moore give the ballad "When Christmas Comes to Town" a real sense of wonder. Silvestri's orchestral pieces are effective in tone, yet ape Danny Elfman's Edward Scissorhands theme so shamelessly that lawyers on both sides must have had words early on in the production. The Polar Express is ambitious for sure, but the fact that its most sincere pieces are the six classics that make up its caboose is telling. [The Polar Express, Rovi
Videos from Polar Express
All Music Guide Review
Polar Express Track Listing
Polar Express Notes
Winner - 48th Grammy® Awards (Feb 8, 2006)
- Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media (a songwriter(s) award
"Believe"
Glen Ballard & Alan Silvestri, songwriters (Josh Groban)
Credits of Polar Express
- Stephen Marcussen
- Mastering
- Dennis Sands
- Mixing, Engineer
- Alan Silvestri
- Conductor, Producer
- Tom Whalley
- Executive Producer
- Stewart Whitmore
- Digital Editing
- Jeri Heiden
- Art Direction
- William Ross
- Orchestration
- Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff
- Art Direction, Executive Producer
- Doug Frank
- Executive in Charge of Music
- Conrad Pope
- Orchestration
- Jolie Levine-Aller
- Coordination, Music Contractor
- Glen Nakasako
- Design
- Stephanie Kubiak
- Production Director
- William Malina
- Mixing
- Diarmuid Quinn
- Executive Producer
- Gary LeMel
- Executive in Charge of Music
- Jeffrey Aldrich
- Executive Producer
- Glen Ballard
- Producer
- David Bifano
- Production Coordination, Scoring Coordinator, Producer
- Scott Campbell
- Mixing
- Mick Guzauski
- Mixing
- Jerry Hey
- Arranger







