(With eternal thanks to Dearest Friend of the blog Cee for visual assistance with the physical media. And also many thanks to everyone who has helped spread the word about my coverage of Trevor. I truly appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read the blog and also provide engagement via links and other comments on social media.)
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But it's also a score promo which has been available on the grey market for many years, that's how I originally obtained a copy of my own way back when. I tend to wonder how the selection was truly considered; I will assert that this promo was not licensed from Warner Bros. I could be wrong, but nothing else in this boxset was licensed outside of the existing arrangement between Trevor and Rob Ayling to distribute his back catalog and archival releases. As anyone who collects such items is aware, score promos are circulated within the industry for a variety of reasons - for example, to voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for consideration when it's time to select a slate for Best Original Score in a particular year. But also copies will be sent to production companies to enable those responsible to adjudge a composer's work if they are considering that person for a project. And of course it's not unheard of for those promos to then make their way into the hands of collectors and used record stores and grey market "distributors." Those who offer promos online for trading are perhaps the least culpable in the sense that they're not charging for something which is not to be sold in the first place.
During my recent exchange with Trevor he decried those in the grey market profiting off his work, and I fully sympathize with that stance. Especially given what many of these people charge per disc. On the other hand, Trevor doesn't necessarily stand to profit again off his own work either, as he does not own the rights to any of his scoring work as it stands. So the inclusion of a score promo in an archival boxset and also for individual sale is cutting it very fine, I would say, as regards the legality of such a selection; as I don't believe that even enough time has elapsed for the rights to the Jack Frost score to potentially revert to Trevor.
But Jack Frost has been consigned to history as a box office bust and therefore could be considered a property that The Powers That Be are likely not too fussed about being used in this fashion, perhaps? The movie tends to be rather more a curiosity than a holiday classic for a few reasons: Michael Keaton as a reincarnated snowman? Really? Also Henry Rollins as the most intensely intense hockey coach (I think his performance is hilarious). In addition to Trevor and Lou's debut, this movie also features cameos by three of the Zappa kids (before the infamous years-long feud over their dad Frank's estate): Moon Unit as a schoolteacher, Dweezil as an A&R rep, and Ahmet as the town snowplow driver. But when I try to imagine one of Trevor's true great "lost" scores being included in this fashion - say, Remember the Titans or Whispers: An Elephant's Tale - well, I tend to believe that litigation would surely follow in the wake of such a decision. So while I think it's a nice gesture as regards the concept (making a previously unreleased score recording available to fans), the execution is yet another example of whatever can be gotten away with and I find that notion suspect as a philosophy.
If actual licensing could have been involved in the process, for example, then a nice bonus would have been the inclusion of those tracks which the Jack Frost Band "plays" in the film and were included on the original soundtrack release - a cover of "Frosty the Snowman" and "Don't Lose Your Faith" (aka "Have A Little Faith") which Trevor appears on.
The accompanying booklet contains stills from the film, one of which is a screencap from the opening scene with the Jack Frost Band (which is obvious because you can see part of a credit in the image). There is actually an existing production still featuring Keaton as Jack singing and you can see Trevor in the background, but that wouldn't have been as interesting to use.
I'll opine that it's not as good as my screencaps just in terms of appreciating Trevor's presence (I mean, look how grainy it is!), but after all, mine have that pesky Photobucket watermark all over them now. I will interject here with a bit of trivia: there was a Jack Frost Band mini-reunion when Trevor appeared on stage with Lili Haydn at the Concert on the Bluffs in 2016, which perhaps is one of those things only Rabid Rabinites would appreciate.
One way in which I think this booklet should have taken its' cue from the promo release was to credit those people on Trevor's team, such as Paul Linford, Gordon Goodwin, Don Harper and Steve Kempster. But in all this is rather a slapdash affair; at the very least I think a short paragraph from Trevor should have been provided to elevate this above the level of a grey market release.
Now onto the music, which I do believe is a wonderful thing to have in your possession even as a score promo does not reflect all of the music actually composed for a film. However, as Jack Frost relies heavily on licensed music there is less score than there would normally be in such an instance. In my previous essay I do opine on the music but I'm approaching this from the perspective of listening to the score rather than marrying the music with the movie so specifically.
Frostbite
Trevor could always be counted upon to write a strong memorable main theme, and "Frostbite" certainly achieves that objective. From those opening chords which are so lovely and delicate and evoke the appropriate emotions associated with love and loss, then progressing through layers of synth voicing to conjure a crystalline landscape of wonder, accented with the warmth of guitar. As I've stated numerous times before, this theme is one of the most beautiful pieces of music Trevor has ever written. As it recurs throughout the film I can understand placing it at the beginning of the running order on the promo, but I tend to believe it works better at the end in terms of the listening experience.
The Snowball Fight
I think this is fun in terms of how it contrasts orchestral and rock elements, something which Trevor would become known for throughout his scoring career.
It's Snowing
This could have been an actual song, the theme contains a delightfully propulsive riff and the harmonica and dobro lines provide an intriguing melody; it's easy to imagine it going on for another 2-3 minutes.
Magic Harmonica
I love the wistful mood of the piano on this one, how it leads into the "Frostbite" motif from another realm.
Miss Him Too
Woodwinds are always instruments of longing and regret and express that mood to me in this particular cue.
The Cabin
This has a definite Christmas vibe to me, it's easy to imagine the very place it is named for, a cozy cabin surrounded by snow, once again leading into the main theme.
Goodbye
As a cue, I appreciate how majestic and cinematic this one sounds, which is fitting for where it is placed in the film.
The J Shot
This theme moves through several different moods before resolving into "human highlight reel" music, which Trevor became known for (and in demand to produce). I really love his dobro playing on this one, which is such a lovely coloring against the strings.
Frost in Medford
I appreciate this as an elegant cue, either this or "Frostbite" really should have been included on the film music composed by Trevor Rabin promo to illustrate his abilities for more lighthearted fare.
Charlie Boy
I believe this cue should have been sequenced with "Goodbye" as they resolve one into the other.
