Lucas

AMG Review of Lucas

Jason Ankeny
All Music Guide

Dave Grusin's wistful score for the 1986 teen drama Lucas exhibits a compassion rare among the genre in question, forgoing the crass manipulations so common to adolescent-themed productions in favor of genuine innocence and hope. Though rooted in the synthesizer sensibilities so dominant during the mid-'80s, Grusin's music manages to sidestep the instrument's more cheesy and self-indulgent pitfalls to create a warm, colorful palette that contrasts sharply with his nostalgic melodies. The end result is a surprisingly timeless collection of themes that collectively articulate something deep and genuine in the teenage consciousness, a kind of outsider longing that's omnipresent regardless of time, place and generation. Varese Sarabande's 2006 CD, issued via the label's limited-edition Soundtrack Club series, represents Lucas's first-ever commercial release.