Hot off the heels of Titanic, Horner was pretty big stuff. Suddenly propelled to fame (and fortune) thanks to “My Heart Will Go On,” Horner suddenly was the “big blockbuster” composer of the late 1990’s. The first movie post Titanic he scored, indeed targeted as a summer blockbuster, was Deep Impact. I won’t even pretend to have seen the movie, but I can say with utmost certainty that I own Horner’s score (oh how I love to state the obvious). But that is about as much as I can say because Deep Impact doesn’t get much playtime on my iPod. Last night I sort of got the urge to listen to it again. And then I remembered why it doesn’t get much playtime.
I consider James Horner to be my favorite composer because his music has an amazing depth, created orchestrationally, manifested emotionally, that speaks to me like no other composer’s music can. I feel like music has a message to give, a story to tell, a complexity to savor, and very few Horner scores lack this trait. Sadly, Deep Impact does.
For lack of a better word, Deep Impact is just dull. The score is based around three themes: a descending piano motif to represent (I’m assuming) outer space and/or the acceptance of fear that everyone is about to die, a love theme of restrained magnitude, and some sort of nobility theme. The piano motif is gorgeously tender and sweet, and has always represented sort of the sound of “happy tears,” that is, it represents tears flowing in its quickness and descending, with just enough optimism to not be representative of sadness or depression. The love theme is again indicative of happiness and really adds a sense of true love--sort of what you would want to hear when you looked into the eyes of your significant other and gazed into them. The nobility theme is...well...awful. I indeed get the sense of nobility though the use of restrained horn figures on a slight bed of strings. The problem is that the theme is too restrained, compounded by the fact it is about as cliche as it comes. It moves so slow through its progression and is orchestrated so thinly that it just falls flat and never speaks anything. Then, matters are compounded by it being repeated ad nauseam throughout the score with no development, ruining whatever power it may have had in its restrained. Its almost like Horner really didn’t know how he wanted it to work and what he wanted it to do in the context of the rest of the music, so he just threw it in hoping it would work where inserted. However, that just doesn’t work at all.
While I heaped praise on the other two themes, they most absolutely are not what they could be. The themes, and really this something that extends through the entire score as well, are rendered so badly that they never get to go anywhere. The orchestrations are usually two or three lines deep, featuring tender and sentimental strings backed by woodwinds or horns that really do not go anywhere or do anything--they meander aimlessly. Its all very thin and the writing is quite basic. Track to track, the orchestrations just meander from point A to nowhere, never quite reaching a satisfying point B. The themes, and really this score in general, could have been so much more had they been fleshed out with a greater depth. Indeed, this is one of the lucky few times they were redone properly since both themes and the general scoring style show up in the infinitely more passionate and beautiful Bicentennial Man, one of my favorite Horner scores hands down, and my idea of what the more emotional moments of Deep Impact should have been like (but that is for another review!).
Another problem that bogs down Deep Impact is that it is all badly down tempo. Everything is so slow in nature that its hard to really get a grasp on the direction the music is going. Each time it has the chance to grab you, it loses you because it takes too long to get where it is going. Any potential for emotion to be spoken or complexity to develop is blown by how slow the development occurs. This is especially evidence in the moments of tension, which are just severely down tempo versions of the sinking music in Titanic (no doubt asked for after its success). However, this music was written as fast paced action music designed to propel the listener through the “will they won’t they make it” fears that were developed in the music and film. Here, the music just sort of stagnates and fails because there’s music written for urgency that’s been slowed down so much that instead we get the feeling of, “*yawn*, something bad is about to happen? It can wait five minutes.” And indeed, it becomes very tedious to listen to after long periods of time because, when the same music is repeated ad nauseam, it becomes boring.
Now, Deep Impact isn’t all bad. There are certainly some highlights to be had, namely in Track 3, “Our Best Hope...” Despite this track being the most prominent example of what I was saying about the suspense music just being down tempoed Titanic, Horner uses all the tricks in his bag to create a hypnotically engaging 13 minute tour de force. The strings engage in long notes, overlaid with horns overlaid with woodwinds, backed by a pulsating bass synthesizer (an incredibly effective device I wish Horner would employ more), all tied together with slow and mesmerizing synth vocal work. As the track develops, things pick up slowly, and the music becomes more tense as the strings begin to loop over themselves and the Glory snares come in to add in a greater level of tension than what was already swirling. I feel the substandard action music at the end of the track ruins the build-up (and paired next to the unlistenable mess that is the next track, “The Comet’s Sunrise,” the whole third track just is ruined to shambles--I usually take a listening break between tracks 3 and 4 so I can let track 3 sink in). But when it is building, it is fantastic, and Horner employs just about every stylistic trick he ever developed to excellent effect. Top stuff.
Also worth noting is the gorgeousness of the twinkling piano motif, played so soft and gently in, “A Distant Discovery,” the love with undertones of despair in, “The Wedding,” (although you may as well just go find the vastly superior track of the same name in Bicentennial Man) and the sadness in, “Leo’s Decision.”
Unusually for Horner, I just don’t feel like the last two tracks are quite up to snuff. The orchestra swells, the themes are replayed, and even a real choir joins in for the action in the final track (and adds a needed layer of depth, despite its awkward entrance). However, the music is still too down tempo and aimless to speak to me in any volume.
Of note, this is Simon Rhodes’s first score working with James Horner, and the recording just is not up to the quality I’d come to expect from the two of them (compare this to, say, All the King’s Men). The music doesn’t resonate and the recording is far too soft--probably adding into the flaws of the music already there.
Overall, Deep Impact just isn’t up to snuff and I think is fair of the label “uninspired”. It doesn’t really do anything or go anywhere. It just stagnates for its hour and 20 minute runtime. Aside from a few good moments, the music is just bland and lacks any sort of emotion, complexity, and depth. It plods along at at far too slow a tempo and tries to down tempo the urgent music of Titanic to very poor effect. The best parts of Deep Impact would be salvaged for Bicentennial Man and put to use in far greater form and meaning there. And that is a score that I’d suggest going to immediately because it is what good chunks of Deep Impact should have been. This sort of score, thankfully, is the exception in Horner’s career. Hey, we’re all allowed to have a bad day at the office!
** out of five.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
REVIEW: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
One of the very few times Horner has done a sequel score, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock brought Horner back to the themes and styles that got him noticed and recognized in such short order just a few years prior. I think it to be a blessing that Horner was brought back for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, for his score for The Wrath of Khan provided a fantastic musical tapestry covering the themes of life, death, and rebirth. TSFS continued on in with the same [attempt] to cover these themes with the birth and death of a new planet, and the rebirth of Spock, therefore, theme continuity was of the utmost necessity. Thankfully, Nimoy convinced Horner to return, and once more did we get to hear Horner contemplate the threads throughout the story. Sadly, Star Trek III was a vastly inferior movie, so was Horner up to the task?
Before I answer that, let me speak for a minute on the change here since TWOK. Considering that TSFS preceded Cocoon by a year, I almost feel like TSFS, not Cocoon was a first of the type for Horner as he would explore his slower, longer lined string melodies that would ultimately flourish into his primary composing style. With Brainstorm and Krull now behind him, Horner had finished with his layered-try-this-and-that experimental side, found what worked, what didn’t, and applied to Star Trek III those lessons. This allowed him to refine and target the music. Now, all the string swirls are still here, but there is far more emphasis on the strings, percussion, and even synths than there was in TWOK, where so much of it was on the brass. This is still an early prototype of what was to come, but there is a noticeable evolution in the two years since TWOK.
Now, to answer my above question, I would say yes and no. TSFS absolutely has its moments, but it also has its failures. The themes from TWOK are carried back over, but none of themes get a heck of a whole lot of playing time because they just wouldn’t fit the more subtle material and contemplative mood of the score. Since the emphasis in TSFS is mainly on the rebirth of Spock, the Spock theme (and to some extent, the rebirth theme... “Return to Vulcan,” for example) takes center stage of the returning themes (listen to “The Mind Meld,” a great example which also happens to end with classic Horner string figures you’d expect in something like Titanic...like I said, he’s really growing toward his modern instrumental applications here). The main title is a strong summation of what to expect. The score is launched with a tender, thoughtful, and yet sad string prologue, hinting at the Enterprise theme. Then it explodes into the rebirth theme (rather than the Enterprise theme as in TWOK), before then continuing into the Spock theme. As with TWOK, Horner tells the story of the movie using the main title, playing the rebirth theme in juxtaposition with the Spock theme just after a prologue which subtly hints at the Enterprise theme. As always, a brilliant move on Horner’s part. Considering the more contemplative mood of the score; the more thoughtful, subtle, peaceful orchestrations in these themes that are present; and the fact that these themes are meant to be contemplative anyway, Horner kicks the score off on just the right emotional note to prepare the listener for what I feel is a more mysterious score.
This score also has major highlights in the music regarding the Enterprise. The second half of “Klingons” is stunning, as the Enterprise theme is played triumphantly over swirling strings over strong brass pronouncements of the theme that has been extended to longer notes to draw out the heroism and honor of a ship scarred from battle. But as bold as it is, Horner keeps things restrained enough to remind the listener that this triumph came with great sacrifice. I will say this is my favorite usage of the Enterprise theme between Horner’s two Trek scores.
This score, and Horner himself, are at its/his finest in the track “Stealing the Enterprise,” which starts off with fast and powerful strings, yielding to the Enterprise theme, then giving way to amazing cat and mouse music as the Enterprise tries to avoid Excelsior and get out of the dock without ramming the doors. Fast strings, swirled and slow to emote tension and suspense, fear and alarm, overlayed with targeted brass, massive crescendos as things go right, lots of snares for power, the blaster beam for fear, and lots of statements of the Enterprise theme to show heroism and pride among the Enterprise crew are what this piece is made of. Pure Horner, pure excitement, a truly edge-of-your-seat listening experience. This may very well be the best track between any of the two Horner Trek scores...it is just that riveting and tense. Ironically enough, I think it is far too goofy sounding the movie, but I adore it here. This track is worth the price of the CD alone.
After “Stealing the Enterprise,” the track “The Bird of Prey Decloaks” is the last action piece of the music, and its merely okay. I’ll talk about the Klingon theme later, but this is the track that emotes the escape of the crew on the Enterprise as Kirk is about to destroy it, and it just lacks something. The countdown is scored just like “Genesis Countdown” in TWOK, which works well enough, but it sort of dilutes the effect and the emotions here (and the more restrained orchestrations somewhat prohibit it from doing its job). The actual escape is scored with a blunt repeat of “Cowboy and the Jackers” from Battle Beyond the Stars, which just doesn’t work at all here. The squealing, high pitched brass with very little backup just doesn’t create any real emotion or tenseness, falls flat, and never lets the music evolve into something more alarming.
As I said before, the score is mysterious, and this is where things go down hill fast. Horner accomplishes mystery by writing music that almost sounds Asian in nature (quite mysterious to me as a listener as to why he did this!) There’s a lot of emphasis on some sort of ethnic flute (or a piccolo played in the upper ranges) through what I think is a perfect fifth quite quickly to almost symbolize the almost religious nature of what is going on (almost as to what you would associate with Buddhist music). This is especially prevalent in “The Katra Ritual” where giant cymbol like gongs are juxtaposted with twinkling of chimes and a tender, frightening, yet exciting, increasingly prominent string figure. It works--its something that’s not a massive religious experience with choir and rising strings--but at the same time, it rather sort of falls flat because it feels lacking in depth. And any time you have music relating to the rebirth of Spock, this is the sort of music heard. Unfortunately, this is where the score falls flat. Sure it is mysterious, but its not an overpowering mystery. It is almost as though its a rather yawn inducing mystery that everyone is just ready to have over. I can’t quite say uninspired because to choose a different approach to scoring religious music, especially this one, is incredibly inspired to me. Its not bad, either. But, the musical and emotional fire just feels like embers here. I have trouble taking anything away from it.
I have waited to discuss the Klingon theme last. Horner’s take on the Klingon theme was marred by the utterly ridiculous depiction of the Klignons in the film (Christopher Lloyd?! John Larroquette?! What were they thinking?!) as goofy slobs. What the film needed to salvage the Klingons was something savage and powerful--exactly what the Klingons are. Sadly, Horner’s Klingon theme is a total failure and is just terrible as the theme plays the goofy slob depiction. Rolling horns played muted give way to a horn note that lasts until the player runs out of breath. Behind it is all sorts of random clanging percussion that sounds like a little kid when they discover, and subsequently bang the pots and pans in the kitchens. Its so noisy and directionless that I just squirm when I hear it. Even more bizarre is that it, too, is written with an Asian tone, just like the mysterious music, but it just sounds out of place in this theme. Thankfully, the Klingon theme appears twice--in “Klingons” and “The Bird of Prey Decloaks”--but comes close to ruining both tracks (saved by the Enterprise theme and so-so action music respectively). Horner would rewrite the theme and use it as an action motif in Aliens, where it is put to far superior use because it gains a sense of tension and propulsion there. But in TSFS, it is so awful it really borders on a joke.
The end titles are not really worth mentioning since they are exactly the same as from TWOK. Also, if you wish to scare off those around you, openly listen to “The Search for Spock,” which is an 80’s synth pop rendition of the main titles. Yes, its awful. Yes, its dated. Yes, its absurd. Yes, it doesn’t have any reason to be on this CD. Yes, it is a guilty pleasure.
I have to say, TSFS shines when it shines, stinks when it stinks, and is overall a rather mediocre score. The score is brilliant when it surrounds the Enterprise (where the action and grand music is), works when it is contemplative, becomes mediocre when the religious music shows up, and fails badly when the Klingons come around. As I said, the CD is worth the price of admission just for “Stealing the Enterprise,” one of Horner’s most amazing pieces of his career. The evolution of Horner into his present mode of scoring is evidenced here, and glimmers of what was to come are all over the place. The music is more targeted, long lined, ethnic, and there is more emphasis on the string melodies. However, it just falls flat as an overall experience, which is really too bad, because Horner was at his best in Star Trek II. I still would advise picking this score up because the likable moments are lovable, but just don’t expect this CD to get regular playtime.
*** out of 5.
Before I answer that, let me speak for a minute on the change here since TWOK. Considering that TSFS preceded Cocoon by a year, I almost feel like TSFS, not Cocoon was a first of the type for Horner as he would explore his slower, longer lined string melodies that would ultimately flourish into his primary composing style. With Brainstorm and Krull now behind him, Horner had finished with his layered-try-this-and-that experimental side, found what worked, what didn’t, and applied to Star Trek III those lessons. This allowed him to refine and target the music. Now, all the string swirls are still here, but there is far more emphasis on the strings, percussion, and even synths than there was in TWOK, where so much of it was on the brass. This is still an early prototype of what was to come, but there is a noticeable evolution in the two years since TWOK.
Now, to answer my above question, I would say yes and no. TSFS absolutely has its moments, but it also has its failures. The themes from TWOK are carried back over, but none of themes get a heck of a whole lot of playing time because they just wouldn’t fit the more subtle material and contemplative mood of the score. Since the emphasis in TSFS is mainly on the rebirth of Spock, the Spock theme (and to some extent, the rebirth theme... “Return to Vulcan,” for example) takes center stage of the returning themes (listen to “The Mind Meld,” a great example which also happens to end with classic Horner string figures you’d expect in something like Titanic...like I said, he’s really growing toward his modern instrumental applications here). The main title is a strong summation of what to expect. The score is launched with a tender, thoughtful, and yet sad string prologue, hinting at the Enterprise theme. Then it explodes into the rebirth theme (rather than the Enterprise theme as in TWOK), before then continuing into the Spock theme. As with TWOK, Horner tells the story of the movie using the main title, playing the rebirth theme in juxtaposition with the Spock theme just after a prologue which subtly hints at the Enterprise theme. As always, a brilliant move on Horner’s part. Considering the more contemplative mood of the score; the more thoughtful, subtle, peaceful orchestrations in these themes that are present; and the fact that these themes are meant to be contemplative anyway, Horner kicks the score off on just the right emotional note to prepare the listener for what I feel is a more mysterious score.
This score also has major highlights in the music regarding the Enterprise. The second half of “Klingons” is stunning, as the Enterprise theme is played triumphantly over swirling strings over strong brass pronouncements of the theme that has been extended to longer notes to draw out the heroism and honor of a ship scarred from battle. But as bold as it is, Horner keeps things restrained enough to remind the listener that this triumph came with great sacrifice. I will say this is my favorite usage of the Enterprise theme between Horner’s two Trek scores.
This score, and Horner himself, are at its/his finest in the track “Stealing the Enterprise,” which starts off with fast and powerful strings, yielding to the Enterprise theme, then giving way to amazing cat and mouse music as the Enterprise tries to avoid Excelsior and get out of the dock without ramming the doors. Fast strings, swirled and slow to emote tension and suspense, fear and alarm, overlayed with targeted brass, massive crescendos as things go right, lots of snares for power, the blaster beam for fear, and lots of statements of the Enterprise theme to show heroism and pride among the Enterprise crew are what this piece is made of. Pure Horner, pure excitement, a truly edge-of-your-seat listening experience. This may very well be the best track between any of the two Horner Trek scores...it is just that riveting and tense. Ironically enough, I think it is far too goofy sounding the movie, but I adore it here. This track is worth the price of the CD alone.
After “Stealing the Enterprise,” the track “The Bird of Prey Decloaks” is the last action piece of the music, and its merely okay. I’ll talk about the Klingon theme later, but this is the track that emotes the escape of the crew on the Enterprise as Kirk is about to destroy it, and it just lacks something. The countdown is scored just like “Genesis Countdown” in TWOK, which works well enough, but it sort of dilutes the effect and the emotions here (and the more restrained orchestrations somewhat prohibit it from doing its job). The actual escape is scored with a blunt repeat of “Cowboy and the Jackers” from Battle Beyond the Stars, which just doesn’t work at all here. The squealing, high pitched brass with very little backup just doesn’t create any real emotion or tenseness, falls flat, and never lets the music evolve into something more alarming.
As I said before, the score is mysterious, and this is where things go down hill fast. Horner accomplishes mystery by writing music that almost sounds Asian in nature (quite mysterious to me as a listener as to why he did this!) There’s a lot of emphasis on some sort of ethnic flute (or a piccolo played in the upper ranges) through what I think is a perfect fifth quite quickly to almost symbolize the almost religious nature of what is going on (almost as to what you would associate with Buddhist music). This is especially prevalent in “The Katra Ritual” where giant cymbol like gongs are juxtaposted with twinkling of chimes and a tender, frightening, yet exciting, increasingly prominent string figure. It works--its something that’s not a massive religious experience with choir and rising strings--but at the same time, it rather sort of falls flat because it feels lacking in depth. And any time you have music relating to the rebirth of Spock, this is the sort of music heard. Unfortunately, this is where the score falls flat. Sure it is mysterious, but its not an overpowering mystery. It is almost as though its a rather yawn inducing mystery that everyone is just ready to have over. I can’t quite say uninspired because to choose a different approach to scoring religious music, especially this one, is incredibly inspired to me. Its not bad, either. But, the musical and emotional fire just feels like embers here. I have trouble taking anything away from it.
I have waited to discuss the Klingon theme last. Horner’s take on the Klingon theme was marred by the utterly ridiculous depiction of the Klignons in the film (Christopher Lloyd?! John Larroquette?! What were they thinking?!) as goofy slobs. What the film needed to salvage the Klingons was something savage and powerful--exactly what the Klingons are. Sadly, Horner’s Klingon theme is a total failure and is just terrible as the theme plays the goofy slob depiction. Rolling horns played muted give way to a horn note that lasts until the player runs out of breath. Behind it is all sorts of random clanging percussion that sounds like a little kid when they discover, and subsequently bang the pots and pans in the kitchens. Its so noisy and directionless that I just squirm when I hear it. Even more bizarre is that it, too, is written with an Asian tone, just like the mysterious music, but it just sounds out of place in this theme. Thankfully, the Klingon theme appears twice--in “Klingons” and “The Bird of Prey Decloaks”--but comes close to ruining both tracks (saved by the Enterprise theme and so-so action music respectively). Horner would rewrite the theme and use it as an action motif in Aliens, where it is put to far superior use because it gains a sense of tension and propulsion there. But in TSFS, it is so awful it really borders on a joke.
The end titles are not really worth mentioning since they are exactly the same as from TWOK. Also, if you wish to scare off those around you, openly listen to “The Search for Spock,” which is an 80’s synth pop rendition of the main titles. Yes, its awful. Yes, its dated. Yes, its absurd. Yes, it doesn’t have any reason to be on this CD. Yes, it is a guilty pleasure.
I have to say, TSFS shines when it shines, stinks when it stinks, and is overall a rather mediocre score. The score is brilliant when it surrounds the Enterprise (where the action and grand music is), works when it is contemplative, becomes mediocre when the religious music shows up, and fails badly when the Klingons come around. As I said, the CD is worth the price of admission just for “Stealing the Enterprise,” one of Horner’s most amazing pieces of his career. The evolution of Horner into his present mode of scoring is evidenced here, and glimmers of what was to come are all over the place. The music is more targeted, long lined, ethnic, and there is more emphasis on the string melodies. However, it just falls flat as an overall experience, which is really too bad, because Horner was at his best in Star Trek II. I still would advise picking this score up because the likable moments are lovable, but just don’t expect this CD to get regular playtime.
*** out of 5.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
REVIEW: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Sorry it has taken me so long to write this review. I just moved back to college, and now that I’m settled in, I’m ready to go. Forgive me if the reviews become sparse again, but when you are staring a new semester in the face--and an organic chemistry text is staring you in the face, there is cause for panic!
That being said, lets review Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out where to even start with this score because, frankly, this is the one Horner score that transcends film music fandom and appeals directly to the [nerdy] masses (before anyone goes all Titanic on me, I truly believe the album sales were because of “My Heart Will Go On,” and Horner sort of got the after-effect of people discovering the score that inspired the song). And there is good reason this score is so popular to this day. To quotehis almighty lordship Jerry Goldsmith, who says it so perfectly, “If our music survives, which I have no doubt it will,then it will because it is good.”
To this day, a lot of people complain that Horner doesn’t write like he did in TWOK anymore. But I think people totally miss the point of TWOK (and for that matter, Battle Beyond the Stars, Krull, and most scores through Aliens, really). These scores are not your average everyday Horner scores. James Horner was still new at this game. His experience was from the classical world and his Hollywood background was minimal at the time. In essence, Horner was following in the footsteps of Prokofiev (for example) and serving as a classical composer made film composer. Horner wasn’t settled into his role at this point and was still working with self and musical discovery in this new role. In other words, these are highly experimental scores for Horner, and I cannot emphasize enough that everything you hear in these scores are still present in Horner’s canon to this day He still writes like he did for these scores, but he just isn’t throwing his ideas all out at once on top of each other!. I think this is such a major reason why Horner is horrifically misunderstood among modern score collectors. Horner is one of the few remaining film composers who is a spin off of the classical realm, and he has evolved from that into his Hollywood role.
Now that I’m done with my diatribe, let us talk about TWOK. I won’t spend a lot of time on the score’s history, but it is no secret Nicholas Meyer wanted the movie scored with nautical music rather than weirdness sci-fi music. That is exactly what Horner has done here, and the results are really quite stunning. This score weaves in the the rising and falling motions of the sea (listen for it in those shimmering fast/swirling strings that were so prevalent in his experimental scores. They rise and fall VERY quickly, as like very rough seas. This isn’t as pronounced as in, say, The Perfect Storm or House of Sand and Fog where the sea-based rise/fall music is more obvious, but its here). That rise/fall here is accompanied by such a speed in the strings to create such an emotional chaos, wild adventure, tension, and power as to actually cause the listener to tense at moments and relax at others. Actually, many moments in TWOK are like this. For example, Spock’s theme, played only on a synthesizer approximating a glass harp in the track “Spock” (orchestral in “Epilogue/End Title”) is tender yet equally mysterious, almost weepy in a way that adds a level of emotion to the music that we know Spock feels, but would never show. On a more general level, Horner institutes his trademark pounding piano to flow the music forward and indicate desperation, something he alternatively does with the brass as it blares away and pounds away. Soft woodwinds are used to show humanity among the layers, as well as slower strings, especially toward the more contemplative end to the score. These are all Horner trademarks that he would focus on one or two at a time in his forthcoming scores, rather than layer over each other in his score. While Battle Beyond the Stars featured the same kind of “all in one” technique application, TWOK is more indicative of how Horner would apply these ideas later in his career because Battle Beyond the Stars (and for that matter, anything prior to TWOK) was, for lack of a better description, too silly to engage the serious drama and emotion that Horner loves so much. Here, we hear Horner become much more serious and focused with the application of emotion, and it is here we see the genesis (no pun intended) of what was to come.
Thematically, TWOK does something that really no other Horner score would do in the future, and that is take fragments of one long, gigantic theme and apply sections of it to characters and situations throughout the score. Horner tends to be a fan of writing one theme per situation or character and repeating full, plush variations of these themes when needed. The one giant theme here (heard in full in “Main Titles” and “Enterprise Clears Moorings”, and is superficially similar to his theme to Battle Beyond the Stars, the score that landed him this project) is broken into the fragment of usually the first few notes of the theme in the action sequences as the Enterprise/Kirk theme (heard most frequently), or the rising, secondary part of the theme to add and show the beauty of life and death during the more contemplative parts of the score toward the end. Heard complete, the theme itself tells the entire story of the movie. You get the Star Trek theme by Courage (no, it wasn’t Goldsmith who did this first), the Enterprise theme, a stronger, bolder repeat, then the secondary part, and then it slowly ends. I have always heard this as representing the trials and toils of the Enterprise through two major struggles, always prevailing (despite what it may seem), while, when the secondary theme kicks in, the third battle is lost as the Enterprise takes the secondary role to the death of someone truly loved by all, but yet in that they are reborn. And, as I noted, that is how those themes are distributed throughout the score.✝
Aside from the main theme and Spock theme, there is one other theme to cover--the Khan/Reliant theme. This theme, introduced in “Surprise Attack” will sound familiar to anyone who knows anything about Horner, for it is the introduction of the ubiquitous “danger theme” in his career. It only appears as itself (in the 4 note variation) at the beginning of “Surprise Attack” before switching to a 6 note version where the first two notes of the danger theme are repeated twice. This theme works so well to show the one dimensionalness of Khan and his spite on Kirk--and the sheer rage and anger he is feeling--that it ought to be no surprise Horner kept it in his canon. There is no questioning the effectiveness of a theme that burns and twists and is so fiery that the character it is accompanying is amplified so significantly that the character wouldn’t function as well in the film without it. Even though Horner is criticized for its overuse, I think TWOK is as good a score as any to explain how this theme (and other Horner trademarks) is proof that Horner scores emotion first and how a certain theme/motif is kept through his works to evoke the same emotions.
There are two cues a bit out of place among the action music in the score. The first is the aforementioned “Spock” and the other is “Khan’s Pets,” which is a prototype for Horner suspense scoring. A theme surrounded by soft yet low noted swirling strings. It works so very well while invoking horror, terror, and fear--just as what is occurring in the movie at the time. Again, people say this form of scoring is not used by Horner anymore, but all I need say is listen to Troy during “The Night Before” (which really is just a cleverly rewritten form of “Khan’s Pets”) or Flightplan. Horner clearly knows what works and sticks with it--always a good move in music!
A lot of people want to pin Horner down for aping Jerry Goldsmith in his early scores, and I don’t get it. Granted, Battle Beyond the Stars quotes from Star Trek: The Motion Picture where he was ordered to do so, but there is no such aping to be found here. Horner’s orchestration is so distinctly his own that this score allowed him to firmly and necessarily stamp his style on the movie to show his worth. And he does. This is a Horner score through and through, and, as I said above, he still writes like this. His brass writing may have diminished somewhat as he discovered his strings, but so what? The general techniques--the three note “bah buh bah” (heard at the start of “Genesis Countdown”), the fast strings over piano with brass ostinatos to back them up, the tenderness in the woodwinds and high strings, the emotive themes, the propulsive snare based drumming--it is all still there, just not bunched all together in a musical cornucopia. The action scoring style is still there, too--listen to Troy or Legend of Zorro and listen to all the aforementioned techniques take root in the fast paced frantic nature of the music (adjusted for the films’ tones, of course). Even those swirling strings Horner was so famous for in TWOK and Krull are still there. Listen to “A Building Panic” on the Back to Titanic CD, “Marine Assault” in Windtalkers, and “The Train” from Legend of Zorro. They tend to favor the cellos now, but they are most certainly still there!
Before I conclude, I would like to throw out a few miscellaneous comments:
*I believe TWOK may contain one of the best applications of music to on screen action in Horner’s career. When the track Kirk’s Explosive Reply plays in the film, there is a frantic, descending strings, xylophone, and percussion part that plays as Kirk is about to fire on Khan and Khan cannot figure out how to operate his computer to raise his shields. The franticness of the music just amplifies Khan immensely (not to say it didn’t elsewhere, but here it is simply breathtaking the amount of character Horner brings out).
*I always found it interesting that Horner used the blaster beam in this score. It made sense to use it in Battle Beyond the Stars where he was under orders to ape Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but here it just didn’t seem to make sense. But rather than use it like Goldsmith did, to evoke mystery, he used the deep thrum to move the action music forward and indicate danger. I often view this as somewhat of a predecessor to his trademark synthetic sounds that would do the same thing later in his career. But I still found it an odd choice of sounds to include in his orchestra.
*Horner shows off his penchant for writing long cues in the duo of "Battle in the Mutara Nebula" and "Genesis Countdown." They go together and are 14 minutes of straight, propulsive action, never getting tired, never losing steam. Horner does these cues best, and these two are no exception.
*Horner uses some very unique orchestration at the beginning of the cue "Battle in the Mutara Nebula" that is worth mentioning. He uses the swirling strings for tension, on top of which he plants a flute and french horn playing the same notes to create quite an otherworldly effect in what would otherwise be a standard musical movement. Quite impressive!
*I do not find the audio quality to be as bad as everyone says it is. It may sound a bit dated, but its not awful, and all parts of the orchestra are pronounced and add to the musical effect. There are a few Murphy recordings that are far, far worse than this (see: Braveheart)
*The orchestra performance in this score is phenomenal. It is so fiery and passionate. They were exceptionally inspired here, but I won’t speculate on why. I just marvel at it and that is what counts when enjoying the score!
*Not that this is anything new, but watch out for Horner’s cameo (the only one he has done) in the movie during the preparation for the battle in the Mutara Nebula. Horner is dressed as a cadet, carrying some gizmo, walking toward the camera during the hallway/turbolift rush of no name crew.
Its probably obvious to you, the reader, by now that I had a very difficult time writing a review for this score (and trying to keep it JUST to the score and not turn it into a retrospective), and I cannot exactly pinpoint why. It may have to do with me looking at TWOK from the lens of 25 years of subsequent Horner scores, it may be that TWOK was the first soundtrack album I ever bought and thus have listened to it for so long (at least 6 years) that its so familiar to me I’ve never really thought it though, or it may be that I’m having trouble saying something that hasn’t been said many times over about the score. No less, there is no question that it is music of an extremely high quality from an experimental, young, classical composer just getting his feet wet in the realm of film. The performance and composition are charged with a musical cornucopia of Hornerisms that debut all at once and would continue to define his career even to this very day. Most people know by now that TWOK is excellent music of a very high quality, and I will yet be another voice that says it is an amazing piece of work no fan of Horner’s should be without. Its the best of the Star Trek scores by a long shot, and Horner’s decision not to score beyond Star Trek III was probably a wise one. The themes of life and rebirth in his themes would not have been appropriate elsewhere. It is a score to be cherished for its incredibly special nature.
***** out of 5.
✝ As a brief aside, I am talking about the main titles in the paragraph. I think the end credits don’t do the same thing because, at least in my interpretation, the aforementioned Spock theme is an entirely separate theme with a totally separate function (the emotion of the seemingly emotionless Spock) and is included in the end credits to flesh out a suite rather than aid in telling the story.
That being said, lets review Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out where to even start with this score because, frankly, this is the one Horner score that transcends film music fandom and appeals directly to the [nerdy] masses (before anyone goes all Titanic on me, I truly believe the album sales were because of “My Heart Will Go On,” and Horner sort of got the after-effect of people discovering the score that inspired the song). And there is good reason this score is so popular to this day. To quote
To this day, a lot of people complain that Horner doesn’t write like he did in TWOK anymore. But I think people totally miss the point of TWOK (and for that matter, Battle Beyond the Stars, Krull, and most scores through Aliens, really). These scores are not your average everyday Horner scores. James Horner was still new at this game. His experience was from the classical world and his Hollywood background was minimal at the time. In essence, Horner was following in the footsteps of Prokofiev (for example) and serving as a classical composer made film composer. Horner wasn’t settled into his role at this point and was still working with self and musical discovery in this new role. In other words, these are highly experimental scores for Horner, and I cannot emphasize enough that everything you hear in these scores are still present in Horner’s canon to this day He still writes like he did for these scores, but he just isn’t throwing his ideas all out at once on top of each other!. I think this is such a major reason why Horner is horrifically misunderstood among modern score collectors. Horner is one of the few remaining film composers who is a spin off of the classical realm, and he has evolved from that into his Hollywood role.
Now that I’m done with my diatribe, let us talk about TWOK. I won’t spend a lot of time on the score’s history, but it is no secret Nicholas Meyer wanted the movie scored with nautical music rather than weirdness sci-fi music. That is exactly what Horner has done here, and the results are really quite stunning. This score weaves in the the rising and falling motions of the sea (listen for it in those shimmering fast/swirling strings that were so prevalent in his experimental scores. They rise and fall VERY quickly, as like very rough seas. This isn’t as pronounced as in, say, The Perfect Storm or House of Sand and Fog where the sea-based rise/fall music is more obvious, but its here). That rise/fall here is accompanied by such a speed in the strings to create such an emotional chaos, wild adventure, tension, and power as to actually cause the listener to tense at moments and relax at others. Actually, many moments in TWOK are like this. For example, Spock’s theme, played only on a synthesizer approximating a glass harp in the track “Spock” (orchestral in “Epilogue/End Title”) is tender yet equally mysterious, almost weepy in a way that adds a level of emotion to the music that we know Spock feels, but would never show. On a more general level, Horner institutes his trademark pounding piano to flow the music forward and indicate desperation, something he alternatively does with the brass as it blares away and pounds away. Soft woodwinds are used to show humanity among the layers, as well as slower strings, especially toward the more contemplative end to the score. These are all Horner trademarks that he would focus on one or two at a time in his forthcoming scores, rather than layer over each other in his score. While Battle Beyond the Stars featured the same kind of “all in one” technique application, TWOK is more indicative of how Horner would apply these ideas later in his career because Battle Beyond the Stars (and for that matter, anything prior to TWOK) was, for lack of a better description, too silly to engage the serious drama and emotion that Horner loves so much. Here, we hear Horner become much more serious and focused with the application of emotion, and it is here we see the genesis (no pun intended) of what was to come.
Thematically, TWOK does something that really no other Horner score would do in the future, and that is take fragments of one long, gigantic theme and apply sections of it to characters and situations throughout the score. Horner tends to be a fan of writing one theme per situation or character and repeating full, plush variations of these themes when needed. The one giant theme here (heard in full in “Main Titles” and “Enterprise Clears Moorings”, and is superficially similar to his theme to Battle Beyond the Stars, the score that landed him this project) is broken into the fragment of usually the first few notes of the theme in the action sequences as the Enterprise/Kirk theme (heard most frequently), or the rising, secondary part of the theme to add and show the beauty of life and death during the more contemplative parts of the score toward the end. Heard complete, the theme itself tells the entire story of the movie. You get the Star Trek theme by Courage (no, it wasn’t Goldsmith who did this first), the Enterprise theme, a stronger, bolder repeat, then the secondary part, and then it slowly ends. I have always heard this as representing the trials and toils of the Enterprise through two major struggles, always prevailing (despite what it may seem), while, when the secondary theme kicks in, the third battle is lost as the Enterprise takes the secondary role to the death of someone truly loved by all, but yet in that they are reborn. And, as I noted, that is how those themes are distributed throughout the score.✝
Aside from the main theme and Spock theme, there is one other theme to cover--the Khan/Reliant theme. This theme, introduced in “Surprise Attack” will sound familiar to anyone who knows anything about Horner, for it is the introduction of the ubiquitous “danger theme” in his career. It only appears as itself (in the 4 note variation) at the beginning of “Surprise Attack” before switching to a 6 note version where the first two notes of the danger theme are repeated twice. This theme works so well to show the one dimensionalness of Khan and his spite on Kirk--and the sheer rage and anger he is feeling--that it ought to be no surprise Horner kept it in his canon. There is no questioning the effectiveness of a theme that burns and twists and is so fiery that the character it is accompanying is amplified so significantly that the character wouldn’t function as well in the film without it. Even though Horner is criticized for its overuse, I think TWOK is as good a score as any to explain how this theme (and other Horner trademarks) is proof that Horner scores emotion first and how a certain theme/motif is kept through his works to evoke the same emotions.
There are two cues a bit out of place among the action music in the score. The first is the aforementioned “Spock” and the other is “Khan’s Pets,” which is a prototype for Horner suspense scoring. A theme surrounded by soft yet low noted swirling strings. It works so very well while invoking horror, terror, and fear--just as what is occurring in the movie at the time. Again, people say this form of scoring is not used by Horner anymore, but all I need say is listen to Troy during “The Night Before” (which really is just a cleverly rewritten form of “Khan’s Pets”) or Flightplan. Horner clearly knows what works and sticks with it--always a good move in music!
A lot of people want to pin Horner down for aping Jerry Goldsmith in his early scores, and I don’t get it. Granted, Battle Beyond the Stars quotes from Star Trek: The Motion Picture where he was ordered to do so, but there is no such aping to be found here. Horner’s orchestration is so distinctly his own that this score allowed him to firmly and necessarily stamp his style on the movie to show his worth. And he does. This is a Horner score through and through, and, as I said above, he still writes like this. His brass writing may have diminished somewhat as he discovered his strings, but so what? The general techniques--the three note “bah buh bah” (heard at the start of “Genesis Countdown”), the fast strings over piano with brass ostinatos to back them up, the tenderness in the woodwinds and high strings, the emotive themes, the propulsive snare based drumming--it is all still there, just not bunched all together in a musical cornucopia. The action scoring style is still there, too--listen to Troy or Legend of Zorro and listen to all the aforementioned techniques take root in the fast paced frantic nature of the music (adjusted for the films’ tones, of course). Even those swirling strings Horner was so famous for in TWOK and Krull are still there. Listen to “A Building Panic” on the Back to Titanic CD, “Marine Assault” in Windtalkers, and “The Train” from Legend of Zorro. They tend to favor the cellos now, but they are most certainly still there!
Before I conclude, I would like to throw out a few miscellaneous comments:
*I believe TWOK may contain one of the best applications of music to on screen action in Horner’s career. When the track Kirk’s Explosive Reply plays in the film, there is a frantic, descending strings, xylophone, and percussion part that plays as Kirk is about to fire on Khan and Khan cannot figure out how to operate his computer to raise his shields. The franticness of the music just amplifies Khan immensely (not to say it didn’t elsewhere, but here it is simply breathtaking the amount of character Horner brings out).
*I always found it interesting that Horner used the blaster beam in this score. It made sense to use it in Battle Beyond the Stars where he was under orders to ape Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but here it just didn’t seem to make sense. But rather than use it like Goldsmith did, to evoke mystery, he used the deep thrum to move the action music forward and indicate danger. I often view this as somewhat of a predecessor to his trademark synthetic sounds that would do the same thing later in his career. But I still found it an odd choice of sounds to include in his orchestra.
*Horner shows off his penchant for writing long cues in the duo of "Battle in the Mutara Nebula" and "Genesis Countdown." They go together and are 14 minutes of straight, propulsive action, never getting tired, never losing steam. Horner does these cues best, and these two are no exception.
*Horner uses some very unique orchestration at the beginning of the cue "Battle in the Mutara Nebula" that is worth mentioning. He uses the swirling strings for tension, on top of which he plants a flute and french horn playing the same notes to create quite an otherworldly effect in what would otherwise be a standard musical movement. Quite impressive!
*I do not find the audio quality to be as bad as everyone says it is. It may sound a bit dated, but its not awful, and all parts of the orchestra are pronounced and add to the musical effect. There are a few Murphy recordings that are far, far worse than this (see: Braveheart)
*The orchestra performance in this score is phenomenal. It is so fiery and passionate. They were exceptionally inspired here, but I won’t speculate on why. I just marvel at it and that is what counts when enjoying the score!
*Not that this is anything new, but watch out for Horner’s cameo (the only one he has done) in the movie during the preparation for the battle in the Mutara Nebula. Horner is dressed as a cadet, carrying some gizmo, walking toward the camera during the hallway/turbolift rush of no name crew.
Its probably obvious to you, the reader, by now that I had a very difficult time writing a review for this score (and trying to keep it JUST to the score and not turn it into a retrospective), and I cannot exactly pinpoint why. It may have to do with me looking at TWOK from the lens of 25 years of subsequent Horner scores, it may be that TWOK was the first soundtrack album I ever bought and thus have listened to it for so long (at least 6 years) that its so familiar to me I’ve never really thought it though, or it may be that I’m having trouble saying something that hasn’t been said many times over about the score. No less, there is no question that it is music of an extremely high quality from an experimental, young, classical composer just getting his feet wet in the realm of film. The performance and composition are charged with a musical cornucopia of Hornerisms that debut all at once and would continue to define his career even to this very day. Most people know by now that TWOK is excellent music of a very high quality, and I will yet be another voice that says it is an amazing piece of work no fan of Horner’s should be without. Its the best of the Star Trek scores by a long shot, and Horner’s decision not to score beyond Star Trek III was probably a wise one. The themes of life and rebirth in his themes would not have been appropriate elsewhere. It is a score to be cherished for its incredibly special nature.
***** out of 5.
✝ As a brief aside, I am talking about the main titles in the paragraph. I think the end credits don’t do the same thing because, at least in my interpretation, the aforementioned Spock theme is an entirely separate theme with a totally separate function (the emotion of the seemingly emotionless Spock) and is included in the end credits to flesh out a suite rather than aid in telling the story.
Monday, July 23, 2007
REVIEW: House of Sand and Fog
I truly think that in the age of big-bang-blowemaway action scoring, something has been lost from the power of intimacy in music. One of the factors that draws me repeatedly to James Horner’s work is the level of character based intimacy that he shows in his scores. He always gets into the nitty-gritty of feeling and emotion, and adds a third dimension to characters--a dimension that the music implies but never explicitly states. I almost see this form of scoring to be more aggressive than throwing upon layer upon layer of drums, pounding synths, choppy strings, and accented brass blurts at a volume that makes a person wish for the days when their kids banged pots and pans.
Okay, so I’m venturing into melodrama, but you get the point. There’s something that intimate music does to you that is like wrapping yourself up in a warm blanket and cuddling up in it. There’s a factor of contentment, joy, and comfort. Without a doubt, House of Sand and Fog is one of Horner’s most intimate scores for what is a truly intimate film. The film, a personal favorite, is certainly no walk in the park. The same can be said for Horner’s score if you are not in the right mood for it.
I need to get this out of the way as a prerequisite to the review. House of Sand and Fog is a score I can listen to only when the conditions are right. The temperature must be chilly--not cold, but chilly. It must be nighttime, dead quiet, pitch black, and I must lay in bed with a blanket on me, my eyes closed, and have no distractions what-so-ever. If even one of these conditions is off, the score instantly becomes bland and boring and I have to quit listening. If all these conditions are met, then this score comes alive as a vibrant, emotional, incredibly moving work that is sure to affect your mood. It is a feeling I cannot describe--House of Sand and Fog, pure and simple, is a very moving work.
Before I go on, I just want to say that House of Sand and Fog affects me emotionally in a way I have a very hard time describing the score and how I feel about it, so please forgive my rambling and vagueness if you come across it.
Horner orchestrated House of Sand and Fog himself, not really a surprise considering this is the type of project he likes to envelope himself in. This project was an extra challenge for Horner, as reports online suggested that director Vadim Perelman didn’t want the typical Horner score, and wanted something far more restrained. This is exactly how Horner approached the project. He restrained his writing and his orchestra, but in that restraint, created pure beauty.
As he would do with Flightplan two years down the line, Horner strips the orchestra of the brass section, yielding an orchestra dominated by strings, percussion, piano, and keyboarding. But unlike Flightplan, House of Sand and Fog is centered around the strings and, even more so, the piano. Most of the cues on the album are either solo piano pieces or pieces where the strings, wistful violins and violas that are complimented by the cello and bass and exotic sounding percussion, are joined by the piano playing over them, creating what I can only describe as a windy breezy.
I’m not sure how better to describe the atmosphere of House of Sand and Fog as anything other than breezy. And I don’t mean breezy in the sense of laid back and casual. I mean it in the sense that it has the same quiet, peaceful effect as listening to a fall day’s breeze. Most of the string notes written for this score are long, held notes--whole, two or three wholes tied. They tend to cascade up and down the musical scale, sometimes emulating the waves of the sea where the cascades range from higher to lower notes with the stand-out instrumental group (violins or violas) playing harmonically to the higher and lower ends of their music range (ex. “The Waves of the Caspian Sea”) or to the center of their range and lower (ex. “Behrani's Thoughts - Long Ago,” “Old Photos, New Memories). Sometimes this is not a quick process. Sometimes the cascade will take minutes to complete a full wave. Sometimes it will happen in seconds. Horner varies the speed and variety of the string cascades to create the atmosphere of wistfulness, longing, upset, and grief. Sometimes these cascades are transferred to a synthesized female voice, as in “Kathy’s Night,” to absolutely stunning and breathtaking effect. The main theme of the score--if you can really call it that--is based on a subset of the string cascading heard in “The Waves of the Caspian Sea.” I hesitate to call it a theme since it more blends with the intimacy, texture, and subtlety of the score rather than standing out as something that is developed enough and appears enough that it is a true thematic presence. I personally see it more as a recurring musical emotion rather than a theme, but then again, that’s one of the major components to a theme, so it is up to you to decide.
One of, if not the most important components to this score, especially during the center portion of this score, is the piano. Horner writes simple piano parts that are to be played over the strings. I don’t want to call them melodies, because occasionally they are singular chords (aside from his trademark “thrum,” which is used here to great benefit as well) that are brought together to compliment the string cascades. The piano is quite soft and never is used to overpower the strings, but to compliment them. The simplicity of the piano parts gives them a tenderness and softness that I’m not quite sure Horner had written up to that point, and really no so much after, either (maybe here and there during The Forgotten and The New World). Occasionally the piano is brought together to play a slight, fragile melody that goes something like, “bah bum, bah bum bah BAH bum,” or “bum, BAM bum, bum” for lack of better phrasing, that almost feels like he’s using the piano to simulate the the rhythm of flowing tears. I have no idea if this is what was his intent, but it sure gives me that feeling. Its a warm, inviting melody, appearing most prominently in the gorgeous piano solo “Two People,” (of which there is another later on) and further around the score (I looked at my iPod during “The Dreams of Kings”). Again, I see these as a recurring musical emotion rather than a theme.
Of course, Horner is no slouch when it comes to detail. The score is peppered with exotic percussion and synthesizers. House of Sand and Fog is augmented, aside with Horner’s stylistic tolling bells, with various chimes and strange drum hits used in quick hits to emote a feeling of forboding, but also to give an Arab flavor to the score (certainly not overbearing or grindingly ethnic, and they blend perfectly in with the strings and piano). A lot of the synthesizer sounds in Horner’s post House of Sand and Fog scores debuted here, though with many more variations. There are strange sounds, but rather than interfere, they are used either in quick hits (in a variant of the “plucked steel drums” as I call them) or in long, wistful sounds, unlike Horner’s usual sounds. Some of his usual sounds, such as the “steam kettle” as I hear it called, are put to the forefront to add to and amplify the breezy feeling of the orchestra.
As I said earlier, I have to be in just the right mood to get these feelings from House of Sand and Fog. If I am even the slightest bit off, the long, held notes override my ability to enjoy the cascades and instead I hear go nowhere nothingness and the score becomes excruciatingly boring (I know this would be 100% the case if I listened to the score any earlier than 10pm). I have had times where I shut the score off in disgust, I won’t lie about it. But as I did the other night, when I listened to this score after All The King’s Men, I fell into the peace and the emotion his score has buried within it and was moved as the music enveloped me, and the breezy wistfulness took me with it.
I’m sure there are those reading that think I’m certifiably crazy after reading this review, but that is exactly how I hear the music. My point to discussing my listening conditions it that I’d bet there will be those who become bored to death on their first listen. In the restraint and seeming simplicity of this score, that’s easy to do. But this score isn’t quite that simple, and it takes a lot of searching and close listening to appreciate the finer moments. This is not a score to listen to while typing an e-mail or writing a report. It is not a score that is remotely possible to be enjoyed while doing anything that takes your mind from it. It is a cerebral, engulfing score, and if you treat it like that, I bet you’ll find that you’ll take a lot more from this score than you knew was there. And I bet you will be moved.
**** out of 5.
Okay, so I’m venturing into melodrama, but you get the point. There’s something that intimate music does to you that is like wrapping yourself up in a warm blanket and cuddling up in it. There’s a factor of contentment, joy, and comfort. Without a doubt, House of Sand and Fog is one of Horner’s most intimate scores for what is a truly intimate film. The film, a personal favorite, is certainly no walk in the park. The same can be said for Horner’s score if you are not in the right mood for it.
I need to get this out of the way as a prerequisite to the review. House of Sand and Fog is a score I can listen to only when the conditions are right. The temperature must be chilly--not cold, but chilly. It must be nighttime, dead quiet, pitch black, and I must lay in bed with a blanket on me, my eyes closed, and have no distractions what-so-ever. If even one of these conditions is off, the score instantly becomes bland and boring and I have to quit listening. If all these conditions are met, then this score comes alive as a vibrant, emotional, incredibly moving work that is sure to affect your mood. It is a feeling I cannot describe--House of Sand and Fog, pure and simple, is a very moving work.
Before I go on, I just want to say that House of Sand and Fog affects me emotionally in a way I have a very hard time describing the score and how I feel about it, so please forgive my rambling and vagueness if you come across it.
Horner orchestrated House of Sand and Fog himself, not really a surprise considering this is the type of project he likes to envelope himself in. This project was an extra challenge for Horner, as reports online suggested that director Vadim Perelman didn’t want the typical Horner score, and wanted something far more restrained. This is exactly how Horner approached the project. He restrained his writing and his orchestra, but in that restraint, created pure beauty.
As he would do with Flightplan two years down the line, Horner strips the orchestra of the brass section, yielding an orchestra dominated by strings, percussion, piano, and keyboarding. But unlike Flightplan, House of Sand and Fog is centered around the strings and, even more so, the piano. Most of the cues on the album are either solo piano pieces or pieces where the strings, wistful violins and violas that are complimented by the cello and bass and exotic sounding percussion, are joined by the piano playing over them, creating what I can only describe as a windy breezy.
I’m not sure how better to describe the atmosphere of House of Sand and Fog as anything other than breezy. And I don’t mean breezy in the sense of laid back and casual. I mean it in the sense that it has the same quiet, peaceful effect as listening to a fall day’s breeze. Most of the string notes written for this score are long, held notes--whole, two or three wholes tied. They tend to cascade up and down the musical scale, sometimes emulating the waves of the sea where the cascades range from higher to lower notes with the stand-out instrumental group (violins or violas) playing harmonically to the higher and lower ends of their music range (ex. “The Waves of the Caspian Sea”) or to the center of their range and lower (ex. “Behrani's Thoughts - Long Ago,” “Old Photos, New Memories). Sometimes this is not a quick process. Sometimes the cascade will take minutes to complete a full wave. Sometimes it will happen in seconds. Horner varies the speed and variety of the string cascades to create the atmosphere of wistfulness, longing, upset, and grief. Sometimes these cascades are transferred to a synthesized female voice, as in “Kathy’s Night,” to absolutely stunning and breathtaking effect. The main theme of the score--if you can really call it that--is based on a subset of the string cascading heard in “The Waves of the Caspian Sea.” I hesitate to call it a theme since it more blends with the intimacy, texture, and subtlety of the score rather than standing out as something that is developed enough and appears enough that it is a true thematic presence. I personally see it more as a recurring musical emotion rather than a theme, but then again, that’s one of the major components to a theme, so it is up to you to decide.
One of, if not the most important components to this score, especially during the center portion of this score, is the piano. Horner writes simple piano parts that are to be played over the strings. I don’t want to call them melodies, because occasionally they are singular chords (aside from his trademark “thrum,” which is used here to great benefit as well) that are brought together to compliment the string cascades. The piano is quite soft and never is used to overpower the strings, but to compliment them. The simplicity of the piano parts gives them a tenderness and softness that I’m not quite sure Horner had written up to that point, and really no so much after, either (maybe here and there during The Forgotten and The New World). Occasionally the piano is brought together to play a slight, fragile melody that goes something like, “bah bum, bah bum bah BAH bum,” or “bum, BAM bum, bum” for lack of better phrasing, that almost feels like he’s using the piano to simulate the the rhythm of flowing tears. I have no idea if this is what was his intent, but it sure gives me that feeling. Its a warm, inviting melody, appearing most prominently in the gorgeous piano solo “Two People,” (of which there is another later on) and further around the score (I looked at my iPod during “The Dreams of Kings”). Again, I see these as a recurring musical emotion rather than a theme.
Of course, Horner is no slouch when it comes to detail. The score is peppered with exotic percussion and synthesizers. House of Sand and Fog is augmented, aside with Horner’s stylistic tolling bells, with various chimes and strange drum hits used in quick hits to emote a feeling of forboding, but also to give an Arab flavor to the score (certainly not overbearing or grindingly ethnic, and they blend perfectly in with the strings and piano). A lot of the synthesizer sounds in Horner’s post House of Sand and Fog scores debuted here, though with many more variations. There are strange sounds, but rather than interfere, they are used either in quick hits (in a variant of the “plucked steel drums” as I call them) or in long, wistful sounds, unlike Horner’s usual sounds. Some of his usual sounds, such as the “steam kettle” as I hear it called, are put to the forefront to add to and amplify the breezy feeling of the orchestra.
As I said earlier, I have to be in just the right mood to get these feelings from House of Sand and Fog. If I am even the slightest bit off, the long, held notes override my ability to enjoy the cascades and instead I hear go nowhere nothingness and the score becomes excruciatingly boring (I know this would be 100% the case if I listened to the score any earlier than 10pm). I have had times where I shut the score off in disgust, I won’t lie about it. But as I did the other night, when I listened to this score after All The King’s Men, I fell into the peace and the emotion his score has buried within it and was moved as the music enveloped me, and the breezy wistfulness took me with it.
I’m sure there are those reading that think I’m certifiably crazy after reading this review, but that is exactly how I hear the music. My point to discussing my listening conditions it that I’d bet there will be those who become bored to death on their first listen. In the restraint and seeming simplicity of this score, that’s easy to do. But this score isn’t quite that simple, and it takes a lot of searching and close listening to appreciate the finer moments. This is not a score to listen to while typing an e-mail or writing a report. It is not a score that is remotely possible to be enjoyed while doing anything that takes your mind from it. It is a cerebral, engulfing score, and if you treat it like that, I bet you’ll find that you’ll take a lot more from this score than you knew was there. And I bet you will be moved.
**** out of 5.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
REVIEW: Jumanji
Let’s get one thing out of the way. Jumanji is, inherently, a horror score. I’ve seen it classified on the internet as just about everything but that. But let us get it straight: through and through, Jumanji is a horror score.
With that being said, Jumanji is, no less, a mediocre score. But it is an interesting sort of mediocre. Every so often, a composer will take on a truly awful film, perhaps due to director loyalty, and rather than write a score which is tailor made for it, they take ideas brewing in their head and play with them. They take old ideas and toy around with them, insert new ideas and test their effect, and fill in the rest with underscore (composed of tried and true older ideas). This is exactly what Horner has done with Jumanji.
Jumanji consists of two main themes--the first of which is a sweet, sentimental main theme introduced in the first track, almost always played on exotic woodwinds by Tony Hinnigan, or on a standard flute. With it is some playful “fun” music, assumedly representing the kids, that really isn’t much to make note of since its not really memorable. Playful flutes and strings mark its occasional occurrence, but that is it. But the aforementioned sweet and sentimental theme really is a precious one that shows a lot of love and care in its emotion. It shows up often enough, but its performance in Mighty Joe Young is far superior.
The other theme is one often played on low brass that is evocative of suspense. Its a four note theme, sometimes expanded to eight, that does its best to express dread. It stands well enough on its own, but never receives more than this sparse orchestration, rendering it a relatively immobile, singularly focused theme. It shows up in other parts of the orchestra from time to time, but it never reaches an emotional height like it does when played by the low brass. Interestingly and ironically enough, this theme would used verbatim by Gabriel Yared in his score for Troy, where it makes laughable appearances over the music that Yared wrote for the 1000 Ships scene (Horner’s superior music for that scene is contained in his track, “Troy”). The theme was appropriate for a silly horror film, but would have been completely out of place in a “serious” epic.
The orchestration in Jumanji is imposingly sparse. I cannot tell if this is the result of narrow writing on Horner’s part or if he was only given a tiny orchestra (or both). This is wonderful for the horror bits (emphasized by strings and woodwinds) and also works well for the sentimental bits (woodwinds and piano), almost necessary for both (especially considering the status of Jumanji as a horror score), but when the music kicks into action, it begins to fail. The action sequences are rendered with fast brass over maybe one or two other instrumental lines under it--usually some sort of prototypical 90’s Horner action string work. The action music falls flat for this reason, because of its poor rendering and the feeling of “one instrument playing each line” sound, it comes out somewhat uninteresting and boring.
The saving grace to the orchestration is that this score features some of the better work of Hinnigan and Co. The shakuhachi wails away at all the right moments played flawlessly by Kazu Matsui, and the toyo work by Hinnigan in “Rampage Through Town” and “The Monsoon” is some of the catchiest work he provides, and it isn’t explored nearly enough in this or future scores.
A lot of people are bothered by the “Monkey Mayhem” track (some of which spills over to the track “Alan Parrish”). “Monkey Mayhem” starts out with a good bit of typical Horner horror scoring and finishes with a crazed array of frantic noises lead by what sounds like a synthesized kazoo with wild trumpets, as though Horner told his orchestra to just “go wild,” not terribly dissimilar to We’re Back, A Dinosaur’s Story I think this track is a lot of fun, especially knowing Horner’s career as I do, and I think it evokes the wild nature of the animal kingdom as well as anyone could. This is a kids movie, after all, and the fun sense of wildness fits the atmosphere perfectly.
To this point, I haven’t spoken in great detail about the sound of Jumanji aside from general references to “horror” and such. Well, Jumanji is a score with a rather significant identity crisis. This crisis gives way to an inconsistent soundscape as a result of the various elements of this score being just different enough that they don’t blend together. As I mentioned above, I feel as though Horner wrote a score for his career and not this movie, and as such, I never get a “feel” for Jumanji as much as I do for what has come and what is yet to come. Here is what I noticed:
The “crazed” music has a lot in common with the simultaneous Casper, and is rendered much more interestingly in that score. A lot of the crazy music gives way to jungle-esque music, again which would be rendered with far more depth, detail, and emotion in the forthcoming Mighty Joe Young, as here, it tends to ride the line of flat, cliche jungle music (when it appears, which is not often).
Jumanji’s horror music is typically a reworking of the quieter bits from Aliens, usually with some spice thrown in to reflect animals on the screen (a high brass passage for a flying bird or low brass sound for an elephant, or something of that sort). The same fluttering woodwinds on strings with shrieks from the violins or the low brass are used here as was in Aliens to the same awesome effect. When it isn’t reworking the horror of Aliens, it is reworking the horror of Thunderheart, as the same vocal calls to the wind start and end this score, setting the stage for the appropriate atmosphere of terror that a game come alive would need.
The action music is oftentimes an inferior reworking of what appears in Willow as if it were filtered through The Pagemaster and again through the sparseness and simplicity of Clear and Present Danger. The same quick action sound and fast brass hits are present as in Willow, with the same overarching adventurous and frightening tone within the music, but hurt badly by the orchestrational rendering and/or the small size of the orchestra. For example, “The Hunter” is a rewrite of the action music found in the “Canyon of Mazes” track of Willow, but without the pizzaz that made that track so awesome--it seems the orchestra just isn’t large enough to emphasize the sound of the quick brass hits and/or not enough instruments involved to augment them.
I believe one of the more interesting aspects of Jumanji is how it allows us to look into the future of Horner’s writing. The quiet sentimental bits set the stage for the ethereal, breathtaking music as found in The Spitfire Grill and later Iris. The music, as it would be heard in the next year, was pretty well in tact and rendered inJumanji. In Jumanji, these Spitfire Grill moments appear in short, quick bursts rather than all over the score, and are fleshed out especially in “A New World” and “End Titles”. These musical bits lighten Jumanji up and add a warmth and depth that don’t appear nearly enough. Horner must have realized he hit gold since what was written here was expanded upon significantly for The Spitfire Grill, and fans of that score should investigate Jumanji for just these tracks--it would be worth it since this is where it all began.
One thing that has to be said about this score is that the recording is just awful. I know Shawn Murphy is said to be one of the best in the business, but his recordings (especially in 1995 when he also botched Braveheart) tend to have a lower dynamic range and feel more condensed. No where else is it so true an in Jumanji, and I sometimes feel like I’m listening to the score through the floor several stories above the scoring stage. This recording is “foggy” (best way I can describe the experience), distorted, and the instruments feel as though they were recorded at very close range, limiting an expansive feeling. The best I can describe the sensation I get is that the instruments were suffocating each other. Nothing reverberates well and nothing really comes alive. It may be that my complaints about the rendering of the action music arise from the shoddy recording quality.
Overall, Jumanji is a mediocre score, but not because the music itself is problematic (except the rendering of the action music/recording quality thereof), but because it is a score with an identity crisis. The themes are decent, but all the music heard had been done as well or better in the past and elements yet to be heard would be fleshed out in their future scores. Jumanji is by no means a bad score and its easy to garner enjoyment from some of the wackier, tender, and horrific moments, but overall, there is too much that just doesn’t go anywhere. If one is willing to be patient, one will enjoy the score since it really has its moments (especially those to be fleshed out in The Spitfire Grill), but if it has to be consistent and/or nonstop, it is best to look elsewhere.
*** out of 5.
With that being said, Jumanji is, no less, a mediocre score. But it is an interesting sort of mediocre. Every so often, a composer will take on a truly awful film, perhaps due to director loyalty, and rather than write a score which is tailor made for it, they take ideas brewing in their head and play with them. They take old ideas and toy around with them, insert new ideas and test their effect, and fill in the rest with underscore (composed of tried and true older ideas). This is exactly what Horner has done with Jumanji.
Jumanji consists of two main themes--the first of which is a sweet, sentimental main theme introduced in the first track, almost always played on exotic woodwinds by Tony Hinnigan, or on a standard flute. With it is some playful “fun” music, assumedly representing the kids, that really isn’t much to make note of since its not really memorable. Playful flutes and strings mark its occasional occurrence, but that is it. But the aforementioned sweet and sentimental theme really is a precious one that shows a lot of love and care in its emotion. It shows up often enough, but its performance in Mighty Joe Young is far superior.
The other theme is one often played on low brass that is evocative of suspense. Its a four note theme, sometimes expanded to eight, that does its best to express dread. It stands well enough on its own, but never receives more than this sparse orchestration, rendering it a relatively immobile, singularly focused theme. It shows up in other parts of the orchestra from time to time, but it never reaches an emotional height like it does when played by the low brass. Interestingly and ironically enough, this theme would used verbatim by Gabriel Yared in his score for Troy, where it makes laughable appearances over the music that Yared wrote for the 1000 Ships scene (Horner’s superior music for that scene is contained in his track, “Troy”). The theme was appropriate for a silly horror film, but would have been completely out of place in a “serious” epic.
The orchestration in Jumanji is imposingly sparse. I cannot tell if this is the result of narrow writing on Horner’s part or if he was only given a tiny orchestra (or both). This is wonderful for the horror bits (emphasized by strings and woodwinds) and also works well for the sentimental bits (woodwinds and piano), almost necessary for both (especially considering the status of Jumanji as a horror score), but when the music kicks into action, it begins to fail. The action sequences are rendered with fast brass over maybe one or two other instrumental lines under it--usually some sort of prototypical 90’s Horner action string work. The action music falls flat for this reason, because of its poor rendering and the feeling of “one instrument playing each line” sound, it comes out somewhat uninteresting and boring.
The saving grace to the orchestration is that this score features some of the better work of Hinnigan and Co. The shakuhachi wails away at all the right moments played flawlessly by Kazu Matsui, and the toyo work by Hinnigan in “Rampage Through Town” and “The Monsoon” is some of the catchiest work he provides, and it isn’t explored nearly enough in this or future scores.
A lot of people are bothered by the “Monkey Mayhem” track (some of which spills over to the track “Alan Parrish”). “Monkey Mayhem” starts out with a good bit of typical Horner horror scoring and finishes with a crazed array of frantic noises lead by what sounds like a synthesized kazoo with wild trumpets, as though Horner told his orchestra to just “go wild,” not terribly dissimilar to We’re Back, A Dinosaur’s Story I think this track is a lot of fun, especially knowing Horner’s career as I do, and I think it evokes the wild nature of the animal kingdom as well as anyone could. This is a kids movie, after all, and the fun sense of wildness fits the atmosphere perfectly.
To this point, I haven’t spoken in great detail about the sound of Jumanji aside from general references to “horror” and such. Well, Jumanji is a score with a rather significant identity crisis. This crisis gives way to an inconsistent soundscape as a result of the various elements of this score being just different enough that they don’t blend together. As I mentioned above, I feel as though Horner wrote a score for his career and not this movie, and as such, I never get a “feel” for Jumanji as much as I do for what has come and what is yet to come. Here is what I noticed:
The “crazed” music has a lot in common with the simultaneous Casper, and is rendered much more interestingly in that score. A lot of the crazy music gives way to jungle-esque music, again which would be rendered with far more depth, detail, and emotion in the forthcoming Mighty Joe Young, as here, it tends to ride the line of flat, cliche jungle music (when it appears, which is not often).
Jumanji’s horror music is typically a reworking of the quieter bits from Aliens, usually with some spice thrown in to reflect animals on the screen (a high brass passage for a flying bird or low brass sound for an elephant, or something of that sort). The same fluttering woodwinds on strings with shrieks from the violins or the low brass are used here as was in Aliens to the same awesome effect. When it isn’t reworking the horror of Aliens, it is reworking the horror of Thunderheart, as the same vocal calls to the wind start and end this score, setting the stage for the appropriate atmosphere of terror that a game come alive would need.
The action music is oftentimes an inferior reworking of what appears in Willow as if it were filtered through The Pagemaster and again through the sparseness and simplicity of Clear and Present Danger. The same quick action sound and fast brass hits are present as in Willow, with the same overarching adventurous and frightening tone within the music, but hurt badly by the orchestrational rendering and/or the small size of the orchestra. For example, “The Hunter” is a rewrite of the action music found in the “Canyon of Mazes” track of Willow, but without the pizzaz that made that track so awesome--it seems the orchestra just isn’t large enough to emphasize the sound of the quick brass hits and/or not enough instruments involved to augment them.
I believe one of the more interesting aspects of Jumanji is how it allows us to look into the future of Horner’s writing. The quiet sentimental bits set the stage for the ethereal, breathtaking music as found in The Spitfire Grill and later Iris. The music, as it would be heard in the next year, was pretty well in tact and rendered inJumanji. In Jumanji, these Spitfire Grill moments appear in short, quick bursts rather than all over the score, and are fleshed out especially in “A New World” and “End Titles”. These musical bits lighten Jumanji up and add a warmth and depth that don’t appear nearly enough. Horner must have realized he hit gold since what was written here was expanded upon significantly for The Spitfire Grill, and fans of that score should investigate Jumanji for just these tracks--it would be worth it since this is where it all began.
One thing that has to be said about this score is that the recording is just awful. I know Shawn Murphy is said to be one of the best in the business, but his recordings (especially in 1995 when he also botched Braveheart) tend to have a lower dynamic range and feel more condensed. No where else is it so true an in Jumanji, and I sometimes feel like I’m listening to the score through the floor several stories above the scoring stage. This recording is “foggy” (best way I can describe the experience), distorted, and the instruments feel as though they were recorded at very close range, limiting an expansive feeling. The best I can describe the sensation I get is that the instruments were suffocating each other. Nothing reverberates well and nothing really comes alive. It may be that my complaints about the rendering of the action music arise from the shoddy recording quality.
Overall, Jumanji is a mediocre score, but not because the music itself is problematic (except the rendering of the action music/recording quality thereof), but because it is a score with an identity crisis. The themes are decent, but all the music heard had been done as well or better in the past and elements yet to be heard would be fleshed out in their future scores. Jumanji is by no means a bad score and its easy to garner enjoyment from some of the wackier, tender, and horrific moments, but overall, there is too much that just doesn’t go anywhere. If one is willing to be patient, one will enjoy the score since it really has its moments (especially those to be fleshed out in The Spitfire Grill), but if it has to be consistent and/or nonstop, it is best to look elsewhere.
*** out of 5.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
REVIEW: All The King's Men
Okay, so, this is a rereview. I honestly have no idea what planet I was living on when I wrote the initial review for this score back in September. I won’t make any bones about the fact that my first year of college was crummy, and I got this score first semester. I had just broken up with my boyfriend and was dealing with my then roommate, who was manic (quite seriously--he’d stay up for 72 hours on end), and I was probably trying to avoid him just long enough to listen to the score and review it objectively. Well, I have since had the opportunity to rediscover this score, and I’d like it to be known my “objective” review was way off base.
I started my previous review with this paragraph: “Right off the bat, it is evident that All The King’s Men is a dark score. It is absolutely oozing with Horner's style and orchestrations (he orchestrated it himself, a pleasant shift from the 8 orchestrators of Legend of Zorro).” I still stand by that statement, moreso as I’ve really begun to rediscover Horner’s more intimate scores. All the King’s Men, for all its power and might, really is one of those. The scores that Horner orchestrates himself really get into the nitty-gritty of the characters of a film, and I just feel like Horner is filling in the open crevasses the film had with a blanket of truly evocative music, something he does best when he is in complete control of his scores. With that being said, I’d like to modify the last sentence of my review’s original paragraph. It should read, “Horner's darker scores are hit and miss, and I'm pleased to report that this one is a roaring success.”
The first thing one will notice when the score starts is the crescendoing, intensifying snare drums that build, peppering the score with a sense of fear and dread, assumedly representing the corruption present within the setting. This is a technique based on his rapid cymbal-tapping technique (think Bicenennial Man, Beautiful Mind, Flightplan, or his other lighter, character based string scores in more urgent moments). The drums then yield toward a true “main title,” something which is beginning to become increasingly rare in Hollywood (a damn shame and a rant for another time). All of the themes get a workout here. There appear to be three of them, one of which is varied based on the mood.
The first one is what has been described as the “power theme” a more often than not four note theme that is used to show a dark side to the music--one that expresses dread and, when played by higher pitched (muted?) brass, can really cause one to quiver. Its simple construct and innate simplicity gives it a, well, power that an overly complex theme would have ruined. This theme shows up quite often, sometimes in the aforementioned brass, but also mixed into other sections of the orchestra in the low strings, almost as a counterpoint for what is going on in the music. This sends the message of, “Oh, hey, this isn’t what it seems!” The versatility of the theme is amazing, and is everywhere in the score providing many subtle references, creating an atmosphere of out of control power. For interest’s sake, and I’m shocked no one review has mentioned this, I knew the theme came from somewhere else, and in my original review, I said, “... really is just a fragment of the "waves" music from House of Sand and Fog.” Well, this is somewhat true, but I since have come to realize it is the schizophrenic music from A Beautiful Mind, plus one note. And frankly, I listened to A Beautiful Mind in May (this is when I realized), tried to add that fourth note in my mind in anticipation, and wasn’t able to. The point? It works just a little better in All the King’s Men (not saying it doesn’t work in A Beautiful Mind, which it does amazingly well. I just prefer the theme with the extra note!).
The second theme in the score is the most dynamic. It is a two sided theme, also introduced in the main title and heard throughout the score. It is the one varied based on mood. This is a quintessential Horner character theme, I assume meant for the main one. By two sided, I mean you get three varieties- piano and/or low strings being the first. The piano and strings versions of this theme convey a sense of innocence, yet the theme is constructed with a slightly dark twinge to it. It is tender, and it is beautiful, yet still has just enough twists in the notation that its not an entirely pure theme. The second way this theme is played is by the southern fiddle (namely at the start of the 9th track) throughout the score, again, giving it the southern fighter tone that the music is trying to convey, without making it seem as though any good is going on. The third side to this theme is the brass side, played on lower level brass (trombones and horns), which shows the corrupt, evil side to the character. There are times when these styles appear right next to each other, and are used together to add a great conflict in the music, assumedly for the character for which it was written. The conflict, when listening to the music, is almost tangible and extremely evocative, a sign Horner did what so few modern composers do now and got to the nitty-gritty of the characterization.
The third theme is by and far one of the most beautiful Horner has penned, and is most prominent at the beginning of track 8. As I said in my previous review and I think still stands true here this theme, which I often hear referred to as the childhood theme, “...is a piano driven (once taken by the strings and once by the woodwinds, however) noir theme that belongs in a smoky room in a bar late at night. It is sentimental and thoughtful; provoking and jazzy.” In my original review, I identified it as a gem of the score, and it really is. It appears sparingly, but it is used to color an otherwise bleak musical landscape, and is used to show that in a dark world, not all hope is lost. The restraint in its usage is perfect for the tone of the score, for it is a breath of fresh air, but never lets us forget not all is well in the world.
In my original review, I took significant issue with the orchestration, and it is here that I really wonder what planet I was on. The orchestration is probably one of the most influential bits of this score. I totally missed how layered it was. The references to the power theme, in the melody and countermelodies, are subtle and yet powerful, and I completely missed them my first time around. How I did this I do not know, but I just realized how amazingly layered the score was as I rediscovered it, and noticed that there is always some sort of musical message in the orchestra if one is willing to look for it.
Aside from that, the orchestration is fluid and dark, yet unforgiving and unrelenting, warming up only when the characters are willing to expose their week and vulnerable side. Same for the music. For most of the score the music is strong, but it opens up and becomes warm when it exposes its inner depths (piano based character theme/childhood theme as perfect examples). The usage of brass is far more intense than in Horner’s usual intimate scores, but here the brass is kept in the low range (as are most of the instruments playing, including synths, except the strings and piano during the warm moments). In this way, the score is similar to Enemy at the Gates and House of Sand and Fog, but digs far more into musical messaging (of corruption and love) than in either of those two scores. The weight of the musical movement is left to the strings. As I said in my original review that the music contains, “the low strings upon low strings meandering away with occasional low brass accompaniment from Enemy at the Gates and the strings on deep reverberating bells/wave like long lined strings from House of Sand and Fog.” I said then that this killed the score, but on rediscovering Horner’s intimate side, I can say it is these techniques that make the score as fluid and as deep as it is. Apart they don’t work so well (I make no bones about my dislike for Enemy at the Gates), but together they create a dark, twisted, twirling atmosphere where the music starts on top and works its way down. Wooden these orchestrations are not. Fluid and dynamic they are.
This is not to say all is perfect. I do still find that the score slows down considerably toward the middle, with lots of drawn out string notes and missing accompaniments that sort of lead a go nowhere wander atmosphere to the score. Sometimes the score is stripped to the bare bones and just a few instruments are playing sparsely constructed notations, but its never allowed to become excruciatingly boring as these sections don’t last long. They may seem to if you aren’t listening to the layers of the score, because sometimes the top layer is doing nothing and noodling around. But the joy here is to search lower layers, and by doing that, one might just find the occasional nod to the power theme or an amazing countermelody of strong construct that is sending the musical message of, “hey, watch out!”
Three tracks that I find interesting are track 3, 5, and 9. Tracks 5 and 9 are based around pizzicato strings around brooding statements of the power theme, augmented by the plucked steel drum synths (for lack of a better description) from The Forgotten/Chumscrubber. These tracks provide an awesome, subtle, yet entirely foreboding musical warning that there is significant conniving, and one should beware. These tracks are most chilling and evocative, and serve to create some of the most dynamic tension Horner has written in years.
Track 3 is an anomaly in the score. It sticks out like a sore thumb, but it fits the atmosphere of the score none the less. As I said in my original review, and this still holds true, with this track, “one is listening to bright Americana from the pages of Searching for Bobby Fischer (with an Americana theme that is a variation on Bobby Fischer's main theme). It is alive with style and vigor and is quite a pleasant listen.” It ends with a quotation out of Braveheart of the Sons of Scotland theme, but works just as well here as a theme of triumph and victory, when played forcefully as it is here. It works well enough in Braveheart, but it really gets the blood flowing here. I have had a chance to see just this scene in the movie (and friend owns it and let me watch just this scene). The replacement cue is not nearly as good, as it is a more subdued interpretation of the same material (that americana theme is still present, just stripped of its countermelody). I found it funny that most reviewers let Horner off the hook for the Braveheart reference since the cue was replaced in the film. Clearly no one had bothered to see it--the Braveheart reference is still very much in the final film.
“All the King's Men is highly original, which should please many people. Yes, its Horner. As I said, its oozing with his style.” I indicated that in my review, and indeed, that is very true. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Horner’s style is what keeps me coming back to his scores, as I always feel at home and in a welcome presence with his music on. Rather than walking into a generic department store for a meal, its like going to grandma’s and being pampered with all the fixins’ (okay, so I’m being melodramatic, but you get the idea). As a miscellaneous note, I mentioned before that, aside from the Beautiful Mind and Braveheart references, “in the track Adam's World at about 2:27 in, there is a loudly mixed harp playing the action theme from Commando. It makes for a heartbreaking top to the sad strings in the background. It only appears once and here for about 15 seconds or so, thus it honestly shouldn't matter to anyone but those with a keen ear listening for the tips of the hat.”
I concluded my previous review by saying, “Alas, there is nothing more to say about All the King's Men. Some are going to love it and some are going to hate it.” But I hope like me, if you hate it, you can go from hating it to loving it. It has been worth the trip.
**** out of 5.
I started my previous review with this paragraph: “Right off the bat, it is evident that All The King’s Men is a dark score. It is absolutely oozing with Horner's style and orchestrations (he orchestrated it himself, a pleasant shift from the 8 orchestrators of Legend of Zorro).” I still stand by that statement, moreso as I’ve really begun to rediscover Horner’s more intimate scores. All the King’s Men, for all its power and might, really is one of those. The scores that Horner orchestrates himself really get into the nitty-gritty of the characters of a film, and I just feel like Horner is filling in the open crevasses the film had with a blanket of truly evocative music, something he does best when he is in complete control of his scores. With that being said, I’d like to modify the last sentence of my review’s original paragraph. It should read, “Horner's darker scores are hit and miss, and I'm pleased to report that this one is a roaring success.”
The first thing one will notice when the score starts is the crescendoing, intensifying snare drums that build, peppering the score with a sense of fear and dread, assumedly representing the corruption present within the setting. This is a technique based on his rapid cymbal-tapping technique (think Bicenennial Man, Beautiful Mind, Flightplan, or his other lighter, character based string scores in more urgent moments). The drums then yield toward a true “main title,” something which is beginning to become increasingly rare in Hollywood (a damn shame and a rant for another time). All of the themes get a workout here. There appear to be three of them, one of which is varied based on the mood.
The first one is what has been described as the “power theme” a more often than not four note theme that is used to show a dark side to the music--one that expresses dread and, when played by higher pitched (muted?) brass, can really cause one to quiver. Its simple construct and innate simplicity gives it a, well, power that an overly complex theme would have ruined. This theme shows up quite often, sometimes in the aforementioned brass, but also mixed into other sections of the orchestra in the low strings, almost as a counterpoint for what is going on in the music. This sends the message of, “Oh, hey, this isn’t what it seems!” The versatility of the theme is amazing, and is everywhere in the score providing many subtle references, creating an atmosphere of out of control power. For interest’s sake, and I’m shocked no one review has mentioned this, I knew the theme came from somewhere else, and in my original review, I said, “...
The second theme in the score is the most dynamic. It is a two sided theme, also introduced in the main title and heard throughout the score. It is the one varied based on mood. This is a quintessential Horner character theme, I assume meant for the main one. By two sided, I mean you get three varieties- piano and/or low strings being the first. The piano and strings versions of this theme convey a sense of innocence, yet the theme is constructed with a slightly dark twinge to it. It is tender, and it is beautiful, yet still has just enough twists in the notation that its not an entirely pure theme. The second way this theme is played is by the southern fiddle (namely at the start of the 9th track) throughout the score, again, giving it the southern fighter tone that the music is trying to convey, without making it seem as though any good is going on. The third side to this theme is the brass side, played on lower level brass (trombones and horns), which shows the corrupt, evil side to the character. There are times when these styles appear right next to each other, and are used together to add a great conflict in the music, assumedly for the character for which it was written. The conflict, when listening to the music, is almost tangible and extremely evocative, a sign Horner did what so few modern composers do now and got to the nitty-gritty of the characterization.
The third theme is by and far one of the most beautiful Horner has penned, and is most prominent at the beginning of track 8. As I said in my previous review and I think still stands true here this theme, which I often hear referred to as the childhood theme, “...is a piano driven (once taken by the strings and once by the woodwinds, however) noir theme that belongs in a smoky room in a bar late at night. It is sentimental and thoughtful; provoking and jazzy.” In my original review, I identified it as a gem of the score, and it really is. It appears sparingly, but it is used to color an otherwise bleak musical landscape, and is used to show that in a dark world, not all hope is lost. The restraint in its usage is perfect for the tone of the score, for it is a breath of fresh air, but never lets us forget not all is well in the world.
In my original review, I took significant issue with the orchestration, and it is here that I really wonder what planet I was on. The orchestration is probably one of the most influential bits of this score. I totally missed how layered it was. The references to the power theme, in the melody and countermelodies, are subtle and yet powerful, and I completely missed them my first time around. How I did this I do not know, but I just realized how amazingly layered the score was as I rediscovered it, and noticed that there is always some sort of musical message in the orchestra if one is willing to look for it.
Aside from that, the orchestration is fluid and dark, yet unforgiving and unrelenting, warming up only when the characters are willing to expose their week and vulnerable side. Same for the music. For most of the score the music is strong, but it opens up and becomes warm when it exposes its inner depths (piano based character theme/childhood theme as perfect examples). The usage of brass is far more intense than in Horner’s usual intimate scores, but here the brass is kept in the low range (as are most of the instruments playing, including synths, except the strings and piano during the warm moments). In this way, the score is similar to Enemy at the Gates and House of Sand and Fog, but digs far more into musical messaging (of corruption and love) than in either of those two scores. The weight of the musical movement is left to the strings. As I said in my original review that the music contains, “the low strings upon low strings meandering away with occasional low brass accompaniment from Enemy at the Gates and the strings on deep reverberating bells/wave like long lined strings from House of Sand and Fog.” I said then that this killed the score, but on rediscovering Horner’s intimate side, I can say it is these techniques that make the score as fluid and as deep as it is. Apart they don’t work so well (I make no bones about my dislike for Enemy at the Gates), but together they create a dark, twisted, twirling atmosphere where the music starts on top and works its way down. Wooden these orchestrations are not. Fluid and dynamic they are.
This is not to say all is perfect. I do still find that the score slows down considerably toward the middle, with lots of drawn out string notes and missing accompaniments that sort of lead a go nowhere wander atmosphere to the score. Sometimes the score is stripped to the bare bones and just a few instruments are playing sparsely constructed notations, but its never allowed to become excruciatingly boring as these sections don’t last long. They may seem to if you aren’t listening to the layers of the score, because sometimes the top layer is doing nothing and noodling around. But the joy here is to search lower layers, and by doing that, one might just find the occasional nod to the power theme or an amazing countermelody of strong construct that is sending the musical message of, “hey, watch out!”
Three tracks that I find interesting are track 3, 5, and 9. Tracks 5 and 9 are based around pizzicato strings around brooding statements of the power theme, augmented by the plucked steel drum synths (for lack of a better description) from The Forgotten/Chumscrubber. These tracks provide an awesome, subtle, yet entirely foreboding musical warning that there is significant conniving, and one should beware. These tracks are most chilling and evocative, and serve to create some of the most dynamic tension Horner has written in years.
Track 3 is an anomaly in the score. It sticks out like a sore thumb, but it fits the atmosphere of the score none the less. As I said in my original review, and this still holds true, with this track, “one is listening to bright Americana from the pages of Searching for Bobby Fischer (with an Americana theme that is a variation on Bobby Fischer's main theme). It is alive with style and vigor and is quite a pleasant listen.” It ends with a quotation out of Braveheart of the Sons of Scotland theme, but works just as well here as a theme of triumph and victory, when played forcefully as it is here. It works well enough in Braveheart, but it really gets the blood flowing here. I have had a chance to see just this scene in the movie (and friend owns it and let me watch just this scene). The replacement cue is not nearly as good, as it is a more subdued interpretation of the same material (that americana theme is still present, just stripped of its countermelody). I found it funny that most reviewers let Horner off the hook for the Braveheart reference since the cue was replaced in the film. Clearly no one had bothered to see it--the Braveheart reference is still very much in the final film.
“All the King's Men is highly original, which should please many people. Yes, its Horner. As I said, its oozing with his style.” I indicated that in my review, and indeed, that is very true. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Horner’s style is what keeps me coming back to his scores, as I always feel at home and in a welcome presence with his music on. Rather than walking into a generic department store for a meal, its like going to grandma’s and being pampered with all the fixins’ (okay, so I’m being melodramatic, but you get the idea). As a miscellaneous note, I mentioned before that, aside from the Beautiful Mind and Braveheart references, “in the track Adam's World at about 2:27 in, there is a loudly mixed harp playing the action theme from Commando. It makes for a heartbreaking top to the sad strings in the background. It only appears once and here for about 15 seconds or so, thus it honestly shouldn't matter to anyone but those with a keen ear listening for the tips of the hat.”
I concluded my previous review by saying, “Alas, there is nothing more to say about All the King's Men. Some are going to love it and some are going to hate it.” But I hope like me, if you hate it, you can go from hating it to loving it. It has been worth the trip.
**** out of 5.
Welcome to The Horner Review
Hey all. Welcome to the Horner Review. A lot of people seemed enthusiastic about my reviews that I have written for Horner Scores over at the Horner Shrine, so I figured I would dedicate this new blog to writing reviews of his scores for all to enjoy.
A little background on how I review.
- You will rarely see me refer to specific track titles, or even numbers. I used to listen to scores on my CD Player, but now a days I listen to them, lights out, laying on my bed, with my eyes closed, allowing me to soak up the music without any other distraction or notation.
- I think it is important to consider the wishes of an artist in enjoying their work (after all, it gives a different perspective on it when you see it from theirs), and noting how Horner emphasizes moods, colors, and emotions, this is how I like to listen to his work.
- Sometimes I will take notes on things I find particularly noteworthy, but I likely will only do that with brand new scores. Scores I am rereviewing or have been out for a while, I am bound to talk only in more generalities and impressions/moods the music gave me.
- I am bound to change reviews from time to time, as you will see from my first one.
I hope you all will add this blog to your RSS feeds as I intend to update. I will only update if I know people are reading, so please leave comments and feedback. I'd love to hear from you and would love to hear your opinions.
Thank you so much for reading, and here is to happy listening.
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