Updated Review: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

While the expanded Raiders only adds a little, it's Temple of Doom that really benefits from the new boxed set, more than doubling the original (pretty crappy) Polydor release, improving the sound and finally giving us all those great moments that seemed doomed (hoho) to only ever be heard above screams of "In-Deeeeeee!"

Click your pointer thing here for the review.

Updated Review: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Coverage of the new Indy soundtracks boxed set seems to be curiously muted, but - despite it not perhaps being the ultimate set we were all hoping for - it's great to at last have 90 minutes or so from all three of the classic Indy soundtracks. Will be updating the review for Temple of Doom and Last Crusade (where the greatest improvements are to be found), but first up, the original and, arguably, best, Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I'll be doing a more general commentary about the set as a whole in a future blog entry. Honest.

New Review - Doctor Who: Season 4

Go to Soundtrack Express for the review of Season 4 of Doctor Who, another superb album from Murray Gold.

Quantum of Solace (David Arnold)

New review of Quantum of Solace now up. I wanted a lot of solace, not just a quantum, but in the end I got nothing. Such are monkeys.

Way to Normal - Ben Folds

I do hope that most of you have musical tastes beyond film music, I must admit that mine do largely extend to orchestral music of some sort (even down to the wonderful Divine Comedy who are essentially an orchestral pop band). However, as a pianist and songwriter, I of course love Randy Newman (scores and songs) but am also a huge fan of Ben Folds. Not a household name by any means, but hugely popular in both the UK and Europe, although maybe more famous when he was the lead figure in Ben Folds Five (although oddly it had only three members). Since going solo - which didn't really make any difference since Folds wrote, sang and played all the songs in the Five - he's released two proper albums, Rockin' the Suburbs and Songs for Silverman, the latter probably remaining his finest solo disc. He's also put out a few EPs and contributed to a number of movies, notably Over the Hedge.

His latest, Way to Normal, carries on the tone set in Songs for Silverman to some extent but Folds rather lightens the mood (musically) and increases the swearing. Some reviews have complained that he's just starting to sound rather bitter. Where before he provided either a lighthearted critique or soulful exploration of modern relationships, his age rather makes him sound a bit like an old git. Maybe the Bastard of the opening track on Silverman. The result is that Way to Normal isn't his strongest album, but for anyone who likes his style, there's plenty to enjoy. There's a bit more rocky stuff here than on Silverman, notably Dr Yang, The Frown Song, Errant Dog and the humorous Bitch Went Nuts (although drifting into offensive for the sake of it territory at times it has to be said, great tune though) and Brainwascht.

The main single is You Don't Know Me, a semi-duet with Regina Spektor. I say semi as Spektor gets about a quarter the number of lines as Folds. He never used to make an effort to write a singalong chorus, but You Don't Know Me is just that, otherwise a fun take on a couple who realise they know nothing about each other. However, it does have a bit of a problem common to several other songs, it ambles a bit in the middle. The otherwise lovely Kylie from Connecticut has the same issue. Folds seems to run out of vocal material midway through and so there's a short noodling passage. If there's one thing I'd never previously have complained about with Folds it's that his songs have padding, but there's a little of that here. Hiroshima has similar issues, although it has a nice stadium rock feel, complete with sampled cheering from his concerts to convey the situation of Folds singing about a real incident where he fell of stage and had to stop playing from bleeding too much. The true highlight is the gorgeous Cologne midway through the disc, one of those wonderful ballads that Folds does so well. Another would be Effington which seems like a cousin to Jesusland from Silverman, about small town America.

If you like Folds already, Way to Normal is a solid but not especially outstanding effort and I don't think it'd be the album to convert a novice (from Ben Folds Five I suggest Whatever and Ever Amen and Songs for Silverman from his solo work). Some tracks are just a bit meh, Errant Dog and Fresh Coffee in particular. The latter has an especially irritating crackling synth noise that spoils an otherwise pointed and ironic lyric; when poor, Folds had to pay for his own coffee and now he's rich, he gets them free. Still, for highlights such as Cologne, Effington, Kylie in Connecticut and The Frown Song, a fun disc, but as some commentators have suggested, it might be nice for Folds to try something a bit different next time. Having seen his amazing Ben Folds with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra where his songs are arranged for full orchestra, something like that would be rather stunning. Here's hoping he can either do new material with orchestra in mind or a good recording of those on the DVD and few newer tracks too.

Cloverfield - Michael Giacchino

Not being much of a fan of The Blair Witch Project, I wasn't entirely sure what I'd make of Cloverfield, doing for monster movies what Blair Witch did for horror. In truth, Cloverfield looks a (few tens of) million Dollars in comparison, notably the seamless and superb effects shots of the creature itself. Being in a home movie style, there's no score (although they managed to use the excuse of the opening party sequence to put together a mix of pop songs for release) but as it was produced by JJ Abrams, Michael Giacchino gets 10 minutes all to himself over the end credits.

One of the joys of iTunes is being able to release and buy single tracks and so after much delay, a full 12 minute version of Cloverfield's end credis overture, Roar! saw the light of day. Giacchino pays clear and respectful homage to Akira Ifukube with a terrific, menacing, stomping brass theme, alternating with almost Alexander Courage-esque female vocal writing. A quieter passage in the latter half almost calls to mind Elliot Goldenthal, but soon enough Giacchino's thunderous creature feature tune comes back to the fore, decorated again by the female vocalist. One wonders how terrific a full Cloverfield score from Giacchino might have been, although if the occasionally mentioned sequel ever comes about, we may find out.

You're a bit stuffed if you aren't an iTunes user as that's the only legitimate place to buy it, but if you are willing to put with all the DRM crap, probably the best 79 pence you'll ever spend: 12 minutes of Giacchino bliss.

New Review! Torchwood, Mummy 3 & Clone Wars

Finally, with some help, Soundtrack Express is up and running again and will hopefully stick to a moderately decent flow of new reviews as we get to what is probably the most interesting time of the year when the Oscar bating films come out in the lead up to Christmas. However, a couple of the summer's biggest releases have now been review:

Torchwood - Ben Foster & Murray Gold

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - Randy Edelman

Star Wars: Clone Wars - Kevin Kiner

Enjoy (or not...  it's a free country).

The Film Music of Danny Elfman & Thomas Newman

Of all the current composers, I think Thomas Newman has been the most hard done by in not having had any previous compilations released in his name. Indeed, oddly, he doesn't feature a great deal in compilations in general, but I guess his music doesn't necessarily lend itself to compilation format. Danny Elfman, on the other hand, has two compilations of original recording tracks and has featured on plenty of compilations. These two new collections of largely new recordings are fairly (for Elfman) and LONG (for Newman) overdue, but both have similar strengths and weaknesses.

Firstly, both seem a bit on the mean side, coming in at under an hour, especially when most of Silva's collections are double disc (even Hans Zimmer, who is pretty well Newman and Elfman's contemporary) and they have several four disc sets (albeit for rather more veteran composers) floating about. Also, neither collection really highlights the diversity of either composer. Elfman's almost seems like one half of a two disc set, something like The Fantasy Worlds of Danny Elfman, with a second disc of his more dramatic works. It seems rather an oversight not to include anything from Mission: Impossible, Black Beauty, Dolores Claiborne, Good Will Hunting or even the recent Wanted and Standard Operating Procedure.

For Newman, the main issue is that the choices make his music seem rather less varied than it actually is. For sure, Newman has a strong style, but the emphasis is on his straight orchestral writing, only with Dead Already from American Beauty and does his quirky side really come out to any great extent. Then again, some of his best orchestral moments are conspicuously absent, notably his superb end credits from Little Children nor anything from Angels in America, surely one of his finest scores period. Sure, all the entries here are fine in their own right, but it's just frustrating having an album representing a distinct side to a particular composer but one that misses out some of his best work in that side of his style.

Newman fares better when it comes to performance. His emphasis on strings and woodwind suits the Prague players better than Elfman's complex brass and percussion writing. For the latter, Spider-Man is distinctly on the lethargic side and parts of his bigger Burton scores - Batman, in particular - aren't always as snappy or concise as the originals. As intros to both composers, they aren't bad, but the skewed choices make Elfman seem only capable of large bluster and Newman only capable of gorgeous string writing. Not that any choices are bad, but with 20 minutes of spare space on each disc, surely Silva could have been a little more generous. Can only hope they do the same for James Newton Howard, a contemporary of both who is as overdue a Newman when it comes to having a selection of his best work in one place.

Buy the Thomas Newman collection from Amazon.

My Desktop Lives!

After much technical jigging and poking, my desktop Mac has been revived from its death throes and is now functioning. Therefore, I should be able to get some new reviews up... not that I think I've missed anything much, but hey, here's hoping. One tip, buy Randy Newman's new song album, Harps and Angels, it's a peach. Too bloody short thought. Great songs though. Anyway, look out for some new reviews shortly.

Music from the Films of Tim Burton (Danny Elfman, Howard Shore & Stephen Sondheim)

I don't often review compilations that aren't composer specific (sorry Silva Screen), but there are few directors who have received such consistently great music for their films as Tim Burton (Steven Spielberg being the most obvious rival). Naturally, the bulk of the album is made up of Danny Elfman tracks. Given his greater integration of electronics recently, I was quite curious to hear how Silva approached this, but there isn't really much here that shows this off, mainly because Planet of the Apes (curiously) isn't included. However, what is included is largely done very well.  Corpse Bride is especially fine, with the delightful piano solos - a nice antidote to the rather more weighty music elsewhere. The two Batman tracks see the brass struggle a bit and the suite from the first film is more lethargic than grand in places. However, Sleepy Hollow, the two Pee Wees, Mars Attacks! and, in particular, the Christmas Eve Montage from The Nightmare Before Christmas are especially fine.

Howard Shore's sole contribution from Ed Wood feels a little protracted here without the original narration, well performed though it is. On the other hand, the selections from Sweeney Todd are terrific. The original soundtrack performance would be hard to beat, but there is certainly nothing lacking here and the orchestra only versions of the main song tunes are immensely effective. I must admit that it's a score that's grown on me rather than one that was memorable from the start and this has helped improve my enjoyment of the full album. If, like me, you have all of the original scores, there's not really much that this album can add, but it can be nice to wallow in one of Hollywood's most enduring director/composer partnerships.

Buy from Amazon.

Soundtrack Express Update

Hi all.  My lovely shiny Mac has, rather carelessly, suffered a bit of a malfunction (apparently due to a lightning strike) and so website updating for Soundtrack Express will be stunted until I can either get a new Mac (go insurance, go) or somehow get it all going on my laptop. However, with a whole heap of visitors coming to visit the lovely island of Guernsey and all that crap, it could be a week or two. Therefore, my schedule of updating may be halted, but I shall endeavour to get a few reviews up on the blog page... so watch this space. Or this one. Look, just here =>

Flogging Stuff on eBay...

Yes, I know it's shameless, but I have to keep up my terrible (film music buying) addiction somehow... 

Wall-E - Thomas Newman

Review of Thomas Newman's delightful score to the much anticipated 2008 Pixar release, Wall-E posted to Soundtrack Express.

North by Northwest - Bernard Herrmann

Updated review of Bernard Herrmann's classic North by Northwest to coincide with Varese's new full length re-recording, conducted by Joel McNeely.

Iron Man - Ramin Djawadi

So it's all true. Iron Man is, musically, another bland orchestral synth rock pop pile of drivel. Ugh, what a shame. While superhero scores haven't quite hit the memorable peaks of John Williams' Superman, Elfman's Batman or even Goldsmith's cheesy, but very memorable Supergirl, recently, there have been plenty of decent entries. However, that all seems to have gone by the wayside and on a ratio of film quality to music, this is pretty much the poorest. Indeed, the film itself is excellent and Robert Downey Jnr. is superb as the lead, but the music lends very little to the film itself and is no more exciting on CD.

The opening cue pretty much sets the tone, rock band, synths, orchestra somewhere in there, lots of percussion, hardly a theme to speak of. I mean, I wouldn't mind if it went from that, morphing into something memorable, after all, a build up to the main theme can be most effective. In this case, it builds to more of the same, just relentlessly on and on. The action is typical post-MV territory (one day I might not have to write that any more, but it's not coming any time soon) and there are some vague ethnic bits. There's little decent on the quiet side either. It's interrupted by the odd couple of songs which are no more or less uninteresting than the score itself. Ok, if you like loud and not particularly interesting scoring, you'll have a wet dream over it, but this is a superhero score I can happily leave. Just glad it didn't ruin the film. Une Etoile.

Buy from Amazon.

The Happening - James Newton Howard

Review of The Happening by James Newton Howard at Soundtrack Express.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Film Comments

Let's face it, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was never going to quite match the expectations everyone had for it, but in fairness, you shouldn't have ridiculous expectations! After all, the Indiana Jones films are pulpy throwbacks, not fine art. That Crystal Skull is great entertainment, doesn't pretend Harrison Ford is 30 and features a sprightly John Williams score, is almost enough in my book. Perhaps the worst thing about it is that it follows Last Crusade, which seemed so final in its conclusion. Indy, dad and buddies riding off into the sunset seemed just perfect and trilogies are a tried and tested film making format. Raiders kicks it off at a visceral pace, Temple of Doom goes darker and Last Crusade is the slightly lighter, but nicely conclusive third part. Crystal Skull just feels like an appendix. The original trilogy might not have told a single story, but they worked, contrasting nicely with each other. Crystal Skull just sits at the end, after a bit of a break, feeling like an Indy film, but not an essential one.

Still, no point whinging about its faults (not that it's stopped me before) as it's a great piece of entertainment. Harrison Ford has never really been anyone other than Indy or Han Solo for me (sad but true) and so him being back on screen as Indy is just right. Karen Allen certainly doesn't look quite as feisty as Marion, even if she sounds it. Shia Le Thingy as Indy Jnr actually acquits himself perfectly well enough; I can almost see an Indy Jones Jnr film at some point, although I doubt Le Thingy would do it, but it's a potentially neat idea. Although would have to stick to a cold war setting. As noted, John Williams' score is terrific fun, if not quite as memorable as the first three, but these things are all relative. It's funny, reviews of the album have been generally positive, but because it's Williams, expectations have been sky high. Yet, when I compare it to most blockbuster scores this summer, it's still in a league of its own. It's real music, something that stands outside the film (for the most part, at least) and while relatively not as memorable, the three major themes are presented fairly strongly within the film.

I rather hope that this is the final fling for Indy, dragging it out any more just wouldn't work. I doubt Spielberg or Ford have much appetite, although given Lucas' love of flogging his franchises, it's not entirely unlikely he could work on something. Having said that, with the relative failure of the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, maybe he realises the appetite for more Indy might be sated by the new film and will just stick to the 43,256,546 Star Wars related projects he has going on. Go see Crystal Skull, if you're a fan, there should be enough moments to give you goosebumps and excitement aplenty. For everyone else, see it anyway, it may not convince disbelievers of the impact Raiders had all those years ago, but only but the most pretentious will walk away without having enjoyed almost every minute.

The Beginnings of Bloggery