Hans Zimmer and John Powell seem to be battling it out as to who can score the most CGI animated movies, although the former invariably gets help and the better invariably gets the better movies. The trailer for Rango looks half amusing and stars the voice of Johnny Depp as a chameleon in Mexico something something something. Naturally the music sounds like Pirates of the Caribbean rendered by someone impersonating Ennio Morricone in about 1965. Not that that's a particularly terrible thing, although the delightful Rango Suite does sound a bit too much like Depp's Pirates theme gone Mexican. Oh, and there's a none too subtle quote of Bernstein's Magnificent Seven rhythm in We Ride, Really!
Of the longer tracks, Bats is the standout; starting off as the unpromising 984,325th spoof of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries gets, erm, ethnically cleansed with harmonica, banjos and such like. Mind you, the quote of Strauss's Blue Danube later in the track, in amongst some standard issue Zimmer action music is less inspired but the track has more variety in 4 minutes than the rest put together. Then again, the brief songs from Los Lobos and others are amusing and breakup the heaviness of some of Zimmer's underscore. Serious, Hans, you don't need to turn up the synth percussion track to 11 in every score you write.
Tracks are generally short and pithy, interspersed by short narration tracks. This counts as one of the five cardinal sins of film music albums (one day I might tell you the other four) but they are brief and humorous enough not to be too annoying. Still, sure someone will complain. It's all very jolly and enjoyable but doesn't exactly stick out. It's one of those scores that sounds exactly how you imagine (as per the above description). The main themes are pleasant enough but I can't see me humming them to the distraction of others.
Purchase this from Amazon.com with money.
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