Friday, April 27, 2012

Power Anthems: Part 3

A brief prefatory note: I've noticed that some of these have become mini-reviews. So don't be surprised if some of the material is included in the full reviews (assuming I actually write any, since so far, Wallace and Gromit is the only one).

Batman Begins/The Dark Knight-Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard
I'm not the biggest fan of these scores--as far as music for The World's Greatest Detective goes, I prefer Elfman, Walker, and Goldenthal. For me, the most enjoyable part of these scores include the quieter, more emotional material and Harvey Dent's theme. The music for the Joker is effective, if not as revolutionary as some think. But the first film does feature a power anthem heard in the track "Molossus" and plays in the film when Bruce Wayne is escaping from the League of Shadows fortress and again at the film's climax. Puzzlingly, this theme is not heard in The Dark Knight in full, though the underlying chords are heard in the track "Like a Dog Chasing Cars." Because, as we all know, Batman doesn't need a theme! Simplistic droning and endlessly repeating minor thirds perfectly express the complexity of Batman's character, especially since it sounds so much like the music of every Jerry Bruckheimer action film ever made.

Pearl Harbor-Hans Zimmer
For this film, which drew raves for Ben Affleck's subtle, nuanced, and powerful Brando-esque performance, Zimmer wrote a slight love theme and lots of other unsubstantial material. The CD contained almost no action material, except for the track "War," which is an admittedly rousing piece with some particularly fine string churning about two-thirds of the way through. But the true power anthem in this score is in the unreleased cue following the attack when Affleck and Hartnett go all macho and dogfight with the Japanese planes. The theme here is more than a little similar to one in Gladiator (see below) and, thus, the "He's a Pirate." You can listen to it on Youtube here, though there are unfortunately machine gun and plane sound effects.

Gladiator-Hans Zimmer, Lisa Gerrard, Klaus Badelt
About halfway into the "Battle" cue (underscoring the opening skirmish), we hear a figure that seems to have directly influenced the "He's a Pirate" theme. I tried typing several statements comparing the two that didn't sound like I was typing out of my ass (which I am), but since I have no formal musical training, I gave up. Sorry. Suffice to say, the two are very structurally and melodically similar. The track also opens up with a simpler yet still muscular theme for Maximus.

Pirates of the Caribbean-Hans Zimmer, Klaus Badelt, Henry Jackman, about a dozen more
Wonder why the Pirates of the Caribbean films have so many themes? One of the reasons is probably because so many composers worked on it. Besides the "He's a Pirate" theme, there's a quirky string dance, a grander theme for Jack's entrance, a Black Pearl motif, a "rocking" theme for the undead pirates ("rocking" in more ways than one--it's very similar to the theme for Hummel in The Rock), and several action themes (one of them based on a theme from Drop Zone). And that's just the first film--the next two films offer a ridiculous (yet fun) theme for the Kraken, an expansion on the string dance that is transformed into Jack Sparrow's theme, Davy Jones's music box/organ theme, a tune for Tia Dalma, a sweeping three-part love theme for Will and Elizabeth, themes for Sao Feng and Beckett, and the "Hoist the Colours" chant. There are themes for Blackbeard, mermaids, and the Fountain  of Youth in the fourth movie, but I honestly can't recall them. The problem is that the themes in the first film sound similar and tend to run together, and the second film doesn't use its themes enough. Yet the third film, along with Last Samurai, has one of the best scores Zimmer has done since 1998.

Drop Zone-Hans Zimmer and Nick Glennie-Smith
This score is completely synthesized and performed by Zimmer and Glennie-Smith. It attempts to emulate the sound of an orchestra, which makes it sound a little dated. But the cleverly titled "Too Many Notes, Not Enough Rests" contains a theme that would find its way into Pirates of the Caribbean. It features prominently in the suite "Pirates, Day One 4:56 AM" that Zimmer composed before handing scoring duties to Klaus Badelt and others.

Broken Arrow-Hans Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams
John Travolta hams it up as a villain in this John Woo film, and Zimmer and Gregson-Williams provide swaggering accompaniment. One tension-building theme is adapted from (and credited to) Randy Edelman, but original themes include a rising theme for the hero, a cool guitar lick that turns into a massive anthem for Travolta's character, and an exciting action anthem that again sounds like it could be an inspiration for the "He's a Pirate" theme. The music for the final battle of the film ("Hammerhead" on La-La-Land Records' expanded CD) is a nonstop adrenaline blast.

Backdraft-Hans Zimmer
This score was written in the ancient days of 1991, but it is still arguably one of Zimmer's most effective, benefiting from the talents of orchestrator and conductor Shirley Walker. Some of its music was famously used in the TV show Iron Chef, setting the precedent for scoring cooking competitions and reality shows with ridiculous, laughably over-the-top dramatic music. The score features an anticipatory ostinato that would influence many other MV/RC scores, and the triumphant "Show Me Your Firetruck" cue that is either one of the most inspiring or most hokey tunes you will ever hear. I imagine this is the sort of music that would pump athletes up before a big game (or a little one, as the case may be.)

Crimson Tide-Hans Zimmer
This score for Tony Scott's entertaining thriller features the ultimate power anthem in the cue "Roll Tide." A solo trumpet leads into the anthem played softly on real and synthesized brass and strings. It repeats and gets louder and louder, and just when it seems like it has reached its peak, three massive percussion hits precede a gargantuan statement of the theme This leads into a blood-pumping ten-note ostinato on low strings and then a brassy bridge before simmering down. And would you believe that the scene in question (the ending of the film; the aforementioned three percussion hits mark the final cut to black and the text epilogue) is not a macho march or slow-motion action scene, but merely Denzel Washington watching Gene Hackman walking away with his dog? Nonetheless, this is probably the definitive example of this type of music.

The Peacemaker-Hans Zimmer
This ballsy action score is like Crimson Tide on steroids (apart from the main anthem, most of the score to Crimson Tide is relatively low-key.) Although it contains a neat theme for Sarajevo and various other thematic material, most of the action material can be summed up in the 17-minute cue "The Chase," one of the most exhilarating pieces of music Zimmer has ever written (even though consists of a few cues edited together). The main theme appears in full in the last two minutes of the cue, and is actually the end credits. It resembles the theme from Crimson Tide more than a little, especially with the low string ostinato, which here rises steadily instead of going up and down. It ends with a march-like horn tune that builds before rhythmic strings fade out. Again, the combination of orchestra and synth is remarkably potent, and this 1997 score would be Zimmer's last effective use of this style of scoring.

The Rock-Nick Glennie-Smith, Hans Zimmer, Harry Gregson-Williams
Zimmer wrote the title theme for Michael Bay's best film (unless Armageddon and The Island, which I haven't seen, are better), a slow, melancholy march that plays much the same way in the scene where (MILD SPOILER ALERT) Michael Biehn dies yet again, along with his crew (END OF SPOILER). The theme can also conveys a more adventurous tone when played faster (Sherlock observed perceptively). Glennie-Smith and Gregson-Williams provide a plethora of additional themes. Besides a guitar-based love theme and a flute theme for Sean Connery (reprised in power anthem mode in "Mason's Walk") there is a swashbuckling theme for Nicolas Cage's exploits that opens the end credits (similar to, yes, "He's a Pirate") and an angular theme for Ed Harris (Hummel) and his troops (part of which is similar to another Pirates of the Caribbean theme played when Elizabeth first encounters the pirates in their undead form). Gregson-Williams also provides some themes in the San Francisco car chase that appear again in the final fight scenes, one that uses more repeated notes and one that is slightly more lyrical. Like the film itself, the score is not terribly original (though certainly more original than certain score that would follow), but it's one of the most entertaining scores of its kind.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Power Anthems: Part 2

X-Men: First Class-Henry Jackman
For the most part, Henry Jackman's scores (like John Powell's) have been more complex and orchestrally adventurous than those from his fellow MV/RC graduates. But for Matthew Vaughn's impressive follow-up to Kick-Ass, Jackman composed a simple, robust anthem for Xavier's mutants and their emerging heroism. While best heard in its full form in the track "First Class," (actually the last part of the end credits) Jackman also incorporates more adventurous, higher-tempo variations in the cues for the lengthy final battle. The ten-note melody is interesting in that it sounds like it's going to resolve in note eight, but instead rises up for the conclusive descending figure.

Speed/Speed 2: Cruise Control-Mark Mancina
The noble, surprisingly evocative main theme for Speed is a catchy tune that is played with more of an orchestral sound than the typical power anthem, and even gets a tender piano and string rendition in the end credits of the first film. There is also more standard, minor-mode anthem that often follows the main theme as well as a staccato six-note action motif. The score for the second film introduces even more themes. In addition to the Caribbean-style love theme and chromatic villain theme, there are no less than three distinct anthems. Having not seen the film, I have no idea what each relates to, but one is a faster-paced one introduced in the opening "Motorcycle Chase", one is a more triumphant fanfare heard in "Last Lifeboat," and the last is the most power anthem-y of them, heard in "Final Chase" and the commercially-unreleased cue "Tuneman." Mancina's score for Speed would have a large influence on the action music of the rising Media Ventures "club."

Twister-Mark Mancina
Although Twister contains a lively Copland-esque theme (introduced in "Wheatfield") and a wondrous theme representing the awesome power of tornadoes (best heard in "God's Finger"), it also contains one of my personal favorite power anthems. The climatic cue "Mobile Home" includes a pounding ostinato that leads into the impressive anthem, which is modulated upward for its second statement before returning to the ostinato and climaxing with a dramatic rendition of the Copland-esque theme. This cue segues right into the splendor of "God's Finger," and they are a pair of cues that I play often.

BLOOD+-Mark Mancina
For this ambitious anime series, Mancina composed several themes, two of them fitting in the "power anthem" category.  "Saya's Victory" introduces a triumphant theme that reminds me a little of his superb work on Tarzan, while "BLOOD+ Grand Theme" is a dramatic march (with the inevitable Mars/Holst-inspired section.) The whole score is full of riches, from tender passages and raging action to a fantastic aria.

Antz-Harry Gregson-Willams and John Powell
This isn't the first score to spring to mind when one thinks "power anthem," and indeed, this gem of a score is in a category of its own. But the theme for General Mandible does fit into this category. While it is introduced on exotic instruments, male choir soon enters and exposes the theme for what it really is. A high-energy variation of the theme is played during the termite battle. The fact that this is actually one of the more minor themes in this theme-heavy score illustrates the strength of the composition as a whole.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty/Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater/Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots-Harry Gregson-Williams
For the second installment of this complex video game series, Gregson-Willams "power anthem-ized" the theme from the first game composed by TAPPY. For the third game, HGW introduced his own epic theme to accompany the original theme. A plagiarism suit involving TAPPY's theme kept it from being included in the fourth game, but HGW was able to update his own theme, giving it a faster pace and a part of it beautifully performed by solo trumpet in the cue "Metal Gear Saga." Oddly enough, HGW does not use his theme much in the actual underscore to the games (at least not in the cues he composed), which is a shame because it's a rousing theme.

Team America:World Police-Harry Gregson-Williams
This just might be the best power anthem score there is, maybe because it's parodying the style and HGW thus does not need to restrain himself in any way. The "Team America March" opens with an ultra-macho theme complete with male choir accompaniment, and then moves on to the most used theme of the score, a triumphant melody more reminiscent of the composer's work with John Powell on Chicken Run than any power anthem. The track closes with a true power anthem that starts quietly before blossoming into full chorus, orchestra, and synth-orchestra. "F.A.G." contains a brief rocking anthem while "Putting a Jihad on You" contains a classic, four-chord masculine melody that brings to mind a Michael Bay film with a line of macho US Military soldiers walking toward the screen in slow motion. Truly an enjoyable score.

Next: The conclusion with Hans Zimmer.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Power Anthems: Part 1

I've stated before my somewhat lukewarm feelings about Hans Zimmer in the wonderful post/essay with his name emblazoned on top. While he is not among my favorite composers, there is no denying that, especially in his earlier works, he has written some crowd-pleasing tunes. Although Zimmer has written his share of tender scores, he is most known for his action scores, combining synthesizer, brass, and low strings to create muscular blasts of music. He popularized the use of what has come to be known in film music circles as the "power anthem," a loud, melodic tune based on very simple chords that makes you want to go out and kick some derriere (or roll your eyes, depending on your level of exposure to these tunes that have admittedly become a bit overused). Power anthems have a lot in common musically with progressive rock, which, combined with the typical earth-shattering volume and emphasized bass, perhaps accounts for their popularity. Soon, Zimmer's acolytes also began writing these anthems, and the big studios' fondness for this style of writing has led to composers such as Patrick Doyle, Javier Naverrete, and Brian Tyler, not from Zimmer's Media Ventures/Remote Control studio, being asked to create this kind of music. Of course, there is no shortage of MV/RC graduates like Mark Mancina, Harry Gregson-Williams, John Powell, Henry Jackman, Steve Jablonsky, and Klaus Badelt currently writing such tunes.

Of course, it is difficult (for me at least) to explain the properties of music without getting flowery, so let's use the most popular example of a power anthem: the "He's a Pirate" tune from the Pirates of the Caribbean films. As soon as the credits rolled for the first Pirates film, I was undoubtedly impressed at the macho, energetic sound. As with many in my generation and after, it was the first full-blooded power anthem I'd heard, but it would be far from the last. As I became more familiar with Hans Zimmer's catalog (especially Crimson Tide, The Peacemaker, Broken Arrow, and Drop Zone), the more I realized how derivative the theme was. Not that it isn't enjoyable, but it's not the unique, revolutionary, untouchable melody that some seem to think it is.

So... if "He's a Pirate" stirs your blood, here is a selection of power anthems that you should become intimately familiar with. Part 1 will include composers Steve Jablonsky and Brian Tyler.

Transformers-Steve Jablonsky
OK, it's not a great score, but the scores for the Michael Bay action-fest films are literally a string of power anthems strung together (with the exception of a blatant Thomas Newman rip-off theme for Sam Witwicky's more whimsical scenes). There are actually quite a lot of themes, but unfortunately, most of them sound the same. There is a reflective theme composed of two four-note phrases (heard in "Optimus Prime"), a churning, ostinato-based motif with male chorus for the Decepticons, an anthem for the military forces (heard in "Scorponok"), an action theme associated with Bumblebee and the other Autobots (heard in "Allspark" and "Bumblebee"), and the popular "Arrival to Earth" theme associated with Optimus Prime. Perhaps the most engaging theme is the one introduced at the beginning of the film and entitled "Autobots" on the soundtrack. This is the theme that gets stuck in my head the most often.

Transformers: Prime-Brian Tyler
This may not be a popular opinion, but I find Brian Tyler's score for this animated Transformers series to be superior to Jablonsky's efforts for the feature films. The main theme is a muscular, steadily rising march that combines the sound of MV/RC scores with Tyler's own melodic sensibilities.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3-Brian Tyler
For this installment of the blockbuster video game franchise, Tyler adapted the Zimmer sound to powerful effect. The main theme is not as memorable as the one for Transformers: Prime, but it still harkens back to the days when Zimmer and his apprentices actually composed themes like these instead of sonic wallpaper.

Battle: Los Angeles-Brian Tyler
MV/RC composers have always found a place for electric guitars, but Tyler uses them more for color and texture instead of playing rock riffs that have become somewhat cliche in film scoring. The track "Battle: Los Angeles-Main Title" (actually a suite of material from other parts of the score) contains most of the primary thematic material. The main theme is a simple but fairly long melody that starts out descending before slowly reaching upward, creating a mood of muted hope.

It should be noted that many of Brain Tyler's action scores are wonderfully powerful and owe a little to MV/RC influence, but not as much as the three mentioned above. Scores like Eagle Eye and Alien vs. Predator: Requiem are exciting, but they feature rapid, busy orchestral action as opposed to the simpler, slower chordal movement of power anthems.

Part 2 will feature the four best composers to emerge from MV/RC: Henry Jackman, John Powell, Harry Gregson-Williams, and Mark Mancina. Part 3 will be devoted to the progenitor of all this madness, the Big Z himself. That means at least two more posts before I have to start thinking about writing actual reviews.