Curious Case of Benjamin Button Soundtrack Review

I don’t mean to start of with such a glowing bit of praise but Alexandre Desplat’s score for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is completely fantastic. One of the key elements I look for in a score when listening to it outside of the film, is if it’s listenable outside of that world. Could I pop it in and listen to it as a piece of music or do I need to be in the frame of mind of the film to enjoy it? This is one of those scores that you could pop in anytime, any mood, and it’ll play fine.

Desplat has a few themes he works into the score. There is early on a lot of playfulness, especially in tracks “Mr. Gateau”, “Meeting Daisy”, and in “Love in Mourmansk” with some flutes and plucking in the strings section, but it’s not cheesy. He’s exploring Benjamin’s curious nature. Some of it is still sprinkled in throughout the film, midway we get a bit more sorrowful and reflective in the music like in tracks “Alone at Night”, “It was Nice to Have Met You” while still continuing Benjamin’s nature. “Submarine Attack” gives off a gloom and doom atmosphere and “Daisy’s Ballet Career” also seems a bit odd in the overall composition.

“Postcards”, “Sunrise on Lake Pontchartrain”, and the closing “Benjamin and Daisy” are the best tracks. Haunting, beautiful, and warm, a combination of the full orchestra and piano and are the three that will be remembered. I’ve listened to “Benjamin and Daisy” a handful of times already, it’s fantastic. Alexandre Desplat has crafted a sweet and sorrowful score at 21 tracks. The score should be remembered on Best of lists but it’s a perfect score to listen to at any time for any mood. Fans of classical compositions should have a lot to rejoice about and film score fans have another great score to add to their collections.

Also of note, this CD is a 2-disc set, with disc 2 filled with classic songs from Louis Armstrong, The Platters, and Bix Beiderbecke.

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The Dark Knight soundtrack review

A great film isn’t without a great score and Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard did just that. More than rehashing their good work on Batman Begins, they continued themes from that film and introduced new ones. The soundtrack starts off in a rousing and violent way with “Why so Serious?” a long ten minute piece of jarring guitars and scary slicing noises. It all begins with a hum that turns into a new screech that becomes the warning sign for the impending violence the Joker will deliver. It’s a standout piece of music, one in which many have talked about in remembering why the Joker is so scary.

Throughout the 14 tracks Zimmer and Newton tackle themes more than covering action set pieces, like most composers would’ve done. “Harvey Two-Face” is Dent’s theme, a warm, inviting piece that towards the end hints at turmoil we will see later on. One of the brilliant ideas they introduced here was to incorporate each character’s theme into other tracks, like “A Dark Knight” which is the final track that complies Dent’s, Joker’s, and Batman’s themes all the while saying musically what the film is about.

The overall mood is dark, naturally, but Zimmer and Newton have some fun with “Like a Dog Chasing Cars” and “A Little Push”. The moody tracks evoke the dark, sadistic nature of the Joker while being comic in essence. The soundtrack is listenable outside of the film too, which is a quality I look for. “Blood on My Hands” might be the saddest piece of music this year, a mournful tale of the guilt Batman feels. It’s a dark, epic beautiful score and The Dark Knight is one of 2008’s best scores.

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Quantum of Solace Original Soundtrack review

David Arnold returns to score another Bond film and much like Casino Royale, he makes the music fit within the action, never making it glowingly obvious when used. Much has been made of Arnold’s lack of incorporating the James Bond theme. He uses it absolutely sparingly and it’s barely there. There’s some chord riffs of the famous theme sprinkled a few times here and there. We can only speculate at his decision to not use the theme prominently, but one gets the sense e could possibly building up to it, if he returns for another Bond film.

It’s a listenable soundtrack, but one that might not be thrown on a lot. There are plenty of little music bites just covering a certain event from the film, like “Bond in Haiti”, “DC3″, and “I Never Left” which makes for not a particularly constant listen. Themes like “Time to Get Out”, “Pursuit of at Port au Prince”, and “Perla de Las Dunas” are fun listens and capture much of Quantum’s themes and action. “Camille’s Story” and “The Dead Don’t Care about Vengeance” are beautiful yet again, capturing a character’s theme.

“Another Way to Die” is the first Bond title song to be sung as a duet and it is a delight. Combining two different genres and musicians could’ve been a mess. Jack White from the White Strips never shadows Alicia Keys’ piano work; strangely they both compliment each other. Key’s soulful and provocative singing goes back to some of the best Bond songs. I feel like the best songs feature a singer who is classical trained and has a smooth voice. Keys has one and behind her is some rocking distortion guitar work that makes for one of the better Bond songs since The World is Not Enough, by Garbage.

All in all, fans of this new series of Bond films should enjoy Arnold’s composing as it works to under current the themes explored. Granted it semi-listenable, but works better if you’re in a Bond mood. Here’s hoping in the next Bond film and if David Arnold returns to compose it, he lets lose and includes John Barry’s awesome theme.

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