One man in particulair was very determined in this demamd. So determined, that he even set up a petition to get the score released. This man is Chris Knight, a co-writer/filmmaker/photographer from the United States. He always got good and new information on how the release was progressing, even contacted Mr. Jablonsky himself, and finally can held responsible for the "push forward" the release got.
(But the confirmation that Sony BMG wasn't releasing the score came from me :-)
On October 9, 2007 we finally were able to get our greedy hands on a copy of the TRANSFORMERS: THE SCORE album. (actually it was late night October 8 here) and it was fantastic... the feeling I had then only occurs to me when I reach some sort of weirdish state of mind: Zero Stimulus, as Freud would say. I have only had that feeling four times in my life, all in the recent years, when my very own beloved "ZERO HOUR" was released, when I decided to produce "F=NV2", when I bought my waaaaaaay too expensive Sony HVR-V1E camera, and when the TRANSFORMERS: THE SCORE album was released.
Now, let's take a look at the album itself.
The cover, I think, is a little bit funny. When looking at it, it somehow reminded me of those wacky romantic comedy album/DVD covers, where the characters stand in weirdish poses smiling at the camera with a white background and huge, mostly red, letters on the top displaying the title. If you'd paint the background of this cover white, I'd believe it was a romantic comedy.
But nevertheless, this is one of the rare albums which lists the WHOLE, ENTIRE orchestra (including the percussion section) in its cover. Think that's a very good thing - now the people who really "do" the score, are given credit.
Now: The score itself.
It's a pretty typical MediaVentures/Zimmer album, who has been Jablonsky's "master" in his training years. So, this means that a four to six note violin "ta da ta da ta da ta" motif is being heard as a backdrop to... well, pretty much the entire score, (just as heard in Batman Begins, and more recently in "The Dark Knight") with some heavy brass, more "ta da ta da ta da" strings, ethnic percussion, deep drones, more "ta da ta da ta da" and some George Doering guitar arrangements.
There are two big main theme motifs (different than the "ta da ta da ta da"), which can be defined as "Autobots" and "Decepticons". The first, also introduced in the first track of the albu, being a heroic brass arangement, with it's accompanying "ta da ta da ta da" on the backdrop, a heavenly choir, and some percussive accents, which never get too loud and overblow the brass/ta da ta da ta da (which one could start to regret after ten months listening)
What isn't much heard on a Zimmer Score is the "Metro Voices" (recorded at the famous Abbey Road Studios) Jablonsky uses for the Decepticon theme. Though the MediaVentures backbone of the score is found in this theme (ta da ta da ta da in some eerie, echoing way), that makes it sound like a total Zimmeresque piece, and though the choir to me sounded as a really gorgeous theme, one of the best I've heard this year, it *still* remains very MediaVentures - because it's actually a redenition of the motif we all love - now with latin words taken from Mozart's "Dies Irae". It's first introduced for four minutes in the 2nd album track "Decepticons", and is heard in different choral and orchestral forms woven into the rest of the score, to return in a glorious form in "Sam on the Roof", where both main themes (and our beloved motif, yay!) meet.
A new theme is introduced in the third track; 'The All Spark". When listening to it, you'll get an overdose of the motif (yay!) and a Martin Tillman cello performance of the theme, later joined by female choir and strings, quick to turn into al full orchestal performance of the motif, with explosive trumpet stabs and cellos ragging through some wild staccatos. The brass remains low at all times, providing a good job for the subwoofer - till 3:04, where they play a supportive role in bolding the All Spark theme.
"Deciphering the Signal" is an eerie investigative track overblown sometimes by the synths which "ta da ta" alongside the strings, and the percussion. But it actually is just "the motif". It's a good listen for when I'm writing something investigative, but it doesn't work that well as a stand alone listen, for me.
"Frenzy" is a new variation on the motif we haven't heard before: it's the motif used as a new theme. With eerie female choir in the background, string stabs, Doering-guitars and some explosive brass and trumpets climax this track and then fall down again to a fade out. I somehow can't recall this theme from the movie, nor the bootleg score that was released. Guess this was a mockup theme from cues they had left when they recorded.
"Soccent Attack", for me, sounded too much like Zimmer's "King Arthur" - the motif, the brass... but when one would think: 'Nah, I'll listen to King Arthur when I want to hear this', Jablonsky somehow quickly notices it and throws in his choir, giving the listener something "new" to listen to. He then returns to the King Arthurish theme, builds and at the climax, the track ends...
A more American Beauty flavor can be heard in "Sam At The Lake". It can be heard that Jablonsky threw in his experience from writing the score for "Desperate Housewives" in this track, but somehow wanted to do it "different" than he does in Housewives. Thing is, that because of this change, he made it sound like American Beauty (the low pusling bass motif) quirky xylophone(?) Marimba, & percussive elements. Good track, though.
But when talking of the most original track Jablonsky delivers with this soundtrack, I'd say it's "Scorponok". He developed a stacatto motif instead of borrowing it from Zimmer, added loads of ethnic flavors and a full blown taiko section, perfectly balanced on the recording by Alan Meyerson, whose expertises behind the mixing table I have never doubted.
That's the beginning of the track. At 2:31 the "main Scorponok theme" is introduced, bolstered by low male choir chords, military-style percussion (love it!), Brass stabs, chords, even more percussion, and Cello stabs. When it reaches its climax, it falls, but is quickly picked up in a thrid movement, slower, with low pulsing drums, male choral chant, more percussion and a string and brass section bolstering this masterpiece. It is brought to its final string notes underscored by Mell Wesson's beautiful drone.
"Arrival To Earth" is the one track which people have been going crazy about. Jablonsky introduces a new theme for the strings, again underscored by a three note variation of the motif. When the track builds, you can hear the percussion players had the difficult task of drumming "soft". Which means you have to "pet" the drums. Me as a drummer can tell that's difficult, and I can hear that on the recording. But they deliver a job well done though. The theme you hear in this one won't be heard elsewhere in the score - which is, for a large Hollywood score - weird. Because this type of film mostly circles around one or two main themes; especially MediaVentures scores do so (Pirates of the Caribbean; anyone?). But Jablonsky decided to do what I call a "sub-main-sequential theme".
The rest of the album is what we've all heard before: action, ta da ta da ta, more action, some choral bursts, even more action and some ta da ta da ta.
What you can't expect from this album is bold Goldsmith-ish string arrangements, just MediaVentures "bold" arrangements.
It's nothing new - more a collection of Zimmer scores craftly arranged by Jablonsky's gifted hands, whom we'll hear more from in the near future with TRANSFORMERS 2 coming up in 2009.
I am really curious about how he'll craft his first sequel :-)
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