US.

A score that did attract my attention recently is from the new chiller US, which has an interesting and innovative soundtrack supplied by composer Michael Abels, (GET OUT). The score for me has got to be the most un-nerving and at the same time most alluring in recent years and one I seemed to be compelled to revisit at any opportunity. It has the effect like when you know something is going to scare you or horrify you and you know only too well that you should not look but guess what you do. Well US, the score is cut from the same cloth, because I know it’s going to unsettle me but hey, I will just take a little sneak listen, then a minute or two later off come the headphones and Ok, lets listen to something else shall we(he says reaching for the CD of MARY POPPINS). So, US, is at the top of my dare you to listen to this on headphones and alone and if you are brave after dark. It’s a malevolent sound that the composer has created, spidery, dark, sinister and at times grating slightly chaotic and strangely attractive. I love the composer’s deployment of choir, which at times is Morricone/Elfman-esque and his utilisation of solo violin and delicate sounding piano in a handful of the cues, which although calming conjures up an underlying musical presence that is less than welcoming and re-assuring. When the violin is combined with choral work it has to it a style and sound that can be likened to that of composer Elliot Goldenthal, a style that is apparent in his magnificent score for INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, if I am to attempt a comparison this is probably the only example I can think of. In fact, the choir that is utilised throughout, kind of has a retro sound, as if it has been lifted from a vintage horror, like ROSEMARYS BABY or DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES both by the legendary Christophe Komeda. The subdued voices which are times childlike therefore even more disturbing are effective within the context of the movie, but  also are wonderful entertainment value away from the images, the choral work being an affecting component of the score and also being memorable and unsettling when listening to the music removed from the movie. I do think it is probably the voices within the score that create the unworldly sound and purvey an aura or atmosphere that is filled with dread and fear, these vocals are supported, underlined and punctuated by cleverly placed sounds and musical sounds creating the perfect persona for the mood of the movie and giving every scenario within it a deeper sense of tension and dismay.

 

The music is highly innovative and has to it a hypnotic and mesmeric style and sound. Listen to BATTLE PLAN and like me I know you will be suitably impressed, driving strings act as a background to choir in this short but superbly effective piece. Plus, the track PAS DE DUEX is a delight to hear with wonderfully rhythmic strident strings that are interspersed with pizzicato effects and underpinned with synthetic stabs. The composer also makes inventive use of the hook from the song I GOT FIVE ON IT by the Luniz which features as the end cue on the recording and incorporates the three note motif into the cue, The version on certain sites is different from the CD release, with the download versions omitting three vocals which are used on the soundtrack.   This is one soundtrack you cannot miss, a must have work, have you ordered it?

SHAZAM.

 

 

 

Composer Benjamin Wallfisch has always been industrious and busy, he has written the music to many varied projects and is at home scoring TV or feature film, recently we have seen the many sides and styles of this composer with scores for big movies such as the re-boot of Stephen Kings IT, KING OF THIEVES, BLADE RUNNER 2049 (with Hans Zimmer), ANNABELLE CREATION, DARKEST MINDS and this year already SERENITY, HELLBOY and HOSTILE PLANET. I do also want to make mention of his excellent work on the movie BITTER HARVEST and his brilliant soundtrack for CONQUEST 1453.

 

 

One of his latest assignments is for the big screen version of SHAZAM, and in my opinion this is probably one of his most entertaining scores to date, it is overflowing with a plethora of rich heroic themes and contains a more delicate and even at times fragile side to it. After hearing the composers score for HELLBOY and being undecided about it, I was pleased to be totally convinced with SHAZAM, there is just so much here that one could not fail to be entertained, thrilled and engulfed by the superb music of Wallfisch. SHAZAM is for the majority of its duration symphonic, but like all or most scores for films nowadays it also relies on electronic or synthetic support and embellishment, the composer fuses these styles and sounds together flawlessly and at times one is hard pressed to even separate the two. The score contains a sound that evokes memories of composers such as Goldsmith and Newman when he scored THE PHANTOM it is an imposing and grand work with the composer thankfully including lush themes stirring anthems and melancholy sounding motifs that shine and shimmer throughout. As with all great superhero themes the composer has penned a fairly simple composition for the central character, but this is the appeal its not complex or complicated it just announces and supports our hero and when it is heard one just knows that SHAZAM is around. A really entertaining score even within its fast-paced action cues, because amongst all the action we still are treated to glimpses of themes and snippets of the scores core sounds. Recommended, yes most certainly.

OLIVER WALLACE.

 

 

When discussing film music as in film scores, one does not ordinarily include movies that include songs, well I don’t any way. But, maybe we should, lets focus upon one composer who scored a number of animated movies for Disney, yep Disney, the films that Oliver Wallace was involved with in many peoples eyes are in essence musicals, I am talking of classics such as PINOCCHIO, DUMBO, PETER PAN, LADY AND THE TRAMP, BAMBI, SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, CINDERELLA and ALICE IN WONDERLAND to name but a handful. Wallace also created serviceable soundtracks for Disney animated and live action projects, THE THREE CABALLEROS, DER FUEHRERS FACE. (aka-DONALD DUCK IN NUTZI LAND), MELODY TIME, SEAL ISLAND, BEN AND ME, and THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY amongst them. He was in demand during the 1930’s and throughout the war years and then into the 1950’s and 1960’s. Wallace, worked on shorts and also documentaries during his career, and after his death some of his music was utilised in movies such as OPERATION DUMBO DROP.

 

Although the composer is mainly associated with a studio that is considered American through and through Wallace was born in London, England on August 6th 1887. At the age of seventeen he completed his musical training and it was then in 1904 he decided to go to America, where he worked and reside for a decade before becoming an American citizen. Wallace began his musical career in the theatre, and worked mainly in Seattle, as a conductor and then as an organist accompanying silent movies. Whilst doing this and gaining experience Wallace began to write songs and soon became known for his lyrics and accompanying music. In the 1930.s with the introduction of Talkies, Wallace began to work in Hollywood, and in the early part of 1936 he started to work for Disney studios. At first, he was given small assignments for shorts which were animated pictures, but it was not long before Disney noticed and appreciate his versatility both as a composer of scores for films but also as a lyricist. His output in the area of scoring short animated films was at times unbelievable and he was said to have written the music for at least one hundred and thirty of these for the studio, his most famous being for the 1942 Donald Duck short, DER FUEHERS FACE which was a propaganda cartoon.

 

The song from the film was a parody of a song originally from Horst Wessel and became one of the biggest hit songs during the second world war when it was performed by Spike Jones and his City Slickers. Wallace was also assigned to full length features such as DUMBO and SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, his music becoming as iconic and timeless as the movies themselves. It was Wallace who also provided the APRIL SHOWERS cue for BAMBI which too has gone down in film music history as a classic.

 

The composer was a master at taking phrases from the songs in a movie and incorporating these into sections of the instrumental score, thus creating a real continuity throughout and enabling audiences to identify with specific characters. Wallace received four Oscar Nominations one of which was for the music to a documentary WHITE WILDERNESS in 1958, which was unheard of at that time. But each time he lost out. Over a period of twenty-seven years, Wallace worked on over one hundred and fifty productions for Disney and created the soundtrack of many children’s lives via his infectious lyrics and delightful melodies. He passed away on September 15th, 1963. He was awarded a special Disney Legends award in 2008. I suppose Wallace was in effect the Alan Menken of his time, his melodies live on and his lyrics are part of not only film history but are an essential ingredient in the growing up and development of any child, or any adult that is young at heart. Who can forget, YOU CAN FLY, YOU CAN FLY, or FOLLOWING THE LEADER or indeed any Disney song, with Wallace’s endearing and supportive musical style.

HELLBOY (2019).

Following in the footsteps of Marco Beltrami and Danny Elfman, composer Benjamin Wallfisch, is the Maestro assigned to providing HELLBOY with an appropriate soundtrack. Wallfisch, has certainly stepped up to the mark for this one, the composer has created a high octane and rock infused work in which he utilises pounding percussion and crashing electronics to fashion an energetic and powerful work. However, I personally am not certain if I actualy like the score, maybe it’s the rock style that is in the background of the work, but I think this is key to the central character. There are a few cues that do have some nice rousing action passages where Wallfisch evokes the style and sound created by both Beltrami and Elfman when they gave HELLBOY his musical persona. Wallfisch, does at times bring a lushness to the surface via the use of strings which are both opulent and melancholy. There are also some nice brass stabs present throughout which give the work an urgent and edgy sound as they punctuate the proceedings. And add a greater depth and atmosphere to blaring and rasping brass flourishes that growl and combine with driving strings to push the action forward at pace. So a serviceable and fairly standard score which will obviously please many soundtrack collectors but nothing to realy shout about.

PET SEMATARY.(2019).

 

 

I have always admired the music of composer Christopher Young, right from the first album I got of his which was HELLRAISER I just knew he would be a composer who was here to stay as it were. The composer earned his musical wings scoring several low budget movies such as PRANKS, and his fair share of films within the horror genre the HELLRAISER among them. It is probably true to say that it is music for horror films that the composer is most readily associated with and it is probably his horror scores that have garnered him so much attention amongst both fans and peers. But, saying that Young has also written as many scores that contain rich and lush sounding themes and romantically laced musical passages, he is a composer that easily can be referred to as being versatile and chameleon like penning music for motion pictures that include HAUNTED SUMMER, SOMETHING THE LORD MADE and CREATION. The composer soon progressed to bigger budget movies, scoring films such as SPIDERMAN, THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE and URBAN LEGEND. The composer’s most recent offering is from the re-boot of Stephen Kings chilling tale PET SEMATARY. Young has fashioned a score that is decidedly ominous and icy within the majority of its cues, but the composer also provides some lighter and melodic respite for the listener in a handful of tracks on the soundtrack and although this calm is short lived it is most welcomed amid the foreboding and tension. One cue in- particular, has to it a lilting and alluring persona, DEAD ALIVE AGAIN purveys a calming mood but also has an underlying atmosphere that is decidedly hesitant and malevolent.

 

This is an inventive score and one that makes effective use of both symphonic and synthetic sound’s, to fashion numerous colours and textures. Young also employs voices throughout, that add much to creating a sound that is uneasy. The score is overflowing with unnerving and sinister sounding phrases and nuances and is to be honest quite difficult to listen to because it is so dark and disconcerting. The edgy and apprehensive sounds that the composer employs electronically are harrowing at times oozing a real sense of menace. UN-HALLOWED EVEN is another example of the composer fashioning a haunting thematic core and lacing and embellishing this with a secondary sound that is unworldly. Dark, disturbing and deeply affecting and not in a nice way, this I think will be looked upon as a classic sounding score for the horror genre. Young closes his score with WASN’T THE BEGINNING? Which is introduced by strings that usher in a piano solo that picks out a calming three note motif that becomes a seven-note theme, the composer adding to this via underlying strings, that perform a subdued counter melody that is rich and romantically infused. One for your collection. Recommended.