Narnia: Prince Caspian [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
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Free Music Notes for Narnia: Prince Caspian [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
Free Music Review: A worthy score to an excellent film
Hit: 3 Stars
I bought this soundtrack the day after it was released figuring there was no way they could go wrong after how great the first film and accompanying score were. The score to the first film was perfect from start to finish and effectively captured all the wonder and magic of Narnia from the royalty of Aslan to the menace of the white witch. The score was enchanting as they explored Narnia, soft and warm as Lucy made friends with Tumnus, and intense and ominous as Aslan's army goes to war with the white witch. All four of the original recorded songs were excellent and captured the wonder and magic of Narnia.
The score to Prince Caspian was a bit lacking to me although overall pretty good. Another reviewer put it perfectly; the best moments of this score were the old themes redone and several of the new pieces are not much more than filler music with few being moving or incredibly inspiring. The pieces that set up the battle at Aslan's How were satifactory to me but still not quite as good as the battle score of the first film...probably the same way Miraz is a lesser than villain than was the white witch. The overall tone of the soundtrack is effective in setting up this film as a darker and more intense sequel to Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe. Of the new pieces I thought 'Prince Caspian Flees' and
'Raid on the Castle' were the most epic, sweeping, and memorable. I also liked the way the revisting of the old Narnia themes were done in the context of the film, refreshing the kids memories of what a grand thing they were once a part of. I also liked the original songs on this soundtrack (especially Switchfoot and Regina Spektor) but they still do not quite capture your heart and your imagination as effectively as the incredibly moving pieces from the first score by Imogene Heap and Alanis Morrisette.
One thing I was rather disappointed about upon listening to the soundtrack is that the best two parts from the music in the movie trailer are not on the score...why? The first part is when the kids find themselves by the ocean back in Narnia, they have some choir vocals going and there is this instant feeling that the children are overjoyed to be back in Narnia. It was perfect setup. The second piece on the trailer not in the film is right before they introduce Miraz and it says' you may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember' and it continues until right before they show Aslan. I thought it was perfect for this new Narnia villain and the threat he represents to the Narnians and the Pevensies. My question is why use music from who knows where as a set up for a movie and then not include it on the score. I thought they would have fit nicely on the soundtrack even if Harry did not compose them.
I enjoyed the first film immensely and a great deal of that was how effective and perfect the score matched the film, and I think they do follow suit here. Although for me the Caspian soundtrack was not as epic or moving I think the film and the score went together nicely. I definitely recommend listening before you buy this score; especially if you absolutely loved the first score as much as I did and set your standards high. I have already decided I will make it a point to do that with the Dawn Treader soundtrack before assuming Harry Gregson Williams and his people could do no wrong...because I found out in fact that they can some. I certainly enjoyed the soundtrack overall but I thought the new pieces should stand well on their own and without the old themes there is little on the soundtrack that is truly memorable.
Free Music Review: More of the Same, but no Sneaky Reepicheep!
Hit: 3 Stars
If any of you remember or even care, I was a little hard on the last Narnia album. Well if that ticked you off then stop reading. When Harry Gregson-Williams was first starting out in the business I thought he was going to be one of the all time greats like, John Williams or Jerry Goldsmith. He was teamed with John Powell a lot in the early days as well, churning out such classics as Antz, Chicken Run, and Shrek. Then they went their separate ways, Powell began to soar with music for Evolution, X-Men the Last Stand, and most recently and wonderfully Horton Hears a Who. Gregson-Williams on the other hand really started to slide as far as I'm concerned. That all culminated with one of the most underwhelming fantasy scores I've ever heard, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Now He is back with Prince Caspian. it's pretty much more or less the same as the first one, so if you liked the first one you'll like this one.
I got very bored and just wanted it to end. All of the themes are back, that's good for continuity, but there is no variation, no adaptation. They are just as underwhelming now as they were then.
But the bulk of my disapointment comes from the fact that they decided to exclude the Reepicheep theme from the album! In the film it was catchy, entertaining, and more importantly not boring! You won't find it on this album. Maybe it made the other pieces sound even more dull if isolated from the film. Oh Well.
I know I sound like I don't like Narnia, But that is simply not true. I grew up with the stories. I've lived with them in my mind for most of my life. I just want to see (and especially hear) them done right.
It sounds like David Arnold will be composing music for the next one. If that is true I DO hope he re-uses Gregson-Williams themes, again for continuity, but I hope he devlops them instead of just re-playing them.
Free Music Review: For Regina Spektor and Switchfoot Only
Hit: 3 Stars
Though PRINCE CASPIAN is a sequel to THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE it is a different movie. Someone must have forgot to tell Harry Gregson-Williams that because most of the score on this album is a rehash of the work he did on THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE. Also, be forewarned that this isn't the complete soundtrack. It includes much of the instrumental score, the three vocal songs that end the movie and begin the credits, and a song not heard in the movie. However, there are several pieces of the score, including "Reepicheep's Theme", that just don't appear on the album. I have a hunch that the reason for this is that later they will be releasing a longer album, such as they did with the first movie, that will include the full score.
I loved PRINCE CASPIAN and though I enjoyed some of the underlying music, I wasn't very interested in the soundtrack until I heard the final song of the film (when the Pevensies return to London). The last scene of the movie and the beginning of the credits brought a few tears to my eyes. I heard this enchanting voice full of sadness and hope that touched a chord within my soul. When I had a chance to see the soundtrack I saw that the song was "The Call" by Regina Spektor. That song as well as "This Is Home" by Switchfoot was enough for me to purchase the album.
If you enjoyed the soundtrack to THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE you may enjoy the soundtrack to PRINCE CASPIAN. If not, the album is at least worth listening to for "The Call" by Regina Spektor and "This Is Home" by Switchfoot.
Free Music Review: Disappointed
Hit: 3 Stars
I was a great fan of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe score, so was very much looking forward to this release. Unfortunately, i'm pretty disappointed.
One of the reasons I enjoyed the original score so much was for it's calm, celtic-like melodies in the first half or so of the score. This score has a similar layout, but it focuses a lot more on the battle/action tracks, which i'm not particularly fond of.
I can completely understand why this is the case, as the film is a lot darker than the first and i've heard it contains a lot more action. This would be great if these tracks weren't so repetitive, sounding like the typical Media Ventures action cues we've heard so many times before. And even by the half way point these tracks start to drag, and the overall feel is that of hope for an original track some time soon.
However, perhaps for someone new to the genre and not having heard the first (a lot of the music on this CD sounds like rehashes of tracks from the first, which I guess is fair enough considering it is of course the same series of films) they would find a lot to enjoy here.
There still are some great tracks, the first 4 or so are a great listen. However, for me, after that is just gets repetitive and boring.
It also dosn't help having read before hand, this may or may not be true, that the composer - Harry Gregson-Williams was bored himself when composing the score. It definately shows.
Free Music Review: OK
Hit: 3 Stars
This soundtrack is reasonably good with two really worthwhile songs.
Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of tunes that are just instrumentals unless they are extremely well done. Most of the tracks here fall in that category. Much of this album is really just mediocre and very similar sounding.
I bought it for the Switchfoot song, 'This Is Home', which is very good. There is also one by Regina Spektor that is quite good.
This is really kind of a ripoff. I really would have just bought the Switchfoot song probably on Amazon or ITunes. Unfortunately, that is not possible. Although one can purchase most of the singles as digital downloads on those two sites, that is not the case with the really good songs that I mentioned above. In order to buy 'This Is Home' or 'The Call' digitally, one must buy the whole album. Methinks that stinks.
I would recommend passing on this one. I don't care to reward record companies that engage in such practices.