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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you're open-minded about highly layered mixes of orchestra and sound design in experimental, atmospheric environments. Avoid it... if you prefer your heroines to have sustained, kick-ass rhythms and consistent, thematic integrity in a traditional orchestral sense. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
To accomplish this, he first recorded an orchestral ensemble specifically for the purpose of manipulating its sound into an abstract sound design. He then recorded an 83-player orchestra with which to layer the more traditional half of the proposed equation. Without a doubt, Elektra is an experimental departure for Beck, who is likely best known for his Emmy-winning music for the Buffy: The Vampire Slayer television series and the light drama Under the Tuscan Sun just over a year ago. Of his 40 or so film scores, Elektra is very likely to be his best known assignment regardless of the film's success, and you can certainly hear the effort he put into the soundscape for his score. By no means is Elektra a typical heroine or superhero score; it makes Graeme Revell's Daredevil score seem even more mundane than it already was. While Beck seems to have attempted to make a genuinely fresh and unique collaboration between sound design and live orchestra, the ambient sound effects leave a far more lasting impression when all is heard and done. A theme for the title character does exist, but its role is significantly downplayed by the seemingly more important need by Beck to establish atmosphere above all else. There are no swooshes or brass fanfares; as a matter of fact, the performances of theme in Elektra are restrained and spiritual rather than heroic. Along with the absence of a true heroine or superhero presence is the lack of significant or sustained muscularity. Whenever a rhythm worthy of ass-kicking is established by Beck (such as in the Underworld-like sequence of "Insomnia"), that rhythm abruptly halts before you can truly enjoy it. The martial arts sequences make strong use of Beck's highly creative sampling and weaving of electronic bass rhythms and live percussion. This percussion can, at times, test the patience of the listener, especially when the volume and pace of the music is at full throttle. The score has a tendency towards degenerating into an overly-layered mess at times, sometimes with electric bass that will test the capabilities of your subwoofers. But a cue such as "Gnarly Gongs" rocks the room with its outstanding percussive mix, and there are moments throughout when a distant toll of bells or chimes adds a distinctly intriguing fog to the score's other layers. Distant voices, distorted intentionally, remind at times of Mychael Danna's ambient designs. A sound design best described as a Muslim prayer call in "Stick" makes for a particularly fascinating cue (perhaps even the highlight of the score). Brass tone mutilation in "Kirigi" is naturally more difficult to enjoy apart from the villain's on-screen presence, and some of Beck's work does wear on the nerves with its occasional overextension into the realm of the bizarre. With a tame orchestral cue at the end (a woodwind cue that finally shows us a more human side than the rest of the score allows), as well as one somewhat half-hearted performance of the title theme in the final seconds (...were the performers simply not inspired that day?), the album leaves you wondering if you actually heard a coherent score or simply a rambunctious, eccentric explosion of wandering sound design theory. It's an interesting work, and any artist should be commended for venturing into new experimental realms, but just a tad too much of the heroine part was sacrificed in the process of enhancing the soundscape. This score album follows a song album released the same week as the film, but it's hard to pinpoint exactly who will enjoy this irregular, experimental work. ***
* Co-composed by Kevin Kliesch
The insert includes a list of players, but no extra information about the score or film. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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