Buy it... if you desire a set of strong, rhythmic action cues akin to Alan Silvestri's equally boisterous Judge Dredd, as well as intelligent thematic development that was unfortunately butchered in the ultimate film edit of the recording.

Avoid it... on either the original 1996 or the expanded 2010 albums if you expect to find a comprehensive treatment of the music you hear in the film, a circumstance created by the existence of many alternate versions of cues or replacement music not presented in sum on any one product.

Silvestri

Eraser: (Alan Silvestri) Larger than life actor Arnold Schwarzenegger had turned into a hit and miss prospect by the middle of the 1990's, triumphs like True Lies countered by missteps like Batman & Robin. One of the more entertaining and financially successful projects in between, despite relatively poor reviews, was Eraser, a 1996 witness protection movie that placed Schwarzenegger in a role that suited him well: tough government agent. He is known as the "Eraser" within the community of U.S. Marshals charged with protecting witnesses, and when his former mentor in the agency turns against him and joins forces with a crooked government official and technology company to sell futuristic electronic pulse weapons to terrorists, the agent and his most recently "erased" civilians have to team up to save their own lives and expose the corruption. A strong supporting cast and impressive visual and sound effects (the latter nominated for an Oscar) helped solidify Eraser as a frequent re-run item on television for guilty pleasure seekers. It remains notable for two scenes in its mid-section at polar opposite ends on the scale of quality; a phenomenal parachute scene involving a damaged 727 aircraft attempting to ram the agent as he glides is followed by the hilariously awful gunfight in an alligator house at the zoo, the latter suffering from laughably poor special effects of countless villains being illogically thrashed by the beasts. Among the better aspects of Eraser is its score by Alan Silvestri, a composer who was in the midst of a considerable action stint during this period of time. From Judge Dredd and Mission: Impossible to Eraser and The Long Kiss Goodnight, Silvestri was in high demand for topics of chasing and high tech weaponry. His writing and recording for Eraser came right after his unfortunate dismissal from Mission: Impossible in unceremonious fashion (reportedly due to a demand from Tom Cruise, after which Silvestri's remaining sessions were simply cancelled and that's how the composer discovered his firing). For many years, there were fan-fueled rumors claiming that Silvestri recycled his recorded portions of Mission: Impossible (mostly the action scenes) in Eraser, but an eventual leak of the earlier material revealed no such connections. That doesn't mean that Eraser was a smooth, stand-alone assignment for Silvestri, either. Much of his work would be replaced or butchered in the final mix of the latter film as well.

The choice of symphonic and electronic balance by Silvestri for Eraser is well conceived, a standard orchestral action stance often accompanied by ambient samples and electric guitars. Varied percussion in "It's a Jungle" is the lone, perhaps cliched, unique moment of distinction. His application of a rhythmic sense of momentum, coupled with attention to snare and other percussive elements, adeptly conveys an atmosphere of urgency in what is essentially a chase film. He has a keen knack for creating propulsion over the course of lengthy cues, and this technique familiar all the way back to the clocktower sequence in Back to the Future is explored further in Eraser, especially in the partially rejected "Need a Lift." Not surprisingly, there are some general similarities in the use of muscular percussion rhythms accented by deep brass to Predator (though Silvestri missed an opportunity to poke fun at his Schwarzenegger reunion by inserting a reference to the popular score in the forest approach sequence in "Cabin Raid"), but when coupled with the composer's heroic thematic constructs, the overall package much more closely resembles the superior Judge Dredd. In fact, it's the seemingly leftover Judge Dredd material in the major action sequences in Eraser that yield the later score's highlights. Thematically, Silvestri's ideas for Eraser are a bit mundane, adhering to genre stereotypes and generally conservative in their instrumentation and application. He affords Schwarzenegger's character two themes, the first a typical fanfare for brass that addresses the muscle-bound superhero aspect of the man. The second half of that equation is the more contemporary, ballsy theme associated with the character's ultra-cool, wise-cracking persona, a pair of two note phrases often accompanied by electric guitars. It's possible that Silvestri intended the first theme to be associated with the concept of justice rather than the heroic agent specifically, with evidence of that possibility in the theme's tense statement in the latter half of "She's In." That cue also provides the score's general theme of suspense, a malleable brass motif over bass string rhythms that often lends depth to the evil corporation and its hired Federal guns in the plot. Heard first at the start of "You've Been Erased" is the other major theme in Eraser, a somewhat elegant string idea that descends a note in a manner of peril not uncommon to Jerry Goldsmith's suspense scores of the era. There is a vague motif for Vanessa Williams' character as well, though its performances are often restrained to weak conversation cues such as "Kruger's Story."

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Most of these themes by Silvestri are well integrated into instrumental combat late in the film, often led by the always-satisfying snare rhythms. Scenes of intrigue in the film are usually associated with technology, for which Silvestri employs generic ambient droning and zapping circuit sounds without melodic assistance. As originally written, Silvestri's recordings for Eraser create a neatly cohesive whole. That wasn't enough to satisfy the filmmakers, however, who asked for cues to be altered or overlayed with subsequent recordings to suit their desires. Ultimately, many of the cues were simply chopped to bits or dialed out completely in the finished product, negating the narrative flow of Silvestri's intent. One justifiable change came when Silvestri's "Main Title" cue was dropped in sum; it's a surprisingly boring, unengaged, ambient piece that needed some more muscle for the stylish preparations for the assignment seen in between title cards on screen. Unfortunately, the replacement cue by Walter Werzowa, while not offensive and at least providing some of the propulsion heard later in Silvestri's score, is a largely grating synthetic embarrassment. Why couldn't the mid-section of "Need a Lift" be used for this 2+ minutes instead? Especially with part of that cue replaced with music from elsewhere in the score anyway? Likewise, Silvestri's finale cue containing a heroic statement of the main fanfare was removed in favor of a blaring Trevor Rabin song that carries the credits roll until Williams' expected vocal performance of a softer variety. The shifting of music around by the editors of Eraser makes it nearly impossible to match what you hear in the film with what has been pressed on album, a problem made worse by the existence of several versions of various cues due to overlay adjustments. Released at the time of Eraser's debut was a 43-minute commercial album of the score's highlights. In 2010, La-La Land Records offered a 77-minute, limited edition presentation with occasionally different versions of the previously released tracks. Unfortunately, for a definitive soundtrack for Eraser, a two-CD set was probably necessary, because an enthusiast of the film will require both albums to appreciate the various edits of the cues made during post-production. Additionally, the Werzowa title cue, along with the two songs over the end credits and the wretched source song in the gay bar scene, have never been released on a well-rounded soundtrack for the film. The La-La Land product also suffers from poor packaging filled with blurry photography, a misspelled track title, and arguably deficient liner notes. Overall, Eraser is a satisfying and effective action score with just enough technological edge to serve the topic, but don't expect to find a really comprehensive album presentation of the hack job done to the soundtrack in the film.   Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download

Music as Written for the Film: ****
Music as Heard on the Albums: ***
Overall: ***

Bias Check:

For Alan Silvestri reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.34 (in 32 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.27 (in 30,725 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.