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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you fancy yourself as an Elliot Goldenthal collector, because this score best represents his dark, gothic classicism. Avoid it... Avoid: if you'd rather not get caught in Goldenthal's somewhat incoherent, depressing meanderings. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Goldenthal's score is an eclectic and hurried collection of themes and sounds, exhibiting his true talents and yet losing some of the romantic touch that vampire films often yearn for. He certainly did not achieve the overbearing power of Kilar's work for Bram Stoker's Dracula; if Goldenthal's score has power, then it's the kind that explodes from bizarre interludes between classical and post-modern sounds. In its opening, and at several moments throughout the score, Interview with the Vampire begins to develop its sadness, its loathing, and its suffering. Yet, Goldenthal goes too far in exploring the madness, and forgets the romantic lyricism at the heart of the story. His score is a mess of twisted classical sounds and his usual macabre attitude. Extremely effective in choir or strings one moment, the score suddenly produces ghastly disharmony and orchestral chaos the next. The same fate would be suffered in Batman Forever the following year, with both scores showing acute signs of schizophrenia. Carnival cues, such as "Lestat's Tarantella" are so completely out of the genre of the film that it is painful to hear in the context of surrounding music. Goldenthal also makes sure to include his trademark French horn whining and quivering at maximum volume, a sound that is simply intolerable in any situation. It's easy to understand that a composer would want to create a trademark sound with an orchestral element, but Goldenthal needs to realize that his mutilated brass trills and background vibrations are a reason why he has had difficultly achieving mainstream status despite excellent assignments. The two "Born to Darkness" cues, along with the "Libera Me" and "Escape to Paris" offer a hint of the truly dramatic romance that Goldenthal started with for Interview with the Vampire, and it is likely this work that gained Goldenthal his awards recognition. Overall, the score is an either love it or hate it affair, with little wiggle room in the middle. It's easy to appreciate some of the material that Goldenthal contributed to the project (on short notice), but it's also easy to be frustrated and irritated with the more agitated cues. The album, featuring a badly misplaced song by Guns N' Roses at the end, is thus not recommended for casual listeners unfamiliar with Goldenthal. No doubt, the inclusion of the unrelated Guns N' Roses song, which is a questionable accompaniment for the Goldenthal score, was meant to further attract the younger audience. Another curious element is the recording quality; the music was recorded and mixed in analog sound, which was becoming somewhat rare for that kind of project in 1994, and the sound quality indeed suffers from a slightly muted edge because of it. Overall, do not readily believe the hype you hear about the Interview with the Vampire score, but also do not entirely believe those who blast the score with their every breath. The score is inherently flawed, but there are ten minutes of solid vampire material to be had, and Goldenthal fans will especially be satisfied. ***
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