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Medal of Honor: Underground
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Composed, Co-Orchestrated and Produced by:
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Michael Giacchino
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Co-Orchestrated and Conducted by:
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Tim Simonec
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Release Date:
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December 12th, 2000
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Availability:
Limited U.S. release, avaliable only through select outlets and stores.
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you itched to hear Michael Giacchino branch out from the
John Williams mold from the first Medal of Honor score into his own
styles.
Avoid it... if the reason you enjoyed Medal of Honor was
precisely because of the close stylistic similarities to John Williams'
music.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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Medal of Honor: Underground: (Michael Giacchino) The
closing days of the 1990's heralded a new age in video game music.
Traditionally classified as electronic garbage by the majority of
orchestrally minded film and television score collectors, video game music
began a slow, but sure experimentation in the orchestral realm. The
budgeting of such an allotment for the talent needed for a large-scale video
game score began surfacing more often in the first few years of the next
decade, and by 2003, hearing grand, sweeping orchestral music while wasting
away an afternoon on the computer or in front of the television console
while playing a game wasn't so outlandish. One of the key contributing
factors to this trend in video game music was Michael Giacchino's successful
endeavors for the original Medal of Honor game in 1999. With an
orchestral ensemble performing music that matched much of the intensity and
construction of John Williams' similarly themed efforts in the genre for the
big screen, Giacchino proved that not only could an orchestral score for a
game work, but that it should be a standard of excellence for video game
production with the highest expectations from adult players. The fact that
several of the cues in the first Medal of Honor score were mirror
images of John Williams' style didn't seem to matter at the time, given how
refreshing the sound was (especially compared to Williams' shift at the time
towards more somber tones in his own work). It was not unexpected that the
young and rising talent would return to score the sequels to Medal of
Honor, and Medal of Honor: Underground was the second chapter in
the series. After being re-hired as the franchise composer, Giacchino
insisted on the same performing group --the Northwest Sinfonia of Seattle--
but also a moderate 25 boys' voices to add yet another shade of emotion to
his work. The resulting music pleased the game producers and players once
again.
The plot of Medal of Honor: Underground revolves
around the fights of women in the French Resistance during World War II and
thus requires less of the full-scale combat music that was evident in the
first score. More subtle performances, including appropriate insertions of
the underpowered, though effective choir, offer a less epic, but more
thoughtful score than its predecessor. The noble title theme for the series
is left by the wayside, though the Nazi motif returns for the sequel. With
fewer bold elements in Medal of Honor: Underground, the listener is
less reminded of John Williams, though there still exist several stylistic
references to Williams' Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, among
other 1980's works of the master. Giacchino's inclination is still to steer
close to the rhythmic patterns of Williams' layering of brass and timpani,
but it is less in-your-face this time around. For fans who greatly enjoyed
the original Medal of Honor, this may come as a disappointment, but
then again, Giacchino does paint more of his own emotional canvas for the
sequel. To represent the French culture and location, Giacchino introduces
an accordion in the opening cue, a loving gesture towards the romantic
elements of the story's premise, though the accordion sadly disappears
thereafter, missing an opportunity to further enhance the personality and
distinctiveness of this score over the others in the series. The subtle
early cues give away to more ambitious, recognizable action music in the
latter half of the album. On that album (with limited availability
commercially), a generous hour of Giacchino's music is presented, followed
by a decent, original period song performed by a female voice. The album
once again offers some specialty tracks at its end, with a radio broadcast
complete with sound effects, as well as a hidden one-minute track of
dialogue and music from the game. Overall, Medal of Honor:
Underground is a different listening experience than the previous entry,
but it maintains a standard of quality that outshines nearly all others in
the video game genre. ****
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. May 10th, 1940 (Main Theme) (4:30)
• 2. The Streets of Paris (3:50)
• 3. Amongst the Dead (3:17)
• 4. Fleeing the Catacombs (3:08)
• 5. Panzer Blockade (3:20)
• 6. The Road to Tobruk (3:23)
• 7. Escape from Casablanca (3:19)
• 8. Passage to Iraklion (3:40)
• 9. Labyrinth of the Minotaur (3:15)
• 10. Ascent to the Castle (3:24)
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• 11. Last Rites (3:33)
• 12. The Battle of Monte Cassino (3:15)
• 13. The Motorcycle Chase (4:18)
• 14. Returning to Paris (3:24)
• 15. Beneath the City (3:09)
• 16. Each Night He Comes Home to Me (3:53)
• 17. May 10th, 1940 (Alternate Version) (4:20)
• 18. Er lasst mich niemals allein (OSS Radio Broadcast) (4:35)
• 19. Hidden Track (dialogue/music) (1:05)
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Insert includes considerable information about the game and its music, including a cue-by-cue description of the music.
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