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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Muppets from Space: (Jamshied Sharifi) Boy, how strange. Very, very odd. Yes, odd. Where did this one come from? I suppose one can never know exactly what to expect when it comes to a Muppet film, and especially a Muppet film in the vast, adventurous expanse of space. The original score provided for this film by Jamshied Sharifi and Rupert Gregson-Williams is a remarkably noteworthy effort, taking the styles of small band funk and loud orchestral and choral mass and throwing them into a melting pot of Muppet proportions. The result is a superb parody score, with well-interpolated quotes taken from all of our favorite orchestral themes and a wealth of small-band jazzy funk to bring out the lighter side of these lovable puppets. With such a incredible variety of sounds all in one package, this score could either irritate you greatly or leave you scratching your head. I ended up in the latter category. The twelve or so minutes of stunningly awesome orchestral bombast from the London Metropoliton Orchestra are supposed to be funny in the film. After all, where would a bunch of Muppets on a mission a la Raiders of the Lost Ark, Men in Black, and Star Trek be on screen if there wasn't the momentous orchestra leading their charge? Unfortunately, the moments of orchestral beauty, which easily hold up on their own apart from the film, mix and mingle with the ghost of Lalo Schifrin music from the 1970s... and the resulting battle between the two styles can definitely leave one scratching his or her head. Will this album work for you? Hardcore score nuts will certainly cry plagiarism. They'll be running around the room screaming foul, foul, foul... some of them might dig out and attack their stuffed Kermit dolls. So if you're one of those types of people who is really bothered by such things, then this album will likely drive you crazy. But, if you enjoy fine parodies of mass proportion, then this one is for you. In any other case, I might be bothered by the borrowing of motifs in the score, but you just have to remember that the parodies are 100% intentional (I'm sure of it...) because, after all, it's a damn Muppet film! The score begins with our friend Bernard Herrmann... a sort of Vertigo effect that gives away to Omen chants of Goldsmith style. The main title leads into a theme for "the ark" that naturally has strong hints of Raiders of the Lost Ark as well as a bit of the haunting Freeze theme from the fourth Batman film. The third track features the first of a few contributions from Rupert Gregson-Williams, whose music follows a Peacemaker-kind of electronically driven style, yet with a more flighty chorus. With track five, however, comes the abandonment of the orchestra and the introduction of the jazzy pop style of small band funk. This new prevailing style is what I expected the score to consist of in the first place, and it slams you in the face like a brick after the initial blast of orchestral power in the previous tracks. The pattern of the 70's soul funk continues with only a few more tracks of Gregson-Williams' low-key electronics breaking the feel. The sax, percussion, organ, drums, and guitars continue until, without warning, track sixteen ("The Ships Arrive") bursts through with yet another gothic and melodramatic arrival of the full orchestra and chorus. Straight from the finales of Alan Silvestri's The Abyss and Danny Elfman's Men in Black, this track is just pure thematic fun. It as isn't overwhelmingly huge as other performing groups could have made it, but considering that this is, of course, a MUPPETS film, the power in these tracks makes me smile and wag my head. Track nineteen, "Gonzo's Goodbye" features a sudden twist towards a sensitive farewell theme with a lighter children's choir. With hint of James Horner's Casper lullaby written all over it, I can't help but laugh at the irony of a Muppets film using a spin on a theme that so many people thought Horner had himself ripped off in 1995. Who says recycling can't be effective in film scoring? The album finishes off with a Muppet tribute to Star Trek: First Contact, with a pronounced parody of two themes from that film. A very fitting ending for a group of Muppets who are "Boldly Gone." So what I thought would be a simple, comedy driven Muppet score from a small ensemble turned out to be a complex mass of fun and strange music that has inspired the longest Muppet music review in Filmtracks history. I really have to commend Rupert Gregson-Williams and especially Jamshied Sharifi for the amount of personality they gave to this Muppets from Space score. I may not able to tolerate any of the jazzy, hip music that constitutes over half of the score, but the opening titles combined with the final five tracks are pure comedy bliss. I'm sure that if I had more time to dissect the orchestral sequences, there are probably more fun things hidden in them. In the meantime, I recommend this score as a definite used-CD bin purchase for most of you, and a must-buy for those who appreciate stellar comedy scores. ***
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