Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you're not afraid to hear one of the most entertaining Latin-flavored score and song compilations in recent times. Avoid it... if Mexican songs, like Mexican food, give you heartburn. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Once Upon a Time in Mexico: (Robert Rodriguez) Revenge, drugs, greed, revolution, and a pissed off Mexican dude with a guitar. Sound familiar? Debate about the viability of the El Mariachi/Desperado franchise often hinges on whether the sequels to El Mariachi are truly sequels or simply mutated remakes of the original concept. While many viewers believed that a dead horse was being beaten in the case of 2003's Once Upon a Time in Mexico, other fans of El Mariachi and Desperado, those who enjoy the basic formula of guts and gore in all of its Mexican glory, would see Antonio Banderas and Selma Hayek however many times they reprise their roles in the franchise. Anyone familiar with the series recognizes that it is among the most ethnically identifiable Mexican entries ever to come from the mainstream industry, a cult, Western concept dripping with Latin flavor and embraced as such. Director Robert Rodriguez was forced to push back the release of this film for almost two years due to his continuous (and some would call obsessive) involvement in the Spy Kids series. Rodriguez is one of the few directors who composes music for his own films and had slowly been taking the reigns of the music duties on the Spy Kids series since his sparse involvement with the first film's score. Because he had relied on John Debney to provide more complex orchestral power to the second Spy Kids soundtrack, some film music fans were skeptical of his ability to handle large-scale scores on his own. In 2003, Rodriguez proved his musical talents with two solo scores for his films, and while his badly underachieving music for Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over was certainly not encouraging, Once Upon a Time in Mexico was a genre right up his alley. The film is rich with Spanish melodies, ranging from traditional vocal songs to techno-influenced modern entries. Rodriguez's score fills the gaps in between these source songs and underscores key action sequences in the plot. The spirit of the songs and score in Once Upon a Time in Mexico goes hand in hand, and film music collectors should be aware that the songs are just as much of the attraction on album as the score. For Rodriguez's part, the score is an orchestral extension of the songs, with traditional Latin elements mixed heavily for the appropriate flavor. His first two score cues, "Eye Patch" and "Guitar Town," are so well balanced between this ethnic style and orchestral power that they are among the most enjoyable cues of all film music debuting in 2003. Unlike imitations that are often aimed at capturing the same dusty taste of Mexican folklore, Rodriguez hits the nail right on the head, producing music that is as authentic as it can get while also making its harmony as such that non-Latin ears can enjoy it as well. Acoustic guitars, a mature solo male voice, a distant electric guitar, castanets, and other percussive elements build up to a glorious Western showdown in "Guitar Town." It's a cue that is perfect in its portrayal of El Mariachi's task, always staying a step ahead of cliche. In the following score cue on album, "Church Shooting," Rodriguez proves that he can write stimulating action music with flamenco rhythms and pull off a rocking shootout atmosphere while also maintaining that dancing, Latin style. Later cues are more generic in their orchestral application, with some impressive action underscoring and occasional electric guitar accompaniment yielding to a solo acoustic guitar cue for the title character at the end. The score is often punctuated by cool choices of Western instrumentation from above and below the border, with a tolling bell accentuating the start of a cue for an on screen duel. The songs are often very enjoyable, easy-going expressions of lost love, although Juno Reactor's "Pistolero" fits surprisingly well with the attitude of the score's action cues (think of it as a sort of The Matrix Reloaded gone South). Following her performance in Frida, Salma Hayek offers her voice to the most noteworthy song on the album ("Siente Mi Amor") with both elegance and a snappy spirit. As a soundtrack album, Once Upon a Time in Mexico is blessed by an excellent overall choice of songs to include on the product, with a defiant but romantic personality to many of them. If the album has a weakness, it is a varying mixing quality between some of the songs. None of them has a distant, archival sound quality, but they do vary in reverberation. The Rodriguez score selections are also spaced in between the songs; usually, this drives score collectors nuts, but in this case, the strength and complete relevance of the songs ease the situation to a great degree. Interspersed throughout the score are also several quotes from the film, some of which classic El Mariachi entries. At the end of "Church Shootout," the Banderas line, "I guess I have no choice but to kill you all," is an undeniable favorite. The dialogue does not interfere with the music, and often exists at the end of score tracks once the music has faded away. Overall, Once Upon a Time in Mexico is perhaps the most accessible Mexican action album to hit stores in a long while (especially if you remove dramatic items like Frida from the equation) and, of course, it kicks some serious butt when it needs to... just like El Mariachi himself. **** Track Listings:
Total Time: 74:27
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