> Of course they "flow wonderfully" because, as Cesar pointed out
> so fittingly in the post above, almost all the themes are based on the
> same harmonies and the same three notes. I'm not saying basing an entire
> arsenal of themes on three notes is per se bad, about a dozen or so themes
> of Howard Shore's LOTR are based on the same intervals, too. The thing is
> that Zimmer has zero ability to make this idea resonate or even remotely
> interesting.

I'll contend that Zimmer's ideas resonate quite well and were very memorable. I actually think "I Don't Think Now is the Best Time" is among Zimmer's finest, at least past the 6 minute mark. Turning the original action theme over to a full brass section and letting it play out differently gives the theme more pomp, more swashbuckle, and a totally more engaging feeling than just thinking, "Hey, we're at the fast action part now!"

And considering how I can find myself humming many of Zimmer's themes after seeing the films, particularly the main themes from crimson tide and gladiator and hoist the colours, though that one's a little easier since it's played over the end credits (very well, I might add). Zimmer's ideas do resonate well, and simply because his simplicity is not up to snuff with you does not mean he can't write engaging music.

Now, I'm not a massive Zimmer supporter, not by a long shot. The man has written plenty of misfires, say MI:2 or the DudVinci Code. But I think people are hammering Zimmer a little unfairly. Yes, every score I listen to that's his is bound to have a few similarities, like the pounding piano and brass motif from "Tribal war" in black hawk down becoming the undead pirate action riff in Pirates 1, but hey, that doesn't stop me from picking up James Horner music and thinking it's great.

> Yes, Zimmer writes an oboe solo (oboe/trumpet if you want to be precise),
> all bow to his versability! Come ON!

You're kidding, right. Your other post criticized Zimmer for either having overbearing romance or dramatic adventure. The theme in that variation falls under neither. It's romantic but in a far-off sense and shows that all Zimmer motifs do not have to ham up the emotion or blast the impending action. You're ignoring the effectiveness of it. And if that's not flexible enough for you, shouldn't you be listening to another composer?

> "Plethora of woodwinds"? My dear lad, woodwinds are an integral
> part to any fully orchestral work. The amount Zimmer incorporates here is
> average at best.

NO CRAP WOODWINDS ARE ESSENTIAL. You're obviously forgetting that Zimmer scores tend to have no woodwinds outside of the occasional duduk (I think that's a woodwind, but I am not a duduk expert). part of this is obviously due to Bruckheimer, who wants no girly-man instruments in his testosterone-infused beomoths. There's two reasons I applaud zimmer for putting in the woodwinds in this score...1) it's surprising, and anytime a composer surprises me, it's normally a good thing and 2) it's not average...adding them gives the action cue depth it would've lacked otherwise. I fail to see what's so average about depth.

> He has no anti Zimmer cloud, he's given Zimmer scores three and four stars
> often enough. Give me a break.

fair enough, and most of the reasons why he's not given higher ratings are justified, like King Arthur not being able to come out of the Zimmer sterotypes enough to become a classic. It's more I just don't think he's been willing to give the pirates sequel scores a chance given his absolute distaste for the first. even though zimmer really botched up by trying to rock out Dead Man's Chest, the score is still effective (guitar solos aside) and is much better when experienced as heard on film (again, the bootleg helps a lot, though obviously that is not reviewed on the site). Granted, the jack sparrow theme from pirates 2 is a bit of a letdown...but I still like the score. My star rating is irrelevant...1 star was uncalled for. And 2 stars for At World's End...well, it's questionable. I'm not saying take out clemenson...he's probably one of if not the fairest reviewers on the web and certainly maintains the best site, and his reviews are always welcome and usually correct. At least he wrote a lot so that we couldn't say his point of view isn't well supported.