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Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery/The Spy Who
Shagged Me: (George S. Clinton) Unexpectedly achieving blockbuster
status in the late 1990's was the
Austin Powers franchise, a Mike
Myers vehicle that took aim at both the James Bond and
Star Wars
franchises during its run of parodies from 1997 to 2002. After the
original entry,
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,
became a surprising success on the video market, its 1999 sequel,
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, was an immediate hit at
the box office. This, despite tepid reviews and fair dose of ridicule;
the franchise was so intentionally stupid that at some point the concept
became frightfully repetitive. There was only so much fun to poke at the
two targeted franchises, forcing the Myers spectacles eventually
degenerated into an excess of low-brow potty humor. Inconsistent
supporting performances across the shifting casts for the films left
Myers in the position of assuming more roles himself with every film,
serving to aid his career more than these particular movies. The
depiction of 1960's spy culture was so psychedelic in its design across
these films that some artificial restraint of higher brain functions was
not only recommended when viewing them, but probably essential to
appreciating the majority of the non-stop jokes. The music for the
franchise was equally over-the-top in its parody of 1960's and 70's pop
culture infusion of jazz into an orchestral setting, taking the sounds
of Burt Bacharach, John Barry, Henry Mancini, and Quincy Jones and
bloating their characteristics to ridiculous levels. The task of
accomplishing this sound fell to George S. Clinton, whose own musical
voice was largely absent in the atmosphere of constant references.
Clinton's contribution was also mostly neglected on album because of the
employment of vintage (and some fresh) songs in the productions. Only in
2000 did Clinton's score material receive its own dedicated album, with
an RCA Victor CD combining the highlights from both of the first two
scores onto one product. With a running time of 40 minutes representing
both scores, you can immediately tell that Clinton's work for the
franchise wasn't extensive. Some critics even blasted the obvious parody
references in the score as one of the weak points of the first film.
Whether you can appreciate it or not, Clinton's music for
Austin
Powers: International Man of Mystery and
Austin Powers: The Spy
Who Shagged Me is at least predictable in reaching its goals.
It wasn't until
Austin Powers in Goldmember in
2002 that Clinton began to parody David Arnold's resurgent style of
robust Bond music that would make for a more satisfying action-oriented
listening experience (along the same lines as Edward Shearmur's
Johnny English not long after). The consistent and blatant
references to Bacharach, Jones, and Mancini for the lighter side of the
first two films and, more pervasively, Barry for the villain's and
action material are adept but often difficult to tolerate. The light
piano love themes for the side-kicks (Vanessa and Felicity) are early
70's soft listening at its most stereotypical. The "Danger March" from
the first film is almost ridiculously trite in its British mannerisms.
The monumental burst of electric base, banging chimes, and choir in
"Heroic Austin" is a bit generic despite being pleasing in its tone. But
the majority of both scores owes to Barry, especially in the application
of that composer's villain's themes. Clinton recreates Barry's bloated,
snare-tapping, deep brass pulsating style of addressing larger-than-life
scenarios perfectly, even making sure to repeat each phrase twice
(
the Barry trademark). Woodwind accents, all the way up to
shrieking piccolos, are a resurrection of Barry's suspense material,
best heard in "Norad." In the second score, "Evil Island" is an easy rip
of the harp and string-laden theme from
You Only Live Twice.
There are original themes that Clinton utilizes across these scores, but
they are ultimately so rooted in the style of other composers that the
actual progressions aren't really memorable. In the end, it's the
Hammond organ, small band percussion, and solo woodwinds that will stick
in mind, and unless you want to hear a far lighter shade of what David
Holmes was producing for more mainstream comedies at the time, then
beware of the corniness factor. Interestingly, Clinton spends so much
time imitating others' style in these scores that it's hard to get a
sense for his own musical voice. A burst of Scottish tones for "Fat
Bastard" is among the few hints at the unique humor that he would
explore far better in
The Big Bounce after the conclusion of this
franchise. These scores are good for a few chuckles, but the most
enduring identity for Myers' character is ironically Quincy Jones' "Soul
Bossa Nova," arranged very memorably by Clinton. The representation of
this theme on the 2000 album comes from the second score, and this piece
remains the highlight. On the whole, if you're looking for a more
consistent vintage spy parody listening experience, Shearmur's
Johnny
English is easily superior, but Clinton certainly succeeded in
harpooning the right targets for his
Austin Powers assignments.
The result is groovy, but tiresome.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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The insert unfolds into a poster that on the flip side includes extensive
notes by veteran film music writer Jeff Bond about the films and scores.
