One of the disappointments of Bates' music for the
first film involved a lack of crossover appeal to stylistically connect
the 1970's era of the songs and the score itself. Once again, in
Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2, Bates completely ignores the
songs; if anything, he traverses further into the realm of straight
orchestral bombast, choosing to diminish the obvious electronic
embellishments that caused some consternation in the prior entry. So
valiant and optimistic is Bates' music for the sequel that he strays
towards parody territory, especially considering his tendency to mimic
the style of famous composers. Whereas the first score had a fair dose
of Alan Silvestri on display as clear inspiration, there's a touch of
James Newton Howard throughout
Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2,
especially in the dramatic portions. The resulting collection of
arguably overbearing but nonetheless satisfying cues is a more
entertaining listening experience, a very strong achievement by Bates. A
strong argument can be made that the score for
Guardians of the
Galaxy: Vol. 2 is a simplistic stream of sterile action muck, for
the constructs of the score are often straightforward and easy to
digest. But there are tasteful touches heard throughout this recording
that elevate this music beyond the usual, workmanlike toils of Brian
Tyler and John Ottman for related concepts. Some film music collectors
attribute much of the success of these Bates scores to the solid team of
orchestrators involved, led by Timothy Williams. Regardless of the basis
for such an argument, there is instrumental mastery heard at times in
this score, and the recording is extremely well mixed. These undeniable
assets compensate for a somewhat flimsy evolution of themes in the
narrative, though those ideas shouldn't be overlooked. The
Silvestri-inspired title theme for the Guardians returns as the only
overwhelmingly obvious identity, heard in full snare-ripping form in
"Showtime A-Holes" and "Two-Time-Galaxy Savers" and existing in numerous
guises throughout the score.
The less obvious secondary themes of
Guardians of
the Galaxy: Vol. 2 consistently betray a possible a temp track of
Howard fantasy music, led by
The Last Airbender. Most obvious is
a "family theme" for Quill and Yondu, developed in "Flow Like Water"
form in "Family History" and "Dad," the duo serving as the score's
powerhouse melodramatic presence. Other secondary ideas don't have much
impact and are surprisingly weak by comparison. An ethereal, keyboarded
and vocalized motif for Mantis in "The Mantis Touch" is understated, as
is the musical representation of Nebula on cello in "Sisters." The
Silvestri love returns in the choral applications for Ego in the cue of
his name, and a touch of comedic rhythmic plucking inhabits "Groot
Expectations" for that character. Starhawk, meanwhile, gets no
discernable theme for his introduction despite posing as a likely
important force in future films. The family theme informs Bates' brief
sendoff for the score in "Guardians of the Frickin Galaxy,"
interestingly, rather than the franchise identity. Instrumentally, the
score still lacks any notable presence of woodwinds, though the
obnoxious, descending, synthetic bass tone effect used all too
frequently in the prior score is limited here. (You can still hear it at
the end of "Mammalian Bodies.") The choral applications are truly
shameless and overplayed, but at least they're easy on the ears. The
technical highlight of the score is "I Know Who You Are," which stews in
harmonically ominous, guitar-laden suspense over choir eeriness. (Bates
reportedly performed the guitar parts himself.) There are enough such
points of interest, especially in the handling of brass throughout, to
elevate
Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 above its predecessor
overall and sustain its economical, 44-minute score-only presentation.
While the score was not initially pressed onto CD, it was eventually
provided on vinyl and available for high-definition download, the latter
recommended given the attractive recording quality of the product.
Despite its suboptimum thematic attributions, this Bates effort is an
easy breeze of a pleasure, and detractors can, at the very least,
humorously muse that the composer has become much more polished at
emulating a temp track.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
