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Review of Igor (Patrick Doyle)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you are attracted to Patrick Doyle's unyielding sense of lyricism, evident here in tones ranging from lovely solo piano to grandiose gothic harmony.

Avoid it... if you are not interested in editing out or otherwise rearranging the numerous slapstick cues in this score to assemble fifteen to twenty minutes of affable and surprisingly impressive music.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Igor: (Patrick Doyle) An attempt by MGM to compete in the animation genre during the 2008 summer season resulted in Igor, the kind of devious production that tried unsuccessfully to emulate the style of Tim Burton's morbidly rendered productions aimed at similar audiences. Unfortunately for Tony Leondis' lighthearted take on the mad scientist subgenre, Igor was too frightening for small kids but too dumb for adults, and without the kind of support from older kids and teenagers, it wasted a strong ensemble cast and degenerated into a series of pop-culture references. The story finally gives the most famous mad scientist's assistant his own spotlight, but despite all of Igor's own attempts to produce evil in the mould of his dead master, he manages to only yield positive results. His creature is a giant woman who only wants to perform on stage, for instance. The title character's worst intentions still manage to gain him a cute and cuddly persona, perhaps one of the film's more challenging hurdles. With a story that ultimately evolves into one of a theatre troop, the role of genre-defying music in a context of massive fantasy and horror tones had to be twisted into awkward combinations with vintage jazz and showtune sensibilities. Accepting the challenge of bringing all of these musical styles under one leaky roof was Patrick Doyle, who has claimed to always have had a soft spot for animation despite only rarely tackling the genre. Assignments such as this one allow for the kind of overblown creativity rarely allowed in other topics, though Doyle does resort to standard cartoon techniques at times. His work for Igor is indeed colorful in the musical spectrum, with tones ranging from grandiose, epic choral fright and solo soprano beauty to snazzy vintage lounge material and solo piano elegance. Some listeners will get hung up on the material that takes inspiration from Carl Stalling and other more recent masters of capturing the frenetic, unpredictable movement of the characters, and indeed Doyle provides enough wacky percussive effects and slapstick techniques to connect Igor to that style in about half of its cues. The trick to scores like this one, however, is to completely ignore these predictable portions and concentrate on the bursts of monumental orchestral force and thematic grace, together amounting to fifteen to twenty minutes of music. Undoubtedly, Igor is a score of spectacular highlights and eye-rolling detriments, and your ability to parse and rearrange the somewhat messy combination will determine your affinity for the work.

There was likely no better way for Doyle to approach Igor, and for offering the film the very best that its story could allow in terms of overarching cohesiveness, he should be commended. It is a work that very much resembles his career in parts, but not in ways you'd expect. For example, the composer doesn't really reference the style of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein but does, with greater rewards, handle one of the four themes in Igor in lovely solo piano format. These primary thematic representations are offered in clear, snapshot succession in the character-specific tracks that open the album release. Doyle's own piano performances for Eva extend out of the pretty "Eva" to occupy "Wistful Thinking" and, with orchestral backing that begins to show shades of Rachel Portman's writing, "Opening Night Presents." Of more bravado is Igor's theme, throwing all of the typical gothic elements (from solo soprano to pipe organ) into a distinctly Doyle-like melodramatic progression that is sufficiently introductory in "Igor" but really flies in "Evil Bone." The interesting aspect of both the themes for Eva and Igor is Doyle's intentional finishing of measures on slightly disharmonious keys, reminding of the off-kilter personalities of these characters. Supplemental themes explored in "Schadenfreude" and "Hi Heidi" are more singular and have less of an impact on the remainder of the score. The two primary themes struggle to maintain an identity in the first half of the album but eventually flourish in the last five or six cues; from "Secret Passage" on, Igor shakes most of the tambourines and other clanging and tingling percussive effects and instead emphasizes the full Bulgarian ensemble, including more compelling vocal tones. The soprano singing in the second half of "Through the Clouds" is mesmerizing and the massive choral proclamations in "Let's Get Evil" and "Evil Annie" are reminiscent of the composer's epic fantasy works. Doyle's sense of humor is well tempered in the incorporation of the famous and applicable song from "Annie" mixed atop the latter cue. Doyle's most redemptive style of writing is beautifully conveyed in "Malaria Community Theatre," with romantic comedy tones more attractive than most in live action cinema today. This is Doyle's unashamed lyricism at its best. Still, as a whole, Igor is plagued by source-like, genre-bending cues like "Hot Tub Rub," which sounds like a cheap holdover from Nim's Island. The listening experience on album requires significant editing into your own compilations, but Doyle's overall approach is fresh and affable. The highlights, from solo piano to massive gothic harmonics, are too strong to brush aside because of the genre's limitations or this particular film's flaws.  ****

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 61:29

• 1. Eva* (3:07) • 2. Igor (4:47) • 3. Scamper & Brain (2:30) • 4. Schadenfreude (1:39) • 5. Hi Heidi (1:05) • 6. Except the King (1:41) • 7. Evil Bone (3:30) • 8. Blind Orphans (1:24) • 9. Brain Wash (1:29) • 10. Oven Bun (3:05) • 11. Acting Me Me Me (1:58) • 12. Cliff Chase (2:42)

• 13. Plucky Eva (3:15) • 14. Opening Night Presents (3:45) • 15. Hot Tub Rub (3:15) • 16. Falling for Director (2:37) • 17. Evil Science Fair (3:08) • 18. Secret Passage (1:36) • 19. Through the Clouds (2:12) • 20. Let's Get Evil (1:17) • 21. Evil Annie (6:52) • 22. Malaria Community Theatre (2:34) • 23. Wistful Thinking* (1:51)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes a note from the composer about the score.

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