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•	1999 Album

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2011 Set

While as a game, "Medal of Honor" was created in the mould of Saving Private Ryan, its music couldn't be any more different. The sole similarity between the 1998 Williams score and this subsequent game score (the latter reportedly written before the former was released and/or heard by Giacchino) is the atmosphere of solemn patriotism in the solitary performances of their title themes on brass. For the game, this theme's primary, most respectful performance comes in the opening "Medal of Honor" cue, which builds upon the style of James Horner's Apollo 13 for two minutes before an increase of bravado introduces the notable Williams-like, full-ensemble characteristics. In the noble brass counterpoint later in this performance and in a few places thereafter, the horns take on the style of John Scott, too. While this theme is technically the overarching idea of the score, its extended uses are quite limited, with the orchestral material on the game's album concluded by a jubilant variation of the theme in "The Jet Aircraft Facility." More specifically, the theme represents the primary character, OSS agent Lt. Jimmy Patterson, as he journeys through each mission in the game. Given the suspenseful nature of many of these cues, however, as well as the pacing of their action, the title theme is most often reduced to fragments. Far more cohesive, interestingly, is the theme for the Nazis, which is where Giacchino really takes a cue, so to speak, from Williams. Introduced in "Locating Enemy Positions" and exploding in full, marching movement in "Attack on Fort Schmerzen," this theme is an extremely obvious rearrangement of the scherzo and associated German themes from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The unmistakable similarities between the mass of Nazi-related music in "Medal of Honor" and that of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade can either be considered a major asset or a startling distraction. In either case, Giacchino provides cues like "The Radar Train" and "Rjuken Sabotage" with outstandingly rambunctious renditions of this theme that espouse an energy and complexity usually reserved for Williams' own works. With these two themes mingling throughout, "Medal of Honor" presents every mission in solid three to four minute cues that are all structured like a self-contained mini-symphony, allowing for a smooth flow to the game that isn't completely bound by immediate user activities.

Each of the individual movements in "Medal of Honor" features the development of a distinct format of an individual motif from start to finish, whether it's the overwhelmingly engaging rhythms of "Taking Out the Railgun" or the more subtle, turbulent low range movements of "The U-Boat." Each cue is highly listenable, therefore, and attentive listeners will note a few sub-themes, such as a specific "stalking motif," that traverse multiple cues. The similarities to Williams' styles of the late 1980's and early 1990's doesn't stop with the outward Nazi material; many ambitious cues reference Williams' techniques in composition and orchestration from scores such as Hook, Far and Away, and Jurassic Park. The instrumentation of "Medal of Honor" is standard (in terms of an orchestral ensemble), however, with the absence of synthetic or exotic elements lending to a reliably robust product anchored by a strong central personality. The low strings are especially utilized by Giacchino with outstanding results, often producing churning rhythms of satisfaction. The only cue that does not synchronize with the style of the whole is the jazzy, Cole Porter-inspired "The Road to Berlin." Dreamworks Interactive initially only released the score on a 72-minute album through Amazon.com, causing more hype than probably necessary (remember that Amazon.com was still a relatively fresh idea at the time), and the subsequent products in the series by Giacchino and others often exhibited limited availability as well. The album presentation's only weaknesses come at its end. After a source radio broadcast version of "The Road to Berlin," the album features two hidden tracks. The first is an obnoxious collection of sound effects from German positions, while the conducting of the American national anthem by Giacchino's own mother is thrown on, with studio joking included, only for fun (the musicians intentionally butcher parts of the tune). That album went out of print and retailed at a value at least double its original retail price for many years. In 2011, La-La Land Records assembled all of the existing "Medal of Honor" game soundtracks by all three composers and released them in one massive, 8-CD set. That impressive collection, aside from remastering the sound and making all of the scores available again as part of a 2,000-copy pressing for $60, presents additional material from the later entries. The contents on the set's first CD for "Medal of Honor" are identical to those of the original product. In either case, this first franchise score successfully set the tone for its sequels and remains among the best imitations of John Williams' style ever achieved.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Michael Giacchino reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.46 (in 43 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.21 (in 23,448 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.