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Review of Merlin (Trevor Jones)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you have traditionally enjoyed Trevor Jones' simple,
majestic themes and wouldn't be adverse to a reprise of action material
from the just previous Dark City.
Avoid it... if Jones' consistent sound for television epics and Hollywood blockbusters of the 1990's remains too predictable, despite each score's individual qualities.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Merlin: (Trevor Jones) Nobody can dispute that
Trevor Jones was the master of epic television scores in the late
1990's. Between Gulliver's Travels, Loch Ness,
Merlin, and Cleopatra, among others, Jones not only gained
recognition from the Emmy's, but also from fans itching to hear more of
the unashamedly bold sound from his blockbuster films earlier in the
decade. One Emmy-nominated entry in the series was Steve Barron's
Merlin, an NBC network extravaganza from producer Robert Halmi,
with whom Jones had collaborated on Gulliver's Travels. The film
was received well at the time, with a remarkable cast led by Sam Neill
and Helena Bonham Carter. Its subject, not surprisingly, is a life story
devoted to the wizard Merlin, his love life, and his dealings with the
other parts of Arthurian legend. Films like Merlin are reminders
of the major networks' last glory days, before similarly rendered
projects would move to any of the plethora of cable-related
alternatives, and there was something intangible about the bloated size
of these productions that often carried over to their often magnificent
scores. The networks were rarely satisfied with budget scores, allowing
for big Hollywood names to write extremely long scores for significant
ensembles. In the case of Merlin, the lengthy Jones effort would
be performed by his preferred group: The London Symphony Orchestra.
Almost immediately, Varèse Sarabande released a full-length album
of Jones' work for Merlin, and the score, while not Jones' best,
remains a solid listening experience from start to finish. That album
doesn't contain, fortunately or unfortunately, the music that NBC used
to promote the film and transition to commercial breaks throughout it;
the Titanic-imitation music, which was, of course, all the rage
in early 1998, remains a cheap alternative to Jones' far more
sophisticated score for the actual production. You'd be surprised,
though, how many people bought the album at the time with the thought of
the James Horner-like new age style in their minds.
As to be expected, Jones does not disappoint when it comes to the concept of epic themes. His primary identity for Merlin is a sweeping string and brass theme much like many of his others, though a little more laden with a historical sense of romance instead of remaining pure in brass boldness. The satisfaction with which he states the themes, perhaps oversimplified in parts, is a maturation from the larger styles that carry over from Excalibur and The Dark Crystal (two of Jones' defining and relevant early works). The influence of those earlier scores, however, is better heard in the softer, slightly more folksy moments of Merlin, devoted in extended sequences to murky harp, string, and unintrusive synthesizer performances. The title theme isn't as integrated into the score as well as it could be, presenting the work's primary weakness, though Jones does indulge listeners with five or six grand, if not nearly identical full performances of the theme throughout the film and album. In between these statements, the score alternates between Jones' stock horror and action styles of that year and soft meanderings of harmonic movements that never strain much to maintain your interest. In the latter side of those two sounds, Jones' secondary themes for Merlin thrive. None receive the glorious treatment of the title theme, unfortunately, though, causing much of the score to pass very pleasantly without leaving a striking impression. Fans of Jones' Dark City from just a couple of months earlier in 1998 will either be startled or enthused by the remarkable repetition of style and structure from that cult score. In both the opening minutes of "The Dragon's Lair" and halfway through "The Walls are Whispering," Jones reprises the frantic, massively layered action music from Dark City, going so far as to completely restate the "strangers" theme from that film for the purposes of the dragon in Merlin. The snare-ripping and rhythmic blasts of trumpets would also carry into "Griffins" and "Mab's Demise," offering another snippet of what many consider to be among Jones' most compelling action music of his career. Overall, these borrowings occupy only a minimal amount of playtime, however, and Jones' effort for Merlin ranks among his best for the genre. ****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 73:39
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert contains a note by the film's executive producer about the score.
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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Merlin are Copyright © 1998, Varèse Sarabande and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 5/26/97 and last updated 3/27/07. |
