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Paparazzi
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Composed, Co-Orchestrated, Co-Conducted, and Produced by:
Co-Conducted by:
Adam Klemens
Vocal Solos by:
Azam Ali
Co-Orchestrated by:
Christopher Lennertz Brad Warnaar Dana Nui
Performed by:
The City of Prague Philharmonic
The Northwest Sinfonia
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LABEL & RELEASE DATE
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ALBUM AVAILABILITY
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Regular U.S. release.
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AWARDS
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None.
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ALSO SEE
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Buy it... if you want to be driven to action by an aggressive
orchestral, electronic, and highly percussive score that takes its foot
off the gas only for a few cues of generic melodic beauty.
Avoid it... if that same mean-spirited aggression, relentless in
its sonic depth and propulsive rhythms, leaves too little of the
thematic integrity that casual Brian Tyler fans appreciate.
BUY IT
 | Tyler |
Paparazzi: (Brian Tyler) Given the highly
publicized events surrounding Princess Diana's death and a considerable
number celebrity lawsuits involving nosey paparazzi photographers, it's
surprising that Hollywood took this long to strike back with a film like
Paparazzi. For people familiar with the celebrity scene, the
premise is believable; a dashing actor with newly achieved fame becomes
the victim of hoards of paparazzi, his family eventually severely
injured in a car crash because of them. Whether or not you believe the
tale from here on is your decision, but the actor exacts his revenge
upon the paparazzi by plotting their individual demise, and the film
becomes an exploration of integrity and the concept of revenge in usual
vigilante form. In his mainstream directorial debut, Paul Abascal had a
propulsive vision of the movement of his film, with the paparazzi
swarming like insects and the cascade of emotions of the film's
protagonist taking the story down some very dark alleyways. For the
score, Abascal wanted music that was both highly aggressive in rhythm
and melodic in style. Composer Mark Isham had originally been attached
to Paparazzi, but given the desires of the director, Isham's
style could not have been a more ill-advised match (especially with his
awful Twisted score earlier in the year being completely devoid
of rhythm or theme). Rising star Brian Tyler was contacted for the job
based on a sampler of Tyler's talents that contained music from his
previous suspense and action efforts. The early years in his career were
mostly defined by his prolific work in the thriller genre, setting
himself apart from other young composers with the quality of his ideas
in otherwise stale projects. Between the sharp edges of Darkness
Falls and smooth lines of Children of Dune, Tyler's abilities
suited Abascal's wishes well, and both the director and composer gave
the result of their collaboration rave reviews once their work was
finished.
Tyler assembled a pair of sizeable orchestras (recorded
in Prague and Seattle, an odd combination that did, however, allow for a
longer album release), a significantly larger than normal percussion
section, a solo vocalist, and several electronic instruments (from
keyboards to guitars) to provide the full spectrum of emotions
necessary. The result of this combination of forces is a score that, as
Tyler explains, is very richly layered, both in instrumentation and in
the alteration and mixing of all of those elements into one very thick
sound. While Tyler also states that the score is thematic, the two
recurring themes (one for the primary character and the other for the
paparazzi) are only very loosely interpolated throughout the length of
the score. An alternating minor/major key motif sets the main rhythm of
the score throughout and continues to enhance the drive behind the
perilous good-versus-evil psyche of the film. The more sensitive theme
for the family seems less developed, if only because its progressions
are so generic that they simply bleed into tonal ambience, but the idea
does assert itself clearly in three or four cues and can usually be
found when the solo female voices are present. One way in which Tyler
certainly did succeed in meeting Abascal's request is in the extremely
aggressive demeanor of the score. There is substantial malice throughout
this music, both in the pace of the rhythms and in the extensive mixing
process during which Tyler highlights the harsher edges of each
instrumental section. Also resulting from those mixings are sound
effects that often rumble, tick, and clang in tandem with the
traditional percussion section of the orchestra, almost as to emulate
the sounds that still cameras made in that generation. Each relatively
short cue presents itself in a slightly different variation of mixing,
almost as though Tyler was experimenting with the ingredients as the
film progressed. Despite the extensive lengths to which Tyler went to
produce a locust-like "sonic image" for the paparazzi, the score is
ultimately not one of memorable creativity, though. Rather, its
70-minute length (translated to 57+ minutes on album) wears you down
with the force of its own attitude and momentum.
Within the aggression, Tyler does occasionally let rip
with a slightly more stylish variation on his tone of vengeance, and
these moments often include a heavier reliance on the electronic
instruments rather than the orchestra. The "Celebrity Life" and
"Premiere" cues (along with, to a lesser extent, "Fans and Lights"), for
instance, are appropriately cool for the circumstance of Hollywood
glamour, all the while maintaining the fast pace of both the
contemporary lifestyle and chase at the heart of the film. As usual,
Tyler re-arranged the cues for the album presentation, emphasizing the
softer moments of the score near the beginning of the album. Still, the
first six or seven cues very effectively alternate between drive and
passion, beauty and that invigorating aggression. As the album
progresses at its consistently heightened volume and pace in the second
half, it does run the risk of aggravating the listener, even with a few
minimalistic interludes interspersed. This attribute isn't as much a
complaint as it is a comment about the nature of the beast. Despite the
composer's own affinity for fast cars, Paparazzi may not be a
score you wish to drive to, because Tyler very effectively boils your
blood with his action sequences. The only outright complaint about the
score points, ironically, to its most beautiful cue. Featured in "The
Awakening" is one of those overly simplistic melodies with lovely solo
voice that Tyler has a tendency to write, and this one just happens to
emulate Armageddon and foreshadow his Rambo score a bit
too much for comfort (it also was clearly aped by Brian Transeau for
Stealth the next year). Additionally, an argument could be made
that Tyler didn't sufficiently offer a distinct enough sound effect (or
orchestral effect) to convince the listener that the photographers are
indeed insects. Overall, Paparazzi is a very effective score, and
the diverse ranges of sound heard in its impressive opening to the album
will set you up for disappointment over its static consistency in the
latter half (much in the same way the Timeline album was
arranged). That said, Tyler's score still exudes a depth of sonic
manipulation that will, along with its breakneck rhythms, at least keep
you interested until the end. *** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
Bias Check: |
For Brian Tyler reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.31
(in 33 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.1
(in 15,414 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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Total Time: 57:34
1. Cat and Mouse (2:22)
2. Aftermath (3:29)
3. Solitude (1:07)
4. The Break-In (1:25)
5. The Awakening (1:35)
6. Turning Tables (3:03)
7. Silent Anger (1:34)
8. Falling (2:13)
9. Taped Evidence (2:25)
10. Questioning (2:26)
11. Taking Rex In (0:49)
12. Realization (1:48)
13. End of the Line (3:36)
14. Discussion With a Detective (0:53)
15. The Telltale Pen (2:31)
16. Celebrity Life (2:47)
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17. Garbage Fetish (1:00)
18. Evidence Lost (1:22)
19. Laramie Hitches a Ride (3:17)
20. Batter Up (2:15)
21. Hand in the Air (1:10)
22. Telling (0:43)
23. Premiere (1:23)
24. Scene of the Crime (2:50)
25. Blackmail (1:59)
26. Camera Chase (0:50)
27. Tabloid Exposure (1:49)
28. Adrenaline Force 2 (0:30)
29. Invasion of Privacy (0:34)
30. Intruders (1:41)
31. Fans and Lights (1:33)
32. Resolution (1:57)
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The insert includes a note from the director about the score.
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