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Written 3/17/24
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Buy it... if leftover fantasy and adventure material from Andrew
Lockington's masterpiece, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, can
alone support a similar but ultimately lesser exploration of the same
style.
Avoid it... if you've never been able to warm up to Lockington's
sometimes elusive thematic structures, the narrative extremely well
developed here but suppressed at times by a distracting contemporary
edge.
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| Lockington |
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters: (Andrew Lockington)
The "Percy Jackson" franchise of the early 2010's was itself something
of an awkward stepchild, never realizing the full potential of author
Rick Riordan's stories but earning just enough revenue to tempt studios.
The 2013 entry, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters followed its 2010
predecessor with similar success but suffered from poor critical and
audience response, killing the franchise after two films. In this second
adventure, the young demigods among our population set off on a quest to
the mythical Sea of Monsters (the ever-maligned Bermuda Triangle) to
retrieve the Golden Fleece, an otherwise ordinary-looking blanket that
heals just about anything except toenail fungus. With it, they plan to
save a protective tree near their vital Camp Half-Blood after it is
attacked by the equally young male asshole of the tale, himself a
demigod but endowed with a luxury yacht and various henchmen of mythical
beasts and traditional thugs. That tree has a sad backstory, its origins
dating to a demigod girl who was slayed there and generated the
protective tree. If all of this sounds like rubbish, then you're not the
target demographic for Riordan's novels or live-action spinoffs. For
film music collectors, these "Percy Jackson" movies offered above
average orchestral and choral scores, the first by Christophe Beck for
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, though
criticism remains in regards to the derivative nature of passages in
that work despite its overall demeanor hitting the mark. For the sequel,
the producers turned to the ascendant Andrew Lockington, who had vaulted
to the forefront of the fantasy and adventure genre in the late 2000's
and had just completed the exceptional Journey 2: The Mysterious
Island the prior year. Lockington's writing style in this realm,
augmented by former David Arnold collaborator Nicholas Dodd as
orchestrator and conductor, represented a remarkably fresh voice in the
film scoring community. His robust orchestral scores of the era were
often laced with smart electronic and vocal layers, though some
collectors found his thematic constructs unmemorable.
For listeners enamored with the phenomenal quality and
character of Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, there was no
closer sibling to that work than Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
(unless you count 2008's Journey to the Center of the Earth,
which was a less mature version of its sequel score). The equation in
the performance mix is altered, however, to emphasize the same basic set
of electronics and add an outright rock element in Percy Jackson: Sea
of Monsters. No doubt seeking to address the "cool youth" aspect of
the contemporary story, this shift gives the work some distinction but
also distracts from the core orchestral personality of the recording. A
70-member orchestra and 40-member choir supply more than enough force
for the occasion, though the mix is a bit too dry for the main group.
The same cannot be said for lead female vocalist Tiff Randol, who
replaces Emilie-Claire Barlow as the representation of similarly
mystical elements in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. Their
voices are remarkably alike, however, and Lockington uses them exactly
the same way; in this case, Randol also performs the connected end
credits song. (If you prefer Barlow, you can hear her continue the
collaboration with Lockington in 2015's Pirate's Passage, though
that work is largely sampled.) Randol's voice peppers the score but
doesn't define it, the Lockington/Dodd partnership carrying most of the
score. The electronics, sadly, are sometimes intrusive in ways that
would later prove more problematic in a score like Rampage, with
cues like "Colchis Bull" and "The Oracle's Prophecy" cranking up these
overlays to obnoxious levels. The rock drum kit rhythms in "New
Coordinates" and closing titles aren't themselves disqualifying, but
they are rare enough in the score to sound somewhat out of place.
Lockington also applies an electrical thunder effect at times; the use
at 3:11 into "Thank You Brother" is unique but a tad distracting. The
score also features one truly singular cue of disparate style, the zany,
urban comedy moment in "Wild Taxi Ride" completed by sound effects and
jazz influences. It's good testimony to Lockington's capabilities even
if it's not entirely palatable music on its own.
The narrative of Lockington's Percy Jackson: Sea of
Monsters is adequate but not overwhelming, with six major recurring
themes each provided countless renditions but not all of them
particularly standing apart. None of these identities reprises material
explored by Beck in the previous film, which is a disappointment.
Listeners may prefer individual standout moments, including the
"Hippocampus" scene as perhaps the most impactful fantasy cue in context
and the superior action of "Wave Conjuring," which better balances
electronics, choir, and orchestral players at full pace. Those expecting
a reprise of the grandiose style of the closing credits music from
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island will encounter a less exuberant
alternative in "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters - Main Titles," though
this cue opens slowly because it also accompanies the actual final scene
of the movie. Among Lockington's six very well-developed themes, one is
an overarching identity for the whole concept, doubling as a prophecy
theme in this context. Two themes represent Percy, alternating between
his character personally and his heroic deeds. The theme for the young
girl, Thalia, who becomes the tree is afforded the female vocal
identity. Often in the domain of brass is the villain's theme for
Kronos. Less obvious is a love theme of sorts for Percy's flame,
Annabeth, and a quick Hippocampus motif beyond that. The main prophecy
theme debuts at 0:19 into "Thalia's Story" on horns and exudes a sense
of mystery but returns with more gusto at 2:16, including the choir. It
is heard briefly at 1:22 and 3:19 into "Colchis Bull" with frenetic
action and develops early in "The Oracle's Prophecy" with a touch of
quiet nobility, guiding the first half of that cue. The idea opens
"Hippocampus" with softly driving demeanor, gaining speed at 1:51, and
shifts its progressions to a more suspenseful mode at 1:10 into "Wave
Conjuring," lightly comedic at 2:16 on violins. It takes a softer, more
melodramatic path in the middle of "Sea of Monsters," continues with
snare determination at 1:34 into "Belly of the Beast," expresses
ultra-slick rock percussion, brass, and choral coolness at 1:11 into
"New Coordinates," and is twisted into a sinister fragment at the outset
of "Polyphemus," becoming a giddy violin figure and exploring other
guises.
As the film reaches the culmination of its conflict,
Lockington expands the use of the main prophecy theme by reducing it to
solo horn at 2:22 into "Thank You Brother," then using it to inform the
long crescendo at the cue's climax. It is laid on top of the action at
2:46 into "Kronos," closes out the final minute of "Resurrection" with
smooth appeal, and grows out of the solo voice at 1:22 into "Percy
Jackson: Sea of Monsters - Main Titles," where a rock percussion section
for the theme later in the cue is okay but overplayed; that suite ends
with the theme used within a crescendo of suspense to suggest the
subsequent sequel that was never made. Often intermingling with this
main theme of prophecy is the first of two themes for Percy, his heroic
identity. This idea is actually introduced like a B phrase of the main
theme at 0:33 into "Thalia's Story" but is more hopeful and inspiring.
It is given a fantasy edge at 3:45 into "Colchis Bull," interjects
ominously with deep choir at 2:33 into "The Oracle's Prophecy," and
rises out of Percy's other theme in "Cursed Blade Shall Reap" for some
varied exploration. The hero theme is then twisted into a more frantic
version in the manic movement of "Wild Taxi Ride," overtakes the main
and nobility themes at 2:06 into "Hippocampus," and is pushed to
large-scale fantasy form at 4:28 into "Wave Conjuring," turning pensive
near the cue's end. It is accelerated in the action at 0:52 and 2:18
into "Belly of the Beast," receives a brief outburst at 1:22 into
"Polyphemus," and breaks through the chaos at 3:23 into "Kronos" with
redemptive performances of victory. In the resolution scenes, Percy's
theme quietly guides the start of "Annabeth and the Fleece" in relief
and returns later in cue, then offering a moment of confidence in the
middle of "Resurrection" and resorting back to interlude duties for the
main theme at 1:36 into "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters - Main Titles,"
continuing in that position throughout the rest of the cue. Percy's
other theme, that for nobility and his relationship with the gods, is a
meandering and uncertain identity, often for strings. It is tentatively
explored at 0:24 into "Percy at the Lake" with full secondary lines but
is slight and fragmented on strings and light plucking early in "Cursed
Blade Shall Reap," later opening "Hermes" on light brass and succeeding
the plucky comedy in the middle of that cue.
Percy's nobility theme in
Percy Jackson: Sea of
Monsters inspires without much volume at 1:10 into "Hippocampus,"
supplying some comfort at the cue's conclusion, and shifts to beefy
brass at 0:55 into "Wave Conjuring," becoming an ensemble fanfare at
5:05, and stews on strings early in "Sea of Monsters." It flows out of
the conflict at the end of "Belly of the Beast" to nicely resolve the
cue, struggles in the opening moments of "Thank You Brother" before
transitioning to more melodramatic form at 4:22 with the choir,
prevails with exuberance and anticipation at 4:12 into "Kronos," and is
afforded its best stature at 1:52 into "Resurrection." Tangentially
related to Percy is an elusive identity for Annabeth, and this motif
also functions as the score's de facto love theme. It's a distinct
leftover from the lovely Atlantis material from
Journey 2: The
Mysterious Island while also sharing some chords with Thalia's theme
here. It offers one of the score's most magical moments in its full
performance as Annabeth runs her hand through the water at 2:21 into
"Hippocampus." This love theme is later reprised on strings at 0:36 into
"New Coordinates," forced into heavy suspense and action duty in the
middle of "Kronos," and expressed with tender affection during the
character's fleece revival at 0:55 into "Annabeth and the Fleece."
Meanwhile, Percy's identities find themselves in direct conflict with
the villain's identity for Kronos, which consists of four to five-note
figures, often on low brass, highly reminiscent of a similar danger idea
in
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. This memorable theme is
useful as a simple stinger, easy to drop into meandering basslines
whenever a quick reminder of peril is required. Lockington
understandably applies it liberally, introducing the idea at 1:55 into
"Thalia's Story" on a pair of phrases, repeating it at 0:48 and
thereafter into "Colchis Bull" over the cue's grungy electronics,
refocusing for several renditions at 2:09. It becomes increasingly
muscular and frightening in the middle of "The Oracle's Prophecy,"
swelling resoundingly in low brass for several incarnations, and
postures on brass at 1:06 into "Onboard the Yacht." Kronos' theme
lingers in the shadows late in "Wave Conjuring," casts a shadow in the
second minute of "Thank You Brother" (before a broader moment at 4:17),
takes true brass form at 1:12 into "Kronos," and stomps at 0:54 into
"Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters - Main Titles."
For listeners expecting top-notch Lockington fantasy
material carrying over from
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,
there is no better theme in
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters than
that of Thalia. Randol's vocal performances for this identity are
reverb-friendly and carry the same intoxicatingly prominent position in
the mix. It's heard right away on that solo female voice in "Thalia's
Story" but saves its magic for its fullest treatment at 2:33, repeated
enlarged renditions of its single phrase to close out the cue with
majesty matching the best of Lockington's score from the previous year.
The idea takes an ominous turn slowly on solo voice over nervous lines
at 0:07 and 0:38 into "The Shield is Gone" and is lost until it opens
"Wave Conjuring" with the voice in different harmonics. The chords of
the idea hide in the background at 1:28 into "Sea of Monsters" before
eventually emerging formally on the vocals. Its quick reminders include
a diversion from other themes at 1:06 into "New Coordinates and a
statement that barely survives at 2:02 into "Thank You Brother."
Thalia's theme receives its due catharsis in "Resurrection," where it
opens the cue in symphonic form before being guided by the solo voice
several times. For the extension of that scene in "Percy Jackson: Sea of
Monsters - Main Titles," that voice continues over tumult at 0:11.
Lockington coordinated with Randol on the placement of this material as
support within the "To Feel Alive" end credits song, which fits nicely
with the tone of the score but leaves a bit to be desired in its
repetitive lyrics. The quality of the vocal recording in the song
doesn't match the superior tone heard within the score proper, either.
On the whole, Lockington's score is a mixed bag in terms of its wildly
shifting demeanor, occasionally abrasive electronics, and drum kit
personality at a few prominent moments. But these detriments are
countered by moments such as 0:55 into "Hippocampus," where the composer
affords the beast with a motif of grandeur that represents the best of
his sensibilities. These parts of
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
are where
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is resurrected with
equal attraction. Enthusiasts of the 2012 score will find ten to fifteen
minutes of material that will serve as an excellent extension of the
same exact sound. This nostalgic resemblance earns the 2013 score a
fourth star, if only for the Thalia theme alone, but listeners not
enamored with the prior work could find Lockington's venture into this
franchise to be merely average in the sum of its parts.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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