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Review of Shanghai Noon (Randy Edelman)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you appreciate good parody music and are inclined towards Randy
Edelman's pleasant, harmonious style of composition.
Avoid it... if you prefer to have your thinking cap on while listening to your soundtracks.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Shanghai Noon: (Randy Edelman) The appeal of Jackie Chan
films was at its height when the idea for Shanghai Noon splashed across
the big screens. His previous hit films in America, Rumble in the Bronx,
Mr. Nice Guy, and Rush Hour, offered varying levels of lower
intelligence, but for the most part, any script that allows Chan to wiggle
through a shopping cart and kick someone in the groin at the same time is worthy
of a reel of film. The concept of Shanghai Noon presented the same
awe-inspiring stunts from the funnyman, but this time in the setting of the Wild
West, obviously not the usual urban environment for Chan. Pairing up with
comedian Owen Wilson, the two battle the law and kidnappers on the road to saving
a princess, and several playful references to famous Westerns (including, of
course, High Noon) are included along the way. The film's success would
lead to a sequel for the two leads, and both productions were scored by veteran
composer Randy Edelman. Despite his plethora of scores up to the year 2000,
Edelman had not written music for a traditional Western, and much of his
Eastern-influenced work revolved around the subtle instrumentation in parts of
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. His career was also sparse in authentically
conveying the spirit of historical settings (his trademark synthetic sound
causing difficulties with his music for Gettysburg), and luckily all of
this lack of much experience in these genres was compensated for by the fact that
Shanghai Noon is, after all, mindless entertainment, and both the Eastern
and historical elements could be handled with a silly, comedic touch. There are a
few grand vista shots in the film, allowing Edelman to return to familiar
territory with his epic, harmonious themes for mixed orchestral and synthetic
ensembles. He dabbles his feet in many different genres in Shanghai Noon,
making use of every Western-inclined instrument and sound effect, but never does
he do so with a serious enough intent to really diversify his template further
than it was already established.
As to be expected, Edelman's score for Shanghai Noon is pleasantly enjoyable and, like the film, not very demanding of total attention. With themes of rather simplistic construction and a perpetually positive, major-key attitude, Edelman creates an easy and affable environment in which highlighted motifs can flow in and out depending on locale. With the consistency of Edelman's style in mind (and film music collectors with four or five of the composer's scores on their shelves will immediately recognize the typically syrupy nature of his music), the music jumps back and forth between an Eastern motif and a wild Western one, sometimes as rapidly as Chan can thwart yet another dumb, would-be attacker through reluctant force. Some of the stereotypes of the Eastern and Western music that Edelman plays to are so oversimplified in Shanghai Noon that they function as parody and nothing more. There are shades of Elmer Bernstein and Dimitri Tiomkin in the Western music, with several cues pulling heavily from scores that accompany films that are also targeted for laughs in this film. The Eastern elements are a little less developed and even more stereotypical (one could imagine that Tan Dun might cringe if he heard this music), but that makes it funny enough to fit with the project. Part of the reason the two genres don't entirely match with reality is because of Edelman's slightly synthetic edge to almost all of his music. The London orchestra recorded for Shanghai Noon is impressive, and yet Edelman continues to lay levels of synthetics over the symphonic elements, diminishing the whole. The technique suffices in making the score sound bigger, per se, but it also taints the music a bit by forcing its instrumentation down to a more shallow level. Even so, the sum of the parts is effective in Shanghai Noon because of its inherent comedy genre, and all Chan flicks should be so fortunate as to have such a romp of a score. On album, Edelman's parody work is a tad less convincing, but it is still an upbeat listening experience for those in the right mood. It stands a level higher than the sequel score (for Shanghai Knights), which utilized the same themes but infused more British pomp to accompany the change in location. Overall, this is entertainingly silly music, built upon one stereotype after another. Approach it without your thinking cap. ***
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 57:28
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
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