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Fortunately, Shrek Forever After features the most tightly woven musical narrative of any of the scores, satisfying in its expression of the usual franchise themes, sub-motifs, and general instrumentation while integrating well the new villain's identity. The orchestral ensemble is not interrupted by an abundance of electronic or specialty instruments, utilizing a mixed choir for several major cues and spreading the playing duties across the soundscape (nothing here has even a faint whiff of the bass-heavy, Hans Zimmer-influenced orchestration and mixing habits of the day). Solo piano, woodwind, and xylophone performances of sentimental or longing sequences assist in balancing the hyperactive ensemble ruckus that is better directed in this score than Shrek the Third. Three themes are interwoven well in Shrek Forever After, the score opening with the princess' fairy tale theme once again. This idea, which can still draw comparisons in tone and progressions to Mark Knopfler's The Princess Bride, is frequently revisited in melancholy tones ("The Exit Clause," "Fiona Doesn't Love Me," and "His Day is Up") as Shrek laments his decision later in the film. The primary theme for Shrek is introduced in a "business as usual" performance in "Same Day, Every Day" before undergoing dramatic mutations prior to its restoration in the majestic finale, "Never Been Better." This theme's action variant, formerly associated more closely with the dragon character, often informs the ogres' resistance against the new villain of the kingdom, maturing into a full blown expression with choir in "Rumpel's Defeat." It still clearly reminds of Trevor Rabin's Deep Blue Sea theme after all this time, though the redemptive half of the theme has oddly clarified similarities to the Kermit the Frog classic, "Over the Rainbow." Also returning are minor motifs familiar to franchise enthusiasts, including the acoustic guitar for the now obese cat, Puss. Rumpelstiltskin receives the score's lone new melody, though it is very well handled by Gregson-Williams throughout the score. Based on a pair of ascending notes followed by an ominously descending pair, both firmly dramatic in the minor key, the villain's theme has many classical qualities to represent his strangely ornate style (likely tied to his stereotypical royal aspirations).

The theme for Rumpelstiltskin is a devious idea easily quoted with those memorable, initial four notes, and it represents the score's melodramatic core as well. The opening of "Rumpel's Kingdom" expands upon the idea to give it an overwhelming sense of peril, a 5-note variant utilizing brass in ways that will remind listeners of David Arnold's bloated fantasy material from his James Bond scores. The employment of a solo violin late in "Rumpel's Kingdom" (and later with immensely romantic tragedy in "Rumpel's Announcement") once again equates that instrument with demonic forces, making that lengthy cue the surprisingly dark highlight of the entire score. As previously mentioned, the narrative of Gregson-Williams' score is extremely smooth and easy to follow. There are few challenging moments of awkward dissonance, the last seconds of "His Day Is Up" the obvious exception as tension builds for the restoration of the universe. In the end, fans of the franchise and Gregson-Williams' contributions to it should be very satisfied with this work, and its 42 minutes on album is a perfectly presented listening experience that doesn't overstay its welcome or demand the skipping of any troublesome tracks. The recording and its mix are very well executed and the cues are long enough to avoid a jumpy, haphazard personality. The one major detraction in Shrek Forever After is the lack of a greater role for entirety of the fairy tale theme in this final story; it's such a lovely idea and has been rather short-changed (and abused) in its application throughout the franchise. It's also interesting to note that this is the first of the Shrek sequel scores not to officially acknowledge the use of themes written in part by John Powell, begging more clarification about their division of duties for the original effort since there aren't any major themes in the franchise noticeably absent from Shrek Forever After. In conjunction with the concurrent release of the impressive music for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Shrek Forever After confirms that Gregson-Williams is contributing substantially to the remarkable year for film music that 2010 has become through its first half. Don't be surprised if some fans of the composer find themselves revisiting Shrek Forever After far more frequently than Prince of Persia, because it's always pleasing to hear an old friend sent off on a high note.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Harry Gregson-Williams reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3 (in 40 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 2.98 (in 55,210 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

Total Time: 42:25