Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #535
Written 4/5/02, Revised 10/4/08
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Buy it... only if you are prepared to appreciate the effective, but
significantly dated sound of this extremely specific merging of early
synthesizers with orchestra and chorus.
Avoid it... if any aspect of the sound of retro arcade music from
the 1980's raises bad memories for you.
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| Carlos |
Tron: (Wendy Carlos) In 1982, science fiction and
fantasy films were transferring from the expanses of space to
Earth-bound computers, and Tron explored many of the metaphysical
aspects of the relationship between humanity and computers that would
dominate Hollywood scripts in the subsequent decade. Disney's venture
was the first to truly explore the realm of CGI, and although the
renderings of the world of Tron may seem extremely simplistic in
an arcade sense nowadays, it was a technological marvel in its day. The
film wasn't considered a success at the time of its release, but an
appreciation for what was attempted, as well as a script with a
surprising amount of foresight, has caused the film a cult following.
The same has always been applied to the music for Tron, written
in equally experimental measures by Wendy Carlos, one of the first and
foremost female composers working in Hollywood. Carlos had been best
known for her collaboration with director Stanley Kubrick in the prior
years, and the production was a leap of faith for Disney given Carlos'
reputation. The initial thought behind the music for Tron was to
clearly distinguish the real world and that of the game by splitting the
music between orchestral traditions and synthetic tones for the special
effects. This move made a lot of sense, and Carlos was initially thought
to be providing music specifically for the CGI sequences. Ultimately,
the lines between real and electronic became blurred in the
conceptualizations of the story and, appropriately, Carlos similarly
combined the style of the old and new for a greater portion of the music
than was anticipated. Even today, most casual listeners erroneously
assume (from memory) that the music for Tron is largely
electronic, a product of moog synthesizers that offered a very dated
sound that was appropriate to the Tomorrowland of Disneyland more than
anything else. The score is, in fact, a laborious blend of both worlds,
executed at a time when there were no sequencers and Carlos had to
record all the lines of organic and synthetic performances separately
and merge the tapes by hand. Her expertise in recording technologies was
not only the key to the success of her Tron efforts in context,
but in the process of restoring it for its long overdue CD album debut
for the film's 20th anniversary as well.
There is no doubt that
Tron is an extremely
dated listening experience. It resides in a specific time of musical
history that many listeners would best like to forget. Unlike many of
the same techniques utilized by Jerry Goldsmith in the 1980's (though
some of the sounds will be familiar), Carlos' employment of synthetics
in this score strays much further to stereotypical arcade cliches than
Goldsmith ever allowed. The intent on integration with the orchestra and
chorus is the same, but Carlos mixes the synthetics so that they are the
primary, front element of each cue rather than a subsidiary contributor.
Two major themes exist in
Tron, augmented by a third idea that
develops in "The Light Sailer." The title anthem doesn't receive much
attention until the latter portions of the score; nor does the love
theme really make much of an impact until that time either. Because
these themes are rudderless until their concert-like renditions in
"Theme from Tron," "Love Theme," and "Ending Titles,"
Tron is
melodically anonymous for most of its run. It relies, therefore, on its
extremely distinctive instrumental blend to maintain interest, a
reliance that is strained with time. The "Ending Titles" cue is easily
the highlight of the score for most listeners, offering the only truly
fluid performances of the themes in conjunction with synthetic, chorus,
and orchestra, and featuring an intriguing interlude on a massive pipe
organ that would have been welcomed in a foreshadowing role earlier in
the score. The lack of such fluid movements in the synthetics, which
often lurch along in their own staccato form of rendering, is what makes
Tron a bit difficult to enjoy purely for its album experience. It
is, rather, like so many historically important scores that are tethered
to their era, a work to be appreciated. A flawed mix of the music was
released in the early 1980's on LP vinyl and cassette. Carlos, an expert
at baking master tapes to help restore their initial quality, had
already worked on preparing this music for an eventual release when
Disney green-lighted this 20th anniversary product in 2001. The quality
of the music on this album, as well as the presentation of the contents
(including bonus material), is superior to any bootleg of the older
sources you might find. Overall,
Tron is lovable in many ways,
and for collectors of film scores that study the technical aspects of
the music more often than not, it's a remarkably effective and
historically important work. Otherwise, it could make you cringe in
parts.
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