| CLOSE WINDOW |
|
FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Wicked (Stephen Schwartz/John Powell)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... even if you are skeptical about cinematic adaptations of
popular stage productions, for Stephen Schwartz and John Powell teamed
to reach unlimited heights in this spectacularly orchestrated
soundtrack.
Avoid it... if you always appreciated the more intimate, pit orchestra size of the stage version, the massive scope of this recording startling in its immense power at times.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Wicked: (Stephen Schwartz/John Powell) The long,
winding, yellow brick road leading to the 2024 movie adaptation of
Wicked began with the 1900 book, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and
its successors, the 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz, a 1995 novel
concentrating on the Wicked Witch of the West, and finally a 2003 stage
musical, "Wicked." Each of these points in the journey has proven
immensely popular, and the "Wicked" musical earned over a billion
dollars and passed even the stalwart "The Phantom of the Opera" in the
all-time charts. A movie adaptation being inevitable, Universal and the
filmmakers went to painstaking lengths to work with original composer
and lyricist Stephen Schwartz to translate the tale to the screen.
Loyalty to the stage production was the paramount concern, and
Schwartz's heavy involvement in guiding the transition led to important
scripting decisions that successfully retained the integrity of the
musical. With the mass-marketed movie adaptations of The Phantom of
the Opera and Les Misérables sacrificing (for some,
fatally) the quality of particularly the vocals in favor of preferred
actors, Wicked was keen to instead follow the model of 1996's
Evita, which remains a gold standard of popular stage-to-screen
expansions. Unlike the other productions, this one broke its narrative
between two films, Wicked in 2024 representing the storyline
prior to intermission while Wicked: For Good the following year
aiming to broaden the story a bit to fill out the narrative's second
half to justify another feature film. While Schwartz teased that two new
songs would be written for Wicked: For Good, the core group of
songs from the first half of the musical would remain intact for
Wicked, with one notable song expansion. To help flesh out the
considerable underscore needed to connect the songs, veteran composer
John Powell was hired to provide over an hour and a half of score
material, a somewhat stunning amount of supplementation even when
considering that the movie contains almost wall-to-wall music.
For these high-profile assignments, Powell has lived by the mantra of "don't fuck it up," and while he has faced ski-high expectations in the Star Wars universe and How to Train Your Dragon sequels, nothing can compare with the fanaticism over the music for "Wicked" from the stage. Powell's role in this equation may fly under the radar for many mainstream listeners, as almost all of his music is based in some degree upon Schwartz's iconic tunes. But the needs of the film are vastly different from those of the stage musical, especially in the size and scope of the music, and Powell's involvement, along with that of the orchestration team, is pivotal to inflating the sound of the play for cinematic depth. Remember, most stage productions, even the large-scale ones, have only a minimally-proportioned pit orchestra, often with 20 to 30 players. They are heavily dominated by pop music regulars on guitars, keyboards, and drum kits. Whereas the aforementioned stage productions of "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Les Misérables" pushed the boundaries of pit orchestra presence (aided by overlays as needed), "Wicked" on stage is a more contemporary musical experience in that its instrumental backing is less impressively scoped. The filmmakers for Wicked recognized that the equation needed vastly broadened in his case, and the combination of significant re-orchestration of the songs and the robust size of Powell's score yield an almost completely different listening experience for the whole. In theory, pushing the ensemble towards 125 players of the London Symphony Orchestra can arguably improve any popular musical recording, and the adaptation of Wicked proves this idea unquestionably. Casual listeners that rejected the stage musical because it sounds badly underpowered in the instrumental backing will encounter a film version that is absolutely immense, but it's one that doesn't completely lose the more modern instrumental elements in the songs. The demeanor of the entire affair is faithfully preserved while achieving this incredible transformation in size, and for that achievement alone, Wicked deserves a second chance from Powell's skeptical, longtime film score collectors. Generally speaking, Schwartz's songs for Wicked are a blend of longing character ballads, comedy pieces, and cast ensemble expressions of fear and joy. Because the musical has been split into two films, some of the material integral to the overall narrative isn't sung in the first film even if Powell very smartly incorporates it into the score. Foremost in this regard is the closing song, "For Good," which is so important to the musical that it helms the sequel film's title. In the first and second-half splits, "Wicked" has sometimes been described as expressing its emotions like "Fiddler on the Roof," famously conveying all of its truly attractive and humorous songs in the first half while the second half is largely defined by despair. In truth, that dichotomy in "Wicked" isn't quite as heartbreakingly tough as it is in "Fiddler on the Roof," but listeners encountering this soundtrack for the first time will need to recognize that Wicked will contain most of the "fun" of the overall narrative. One critical element of "Wicked" that remains from the play is Schwartz's absolutely riotous lyrics. While a few listeners may take offense to the intentional creation of new words as a tool of humor, there are countless rhymes of near-brilliance in Schwartz's songs. (For those still trying to recover from the hideously juvenile lyrics of Moana 2 in theatres at the same time, Wicked is infinitely superior.) The composer's creative use of progressions in the songs sometimes causes syllables to carry between multiple notes or straddle them in unusual ways, led by the song "Popular." Interestingly, what "Wicked" always lacked was one dynamite song that could dominate air waves, its songs supported by their overall quality but none of them total showstoppers. (Some will argue that "For Good" was meant to be that identity, but even it couldn't quite reach that level.) Not surprisingly, that trait carries over to the songs in the film, and it also inhabits Powell's score as well. Despite being of incredible quality with countless remarkable moments, the score doesn't have one memorably overwhelming cue, its appeal resting in the consistently high quality from start to finish, matching Schwartz's songs in that regard. The songs in Wicked, per typical in any musical, carry much of the narrative. The novel uniquely conveyed the Wicked Witch of the West as the misunderstood hero, the Wizard of Oz and his accomplices using her as a convenient scapegoat when she refuses to assist them in subjugating the animal population of the land. In the first half of the tale carried in this movie, Wicked opens in the present as the people of Oz celebrate the witch's purported death. As the news is confirmed by the Wizard's spokeswoman, Glinda, the townspeople compel her to tell of the backstory of the witch. In reality, that witch, Elphaba, is a regular young woman like any other despite being green, and by humorous circumstances at a university strangely called Shiz, Glinda and Elphaba are accidental roommates. That's terribly distressing to the super-popular Glinda, but despite hating each other at first, they eventually become good friends. Upon the discovery of Elphaba's powers, she is summoned to the Emerald City by the Wizard via the sorcery professor at Shiz, Madame Morrible. Elphaba and Glinda make the journey together and find realities and motives far different from what they expected, setting up the action involving the original tale of Dorothy Gale in the sequel film. Thankfully, when casting for the adaptation, the filmmakers hired accomplished singers in Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande for the lead roles. Erivo's task was more difficult, as she had to compete with Idina Menzel as the original stage Elphaba, and few will ever be able to match the resoundingly gravelly tone of Menzel's voice. Grande does a better job of emulating the perky, spirited manner that Kristin Chenoweth brought to Glinda in the play, albeit with less sass, and her performances here are sublime. (Grande and Chenoweth don't rival the duel between Patti LuPone and Madonna for Evita, but that was an extraordinary case.) Jonathan Bailey as the princely love interest acquits himself well in his limited role. Unfortunately, neither Jeff Goldblum nor Michelle Yeoh can sing anywhere near their stage counterparts, Goldblum embarrassing to an extent that one can only hope that he ups his game for the song "Wonderful" in the sequel. Yeoh lacks the sinister edge that Carole Shelley brought to the stage role. One of the obvious pitfalls of reviewing a musical like Wicked is that the songs and score often interact in unpredictable fashion and are rarely released on album in ways that match the chronology of the film. That situation is exacerbated in Wicked because many of the songs, including "Dancing Through Life," "Popular," and "Defying Gravity," are presented in split scenes that require score cues to exist in between sections of the song. These spoken interludes aren't long enough to qualify the latter portions of the song as reprises; these songs simply transition between spoken and sung words at a whim. This circumstance causes the songs and score to become truly inseparable for those seeking a total sense of narrative flow. Certainly, casual enthusiasts of the play will gravitate towards the song album of a core 54 minutes while Powell's followers will appreciate the 78-minute score-only companion album. For completists, however, Universal released online an awards "for your consideration" (FYC) promotional presentation of 92 minutes of the score. In much of the music that appears on both the commercial score album and the FYC alternative, the cues are largely the same. But just as the FYC presentation contains additional whole cues, it also expands several of them and provides the interludes heard during the songs as separate cues rather than the suites they are arranged into on the commercial score album. Some of the FYC or score album cues contain alternate passages within them, too, so for completists, any full presentation of music from Wicked will require a combination of the commercial song and score albums and a dozen unique cues from the FYC promo, along with a bonus instrumental cue, "Ozdust Duet," that is featured on expanded versions of the song album. Such a playlist results in over two and a half hours of music, and this full playlist is what this review will cover from here forward. The review will not cover the supplemental sing-along album that removes the primary vocals from the core 11 songs but leaves the cast ensemble chorus in the mix. Score collectors may find interest in that particular album, however, because the orchestrations in the songs, helmed by Jeff Atmajian, are impressive in parts, especially in the softer ballads. Before launching into a chronological examination of the impressive adaptation for Wicked, an overview of the thematic tapestry must be covered. Schwartz is a leitmotific writer inherently, so his songs tend to contain phrases that carry over multiple times in the play. But with Powell's involvement, this dedication to themes is elevated to the extreme. Obviously, each of the songs contains its own primary and, in some cases, secondary melodies, and these transition to the score extensively. Some of these references in Wicked are keen foreshadowing of songs in Wicked: For Good, including the opening phrasing (and in particular the first four notes) of "For Good," which becomes a main theme of the whole narrative for Powell. Beyond these blatant song references, however, you hear several vital ideas that both Schwartz and Powell develop from specific, small pieces of the songs. Schwartz refers to the opening bars of "No One Mourns the Wicked" as the "wicked witch theme," and this idea occurs as the mob hysteria builds in the story. (Incidentally, the actual melody of "No One Mourns the Wicked" translates really compellingly to the score in several places, far lovelier than one might expect.) Most impressive is a "new" theme for Madame Morrible based on the sequence at 0:08 into "The Wizard and I" ("Many years I have waited..."), and this adaptation into the score by Powell is sheer brilliance. Its use as a beautiful, lush representation of goodness carries through most of the film until the character's true nature is revealed at the end, at which point Powell abruptly shifts it into a menacing choral march. Meanwhile, a friendship theme is based on the phrase at 1:27 of "What is This Feeling?" ("Every little trait...") and helps define later moments of reconciliation between the two leads, Elphaba and Glinda. A surprisingly pretty destiny motif for Elphaba, the Wicked Witch, is termed "Elphaba's Green Toy" by Powell himself and is built from the sequence of "No One Mourns the Wicked" that states "Goodness knows the wicked's lives are lonely." A dark magic motif primarily for Elphaba also accesses the first four notes of "For Good" but is twisted for a more suspenseful intent. A theme for the Grimmerie book is a disguised version of "Something Bad," offering a children's choir like the Enfys Nest material in Solo: A Star Wars Story against skittish The Call of the Wild strings. Less obviously connected to the songs are four other motifs that Powell utilizes throughout his score for Wicked. Among them are separate motifs of empathy and happiness for Elphaba, along with a fanfare representing the concepts of wonder and the hopes of a new life. Emerging late is a flying monkeys motif that builds upon Powell's outstanding use of staccato puffs of trumpets for the perceived threat that animals pose to humanity. Before the ostinato representing the actual monkey motif gets rolling in the action portion of the story, the composer applies these trumpets in "Dillamond Detained" ("Replacement Teacher") and "Hall of Grandiosity" as excellent tools of nerve. Schwartz and Powell both offer tributes to themes of the past that are associated with this story in fantastic hints as well. A specific motif coined by Schwartz that doesn't occupy a song unto itself but is littered throughout the musical is an "Unlimited" theme, often carried by that word in the lyrics. Although it utilizes different spacing in between its notes, this idea is built from the first 7 notes of the "Over the Rainbow" song by Harold Arlen for the 1939 movie, and Schwartz has amusingly noted in the past that seven notes is the technical maximum before plagiarism can be claimed. Also referencing the Arlen music from The Wizard of Oz is Schwartz's "Thank Goodness" song set to debut in the second film, pulling phrasing from "You're Off to See the Wizard" even though a train is the method of passage here rather than the yellow brick road, which doesn't exist at this point in the narrative. As a side reference, likely by Powell alone, the sequence at 1:55 to 2:12 into "Hall of Grandiosity" is awfully similar, though eerie in style, to Leigh Harline's "When You Wish Upon a Star" from 1940's Pinocchio on choir. All of these nuggets make for a spectacular homage to musicals past, obviously with the 1939 movie at the forefront, and Powell manages to oblige this style of careful appreciation with open-hearted enthusiasm in the score. While his contribution may be guided by Schwartz's melodies throughout, and some presentations of those themes are directly tied to the orchestrations of the songs, there is no doubt that Wicked is a distinctively Powell work. It combines countless facets of his orchestral and choral style to remind at times of How to Train Your Dragon, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and The Call of the Wild, all fantastic works. For listeners only interested in Powell's instrumental portion, the commercial score-only album is highly recommended even if you have no interest in identifying and absorbing all of the Schwartz melodies. The narrative survives surprisingly intact in just the score by itself because of all the development of the songs within. More importantly, the quality of writing is simply outstanding regardless of the adapted material. The full orchestra is supplemented by the composer's usual preference for robust percussion, this time weighted a bit more heavily towards the lighter end such as chimes for the element of magic. Flutes are an almost omnipresent representation of Glinda's fussiness. A solo violin offers timeless friendship. The aforementioned trumpet puffs for animals are excellent. Piano provides warm tones alongside the metallic percussion. More contemporary acoustic guitar contributes at times, and you hear a few sparing moments of augmentation with synthetics, but the outright pop-oriented pit orchestra elements that carry over to the songs are not present to any great degree in the score. (Straight instrumental renditions in the score sometimes stray that direction, as in the extension of "Dancing Through Life" in "Ozdust Duet.") The score may take some time to really kick the listening experience into high gear for some Powell collectors, but it supplies the goods in the adventuresome swells of the train sequence (from "Ozian invitation" to "Sendoff"/"Train to Emerald City") and forceful action of the final chase sequence (from "Levitation"/"Transformations" to "Monkey Mayhem"), the latter strongly resembling the imposing dragon and villain material from the How to Train Your Dragon sequels. It's fascinating to hear Powell filter Schwartz's set of themes through his own voice, especially as the yearning element harkens back to the bittersweet romance and betrayal tones in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Between the chimes and light choral shades in a clue like "His Ozness/Yellow Brick Road" ("A Wizard's Plan"), Powell excels at translating the magical element of the tale into his work, the whimsy not completely lost even if you know that nothing in the Emerald City's leadership is what it actually seems. While technically an adaptation, the score is a quintessential Powell work. Look no further than the book-reading portion of "The Grimmerie" to know that you hear Powell's voice despite the "Something Bad" theme coming from Schwartz. From here, an analysis of the soundtrack as it appears in the film and on all three combined and sorted album presentations follows. Track titles will default to the FYC promo as per Powell's likely original intentions, though the commercial score album's merging of those cues will have their titles referenced in each case as well. The movie opens with a preview of the aftermath of the Wicked Witch's melting, Powell stirring anticipation via ominous tones and the dark magic motif at 0:09 into "Opening Build," an FYC-only cue. The ensemble song "No One Mourns the Wicked" provides the Muchkintown citizens celebrating in usual stage layers of vocals, though the song opens with the Wicked Witch theme that is destined to bookend the whole narrative. Elphaba's destiny motif from the score debuts during Glinda's gorgeous interlude sequence. That song is interrupted at the six-minute mark in the film by a flashback to Elphaba's childhood scored with the FYC-only cue "Green Childhood." It includes a creepy reference to the "Unlimited" theme at 0:25 as the horror of the green baby is seen by the parents. A sad rendition of the main "No One Mourns the Wicked" melody follows at 0:46, supplanted by Elphaba's happiness motif at 1:05 for her sisterly interactions and the dark magic motif at 1:46 for her revenge against taunting kids. The final 90 seconds of the "No One Mourns the Wicked" song then completes the scene. With the movie shifting permanently to the flashback at the outset of "Glinda's Entrance" ("Arrival at Shiz University"), the introduction of Shiz University via its river is treated by two teases of the "For Good" song melody from the second film, using varied woodwinds and choir at 0:07 and 0:26. The "Unlimited" theme at 0:43 ebulliently precedes the "Dear Old Shiz" song melody at 0:50, the official representation of the university. It leads directly into the wonder/new life fanfare at 1:03 and, as Glinda steps off her boat with all her ridiculous pink luggage, the charming tones of "Popular" commence at 1:21. After a quick shift back to the present, the choral anthem in "Dear Old Shiz" is the ensemble representation of the song. With a humorous orchestra hit to punctuate the start of "Our Heroes Meet," Powell delicately previews "No One Mourns the Wicked" on surprisingly upbeat tones at 0:21, doing the same at 0:38 for the forthcoming song, "What is This Feeling?" It's tough to escape "Popular" for Glinda's obnoxiously persistent attitude, though, and Powell returns to it at 0:52 in its bubbly form. In "Go With Her" ("Nessarose"), a soft oboe reminder of "Dear Old Shiz" yields to Elphaba's destiny motif that also represents "No One Mourns the Wicked," appropriate for Elphaba's father's mandate. The subsequent "Meet the Faculty" combines with "Glinda's Entrance" ("Arrival at Shiz University") to form a splendid suite of material for the school. Elphaba's happiness motif delicately opens "Meet the Faculty," followed at 0:36 by the "Dear Old Shiz" melody. With the introduction of Madame Morrible at 1:18 comes the lovely interpolation of her theme from "The Wizard and I," and this wonderfully lush treatment continues at 1:45 and 2:02, the latter utilizing Powell's elegant piano tendencies. The wonder/new life fanfare returns at 2:40 but cannot escape the meandering flute and chimes of "Popular" at 2:58 as Glinda incessantly pesters Madame Morrible. In "The Other Daughter/Wheelchair/Volunteering" ("Elphaba's Power"), the dark magic motif explodes from the full ensemble as Elphaba's capabilities cause havoc at Shiz. Madame Morrible covers for this accidental show of force, however, yielding another soothing rendition of the Morrible theme at 1:44. The dark magic motif returns in that cue at 2:32, however, as Elphaba admits to being unable to control her powers, the usage skirting its inspiration in "For Good" at this juncture. The song "The Wizard And I" offers Yeoh in tones not quite creepy enough to suffice, though the underlying orchestrations supply that subtle threat. Erivo's rendition of Marrable's theme is playfully innocent and pulls her into the actual melody of the song, which is strongly aspirational. The drum kit presence in this song may offend the score's enthusiasts, but the electric bass and drum kit are well integrated into the orchestra. The song also formally introduces the "Unlimited" theme and its underlying ostinato at 3:52, as well as previews of "Defying Gravity" near the end. The lyrics in the song are remarkable, the pairing of "degree" and "verdigris" from Schwartz particularly astonishing. After a lighthearted reminder of "Dear Old Shiz" at the start of "Reluctant Roomates" ("How to Loathe Your Roommate"), Powell lays into the prancing references to "Popular," replacing the flute with celeste at 0:25, 1:13, and 1:34. Hints of the chords in "What is This Feeling?" at the end of that cue shift into that actual song and its undeniable humor and excessive references to loathing and detestation thereafter, including its famous single-word "blonde" joke. The score cue "Off to Class" that follows "What is This Feeling?" is only available on the FYC promo and opens with the "Unlimited" ostinato before tackling the primary phrase of "The Wizard and I" at 0:14. Sadly, the sound quality of this cue is suspect, the low synthetic keyboarding oddly mushy. In "History Lesson," Powell provides a singular suspense atmosphere until referencing the Wicked Witch theme at 1:37 and 2:33, succeeded by a return to reality with Elphaba's empathy motif at 3:02. The composer's suspense voice is put to the test once again in "Levitate the Coin," assured by Madame Morrible's theme at 0:41, 1:00, and 1:45. The "Elphaba Follows/Something Bad/Tea With Dillamond/You'd Better Go" cue on the FYC presentation is missing some of its midsection on the commercial score track "All Around Something Bad," and the song "Something Bad" is interspersed into this sequence as well, making its experience on album haphazard. On the longer, FYC film version of the cue, though, Powell follows a preview of the "Something Bad" melody with some compelling suspense driven by rolling piano and anticipatory bass chords. The "Something Bad" references in the cue continue at 1:19 and 1:39. The goat's "Something Bad" song is comprised of two parts, Elphaba joining for the second portion; it's too short to really qualify as a major song in the story, and that's a bit unfortunate given its attractively melancholic melody. (The pairing of "paws" and "pause" is another smirk-inducing rhyme.) Powell's choral comedy awaits in "Fiyero Meets Elphaba/Glinda Readies/Book Place" ("Prince Fiyero of Winkie Country/The Book Place"), Fiyero consistently represented in the story by the "Dancing Through Life" melody. The long score cue opens with a reminder of "No One Mourns the Wicked" on woodwinds at 0:32 and debuts the "Dancing Through Life" theme at 1:08 before launching right into a silly choral rendition of "Dear Old Shiz" with electric guitar in tow. Whimsical performances of "Dancing Through Life" on strings represent the book-hating library scene at 1:44 and 2:17. The retro "Dancing Through Life" song is the early 1980's throwback to Schwartz's heyday, and its style and book mutilation on screen may represent the film's most offensive scene despite outrageously inventive choreography. The first 5:45 of the song is split from the remainder with the FYC-only "Glinda Prepping" in between, that cue's dominance by the melody of "What is This Feeling?" carrying over briefly to the final three minutes of "Dancing Through Life." The eerie piano solo opening "Elphaba's Entrance" (the first half of "Elphaba at Ozdust") was changed from a more dramatic moment of synthetic and choral pulses on the score album version of the cue, "Dancing Through Life" present in both versions faintly but "No One Mourns the Wicked" punctuating only the commercial score album version. The FYC cue "The Hat/Humiliation Together" (second half of "Elphaba at Ozdust") makes two uses of Elphaba's destiny motif (0:09 and 1:36), again on solo piano only heard on the FYC version. The dance sequence between Elphaba and Glinda is treated to a contemporary instrumental version of "Dancing Through Life" heard only in the "Ozdust Duet" bonus track on the expanded digital offering of the song album, again using piano as the centerpiece of the moment. With the friendship between the two leads cemented, "Sharing Secrets" provides an interesting preview of the melody from "I'm Not That Girl" at 0:12, taking the idea to somber depths prior to a hopeful harp rendition of "For Good" at 1:01. The friendship theme, extended out of a sequence in "What is This Feeling?," is beautiful at 1:22, though even this charming celeste moment can't escape a return of a hint of "Popular" at 1:46. The enduring "Popular" song is broken into two halves with a score cue in between. The first three minutes of the song is the core that will drive masculine dudes crazy, but Grande's writhing performance, aided by bass saxophone and piano coolness, is excellent. The "Look at You" cue in the middle opens with a slower string version of the "Popular" melody and slowly transitions to "For Good" by 0:38 for additional warmth. The last minute of the "Popular" song then follows as a quick reprise with its big brass flourishes. The film shifts towards its true conflict from there, "Dillamond Detained " on the FYC album containing about a half minute of material at its outset that is not present on the score album's "Replacement Teacher." The shorter version omits the multiple remainders from "Popular" and another preview of "I'm Not That Girl" (at 0:23). At 1:01 into the longer track, Powell hints back at "Something Bad" as the goat professor is arrested in class. A minor-mode rendition of the Madame Morrible theme at 1:17 smartly suggests her involvement even though she isn't in the scene. The Wicked Witch theme at 1:32 supports that dread. Later in the somber cue, the "Unlimited" theme's ostinato mingles with an allusion to the monkey motif at 2:42 that continues for most of the remainder. Elphaba's magic material then takes a lofty fantasy tone for the spell sequence. As the future cowardly lion in the Dorothy phase of the story is saved in "Cub Rescue," Powell shifts the "Something Bad" melody into a positive moment of exhilaration at 0:33, with "The Wizard and I" suggested in the movement of 1:06 as Elphaba pledges to set the animal persecution straight with the Wizard. As Fiyero and Elphaba bond after the rescue, "Forest Feelings" delicately previews "I'm Not That Girl" at its start and several times after 0:55, with a snippet of "Dancing Through Life" thrown in at 0:31. That cue's orchestrations lead directly into the sung version of "I'm Not That Girl." Erivo's performance here is actually more empathetic than Menzel's, and the instrumentation refrains from any pop inclinations, remaining rooted in the piano and strings. The adventure portion of the score begins with "Ozian Invitation" and "Train Station" ("Ozian invitation/Galinda Becomes Glinda"), the "Unlimited" ostinato leading into a crescendo of fantasy that boils down to a music box performance of "Wonderful," the song the Wizard and Elphaba will sing in the second film. The "No One Mourns the Wicked" melody at 0:51 becomes lushly supported by strings, flowing into the hope of "The Wizard and I" at 1:44 and the Madame Morrible theme at 2:01, all of it lovely. (The score album breaks the rest of the cue off into "Galinda Becomes Glinda," but this analysis will continue with the combined FYC track.) The wonder/new life fanfare enjoys a buoyant performance at 2:27 for the full ensemble, dissolving down to several renditions of "I'm Not That Girl" at 3:07, 3:31, and 4:05 as the leading ladies hover around Fiyero at the train station. Once the train and all its steampunk gears get moving, Powell dives into the previews of "Thank Goodness" at 5:00 and in fanfare mode at 5:42, where the historical "follow the yellow brick road" connections may be made. During the train journey in "Sendoff" ("Train to Emerald City"), another continuation of "I'm Not That Girl" opens the cue softly and transitions into the "For Good" song's backing at 0:24. The friendship theme lets loose on solo violin and then fuller group at 0:38, wrapping the moment back to "What is This Feeling?" The massive performance of "No One Mourns the Wicked" at 1:03 remains a fascinating repurposing of that song for bright optimism. Powell returns again to "Thank Goodness" on flute hints and once more in fanfare mode at 1:54, solidifying the 1939 "yellow brick road" tribute. That extreme positivity is reinforced by the cast ensemble song, "One Short Day," that introduces the Emerald City and all of its glitzy glamour after the leads arrive at the dreamy destination. A contemporary song best seen in context rather than on album, "One Short Day" is the only entry from the play expanded for the movie adaptation. Schwartz added an "Emerald City Players" sequence into the middle of the song that features a "play with a film" to convey the backstory of Oz, the Wizard, and the Grimmerie book of spells. This scene allowed Wicked to collect talent from both the Broadway and West End productions to appear in the movie, the sequence filled with countless familiar faces for enthusiasts of the play to applaud. (Even the book's author has a line.) The main attraction is the pairing of Menzel and Chenoweth in this mini-play, the two humorously sparring in their interactions on stage, each successfully trying to one-up each other in their performances, much like their original roles as Elphaba and Glinda. Menzel even manages to sneak in the resounding final notes of "Defying Gravity" at 4:00 that she made famous when originating the show, a definite crowd-pleaser. For the last 1:24 of the track, the song returns to the formal ending of "One Short Day" like a reprise. Clouds of darkness really emerge in the impressive "Hall of Grandiosity" from Powell, for which the commercial score album actually contains an extra 30 seconds of material at its end compared to the FYC alternative. The "No One Mourns the Wicked" theme again opens the cue in deceptively lush layers, but it is interrupted by the flying monkeys theme and its echoing trumpet lines as the leading duo encounter the blue monkeys of the Wizard's guard. The dark magic motif foreshadows their fate at 0:50, but Elphaba and Glinda remain positive at the hallway doors, a flute carrying the "Unlimited" theme at 1:17 as the latter reminds the former that together they can accomplish their mission. This optimism is supported by a rendition of "For Good" at 1:24. The aforementioned allusion to "When You Wish Upon a Star" is a remarkable tool of unnerving ambience later in the cue. Several renditions of the melody from "The Wizard and I" dominate the first two minutes of "His Ozness/Yellow Brick Road" ("A Wizard's Plan"), Elphaba's hopes clearly supported by the Wizard's early demeanor. Later, Elphaba's destiny motif and her empathy motif interject at 2:54 and 3:52, respectively. The end of this cue leads into the weakest song of the lot, "A Sentimental Man," for which Goldblum simply cannot compare to Joel Gray in the original recording. (The two do have an uncanny resemblance in their inflection, though.) The melody from "A Sentimental Man" doesn't much inform the surrounding cues, and it causes a dead space in the narrative on screen and album. One of the missed opportunities in Wicked was the greater connection between "A Sentimental Man" and the sequence involving Elphaba's mother's cheating in "No One Mourns the Wicked," but that's a minor quibble. (The play and movie both make every effort to otherwise hide the connection between the Wizard and that early scene.) Powell really earns his pay upon the commencement of the action in the final scenes of the film, starting with "The Grimmerie," which offers one final lovely performance of the Madame Morrible theme as she enters the Wizard's lair to Elphaba's delight. The theme for the Grimmerie at 0:32, accentuated by the eerie children's choir of Enfys Nest reminiscence, is actually the "Something Bad" theme achieving its catharsis. A brief moment of "Defying Gravity" at 1:25 accompanies Elphaba's own realizations. The fun truly begins in "Levitation/No Real Power" ("Transformations"), where the painful metamorphosis of the monkeys into a winged variety after much torture is treated to both the chords and outright melody of "Something Bad" from 0:39 onward, culminating in a massive choral version of horror at 2:34. Letting rip at 2:47 is the flying monkeys theme as it builds into the "Unlimited" theme at 3:02. The "Something Bad" melody informs the lamentation at 3:15, but the flying monkeys theme returns at 3:44 as the whole guard appears transformed and ready for instructions as winged enforcers. A rendition of "No One Mourns the Wicked" in solace marks Elphaba's reaction to all this chaos at 4:25, leading inevitably to the Wicked Witch theme at 5:15. "Something Bad" returns at 5:56 on melodramatic strings and accompanies the sadness thereafter. In perhaps the score's most dramatic musical transformation, Powell punctuates the cue with a performance of the Madame Morrible theme at 7:38 that has all the hallmarks of an evil march, raising the memories of the darkest, pounding material from the How to Train Your Dragon films. Focusing acutely on the flying monkeys theme is the opening of "Monkey Mayhem/Balloon Escape," that motif smartly overlapping with the dark magic motif at 0:24. After some unique Powell action ideas, he returns to the "Something Bad" theme at 1:45 in pure action, the flying monkeys theme overlapping it at 2:06, again against the dark magic motif. The latter strays towards "For Good" in personality at 2:24 but transitions back quickly to the monkeys theme at 2:40. At 3:07, the Wicked Witch theme and Dark magic motif exist together in the dramatic culmination of the scene. The twelve minutes of this action climax are Powell in top, rambunctious form. The "Defying Gravity" sequence that closes Wicked is an extremely challenging one to analyze, as the song is divided into five sections and each has a preceding score cue leading into the next segment of the song. Of all the presentations that needed to combine the song and score into one, ten-minute whole, "Defying Gravity" is that climax. The FYC-only "Open Your Eyes" is a rumbling, ascending crescendo of drama that leads directly into the opening 40 seconds of the song, "Defying Gravity." The song on album has a really poor edit at that 0:40 mark, removing the score cue "Propaganda Speech" (the first 1:10 of "All Around Defying Gravity" on the commercial score album, but with a different opening), which is built upon the chords of "No One Mourns the Wicked" on choir. The second sequence in the "Defying Gravity" song (from 0:40 to 3:13) finally unleashes Elphaba's acceptance of her role as reluctant villain and provides the song's main phrasing. The score cue "The Broom" then intercedes (1:10 to 2:33 in the score album's "All Around Defying Gravity"), the dark magic motif at 0:08 on flutes followed by Elphaba's destiny motif at 0:16. With resounding gong and timpani, this material reveals the Wicked Witch theme on trumpets at 0:43 and 0:55, eventually closing with a subtle reference to the "Unlimited" ostinato. That figure leads into the "come with me" and "Unlimited" sung sequence in the "Defying Gravity" song (3:13 - 4:21) that briefly offers hope that Glinda will join Elphaba on her flight away. The score cue "The Cape" (2:33 - 3:45 in the score album's "All Around Defying Gravity") enters at this moment, reducing Elphaba's destiny motif back to the solemn form of the Ozdust dance earlier in the movie. A confident performance of the "Defying Gravity" theme at 1:12 (with a second statement only on the FYC presentation) sends us back to the sequence at 4:21 - 4:50 into the song, exploring secondary phrases before moving on to the score cue "Leap of Faith" (from 3:45 to the end of the score album's "All Around Defying Gravity," the latter a bit longer), which pushes back to action with a Wicked Witch theme rendition at 0:13 for full choir and orchestra and driving moment for the "Defying Gravity" rhythm at 0:26. Elphaba's destiny motif proceeds on choir at 0:49 and supplies the build-up to the song's final, signature passage starting at 4:50. This is the meat of the "Defying Gravity" song, the final three minutes following her escape with flowing cape. Erivo's performance is defiant as necessary, working in the "Unlimited" performances that spur her torment of the flying monkeys, the Wizard, and Madame Morrible. The adaptation of the culmination of "Defying Gravity" in Wicked, regardless of your opinion about the excessive CGI that defines the shots of the Emerald City and its mid-air chase, is as satisfying as anyone could have hoped. Erivo throws a bit more inflection into the famous final notes of the song that Menzel had made so famous. Along with the cast ensemble reprise of "No One Mourns the Wicked" in the background, the orchestral force behind these performances are a notable improvement, especially in the "Unlimited" reference prior to the timpani-pounding conclusion. As a standalone experience, the song edit is fairly decent, and the same could be said of the four score cues combined into "All Around Defying Gravity," which provide the score-only experience on the commercial album a solid finish. The end credits of the movie start with a series of straight instrumental versions of the songs, highlighted by "Popular" and "Defying Gravity," material best accessed on the sing-along album. This collection essentially serves as an edited overture prior to Powell's own "End Credits" arrangement, which is an FYC-only recording. This long assembly transitions between parts of "Ozian Invitation/Train Station," "Sendoff," and "Look at You" before exploring a version of the friendship theme similar to "His Ozness/Yellow Brick Road" and wrapping with a rather stoic performance of "Defying Gravity." Ultimately, all of this music reveals a treatment of the source that is exceptionally intelligent by Schwartz and Powell. Aside from the poor vocals from Yeoh and Goldblum in their limited singing roles, the soundtrack for Wicked is substantially flawless, one of the best adaptations from stage to screen to ever exist. Some listeners will find fault with how the song and score albums were edited together to separate each listening experience. Enthusiasts of the movie will have to do some creative editing of their own to assemble all of the available pieces, a situation that greatly resembles that of Moulin Rouge in 2001. For Powell collectors, Wicked is absolutely saturated with the composer's mannerisms and unique voice despite working with the existing themes. It's fascinating to hear Schwartz's longstanding themes receive the Powell treatment beyond just the large-scale orchestration of the songs themselves. Powell has taken Schwartz's ideas and expressed them in amazing new directions, particularly succeeding with the Madame Morrible theme. The FYC score album is unfortunately lossy in sound, but the commercial score-only album represents one of the top film music listening experiences of 2024, Powell revealing his own wizardry in achieving the near-impossible. *****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Song Albums:
Total Time: 62:35
(Total time reflects the maximum with all the available digital bonus tracks at the end of the presentation.) Score Album: Total Time: 78:33
Universal Awards Promo: Total Time: 91:54
Deluxe Edition: Total Time: 141:08
NOTES & QUOTES:
The inserts of the song albums differ between the variants. The "Fan Edition" CD contains a 34-page book with photos, song lyrics, and nine exclusive trading cards. There exists no official packaging for the score album or the studio promo, the latter featuring no cover art since it was not meant for distribution. The 2-CD set from Universal Japan contains a slipcase with notes and lyrics in Japanese as well as ten trading cards.
Copyright ©
2024, Filmtracks Publications. All rights reserved.
The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Wicked are Copyright © 2024, 2025, Republic Records/Verve Label Group (Songs), Republic Records/Verve Label Group (Score), Universal Awards Promo (Score), Universal Japan (Deluxe Edition) and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 12/22/24 and last updated 6/8/25. |
