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Posted: |
Feb 20, 2015 - 1:22 PM
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By: |
DS
(Member)
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Nice review.
I was really looking forward to this score because the filmmakers seemed sincere in their attempt to transcend the badly-written source material and I was hoping they'd make something style over substance or at least something as delightfully trashy as "Wild Things" or "Cruel Intentions." I haven't seen the movie but by all accounts it doesn't seem like that happened, so I will skip it. Elfman's music also doesn't reflect what I'd sort of anticipated from him... then again, I'm one of those people who has been disappointed with almost every Elfman score since 2004.
While the "Shades" score is ten times better than "Big Eyes" I have to side with the detractors. I really want to be a fly on the wall for some of these composer/director meetings to know exactly what goes wrong in the direction. I want to see if at some point Elfman or the director was onto something much more interesting with the music but somehow got thwarted. But if Tim Burton can misdirect Elfman at this point, I guess anybody can.
"Shades" is indeed a blend of his concert style with a modern FM pop sound and I admit the results are occasionally intriguing ("Ana and Christian" is one of the few tracks where I felt this marriage was wholly successful - this cue, and a few others, actually recalls the late 90s John Ottman) but for the most part this is yet another streamlined, tepidly orchestrated Hollywood score that doesn't go anywhere. I have no problem with Elfman not being "symphonic" if the arrangements aren't straight out of Thomas Newman's marimba and xylophone playbook, complete with pop beats from One Direction. I really want to still love Elfman, and I do (remember "Sommersby" and "Dick Tracy?" Remember "Big Top Pee-Wee," which just had a fantastic re-release?), but like a lot of his fans I'm unable to get excited about what he's turning out these days. Even when the music is good the arrangements are so tepid that it almost ruins it.
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I had intended to put in a clarification that I was only referring to his dramatic scores, not things like Iris and Unknown Known, which are great.
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Um, yeah...I'll just say that your "several years" of phoning in te high profile assignments must start after Alice in WONDERLAND, because that score is truly magnificent, particularly in complete form.
Yavar
and MILK.
That's two pretty great scores
bruce
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Chronological order, for those who prefer that way
01 Shades Of Grey (2:07)
06 Going For Coffee (1:32)
07 Where Am I ? (1:35)
04 Then Don't ! (2:32)
03 The Red Room (3:26)
09 Clean You Up (2:43)
02 Ana's Theme (1:23)
08 Ana and Christian (3:24)
10 The Contract (3:27)
11 The Art Of War (3:32)
05 A Spanking (2:32)
12 Did That Hurt ? (2:54)
13 Bliss (2:29)
14 Show Me (3:02)
15 Counting To Six (3:21)
16 Variations On A Shades (6:22)
NOTE: 1 and 16 are concert arrangements you can place wherever you like; I just left them where Elfman put them.
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Foxmorty, thanks for the heads-up on Weather Man! Checked it out on your recommendation and am loving it. Wonderful Zimmer, a very fresh sound. Good word!
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