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Posted: |
Feb 12, 2015 - 6:04 AM
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By: |
DeputyRiley
(Member)
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I'm a fan of this score, one of my first scores that I ever owned on audiocassette way back in the day, thanks to Varese Sarabande. Vintage Silvestri action/suspense, with an added creepy-as-hell streak that is somewhat rare for Silvestri. Tense, tense stuff. The cue "Blake Gets the Point" is just about as good as any action cue he's ever written, and the "Main Titles" are a choppy, rhythmic treat. "Power Out" will have your skin crawling, the tension is almost unbearable.
The original Varese album is a mere 29:00 long, and I was curious how much music was missing. Just got finished watching the movie and noted unreleased music and alternate cues, thought I'd share them here if anyone's interested. ***Hopefully Varese will release an expanded/deluxe version of this score!***
A lot of the unreleased stuff could be potentially cut-and-paste from existing material on the Varese album, a lot of cues are very short, but there is definitely a fair amount of unreleased material that is pretty exciting and would make a terrific extension to the existing release, with great variations on tension, suspense, and action. There is a recurring synth-echo overlay that is present throughout the score, usually whenever Blake (John Lithgow) is seen seething or plotting. Apparently this was added in towards the end of the scoring process, as it's featured throughout the movie, but entirely missing on the album itself. Some people might not be into an album expansion because they might find the extra material redundant and unless they were edited together, too many short tracks...but I would love to see an expansion because I love the sound Silvestri created for Ricochet.
Here is an approximate breakdown of released and unreleased tracks, runtimes, and track titles for the unreleased tracks that I named myself...
Original Varese album: approx. 29:00 minutes / 11 tracks
Complete score: approx. 53:00 / 31 tracks
Unreleased score runtime: 24 minutes
***UNRELEASED TRACKS IN ITALICS***
1. Silver Pictures Logo (0:19)
2. Main Title (2:15)
3. Blake's Arrival (1:25)
4. Surprise Attack (0:13)
5. Showdown (2:27)
6. Blake in Hospital (2:28)
7. Blake's Cell (1:00)
8. Gladiator Fight (2:29)
9. I've Got Things to Live For (0:55)
10. Photocopies (0:49)
11. Ready to Die? (0:36)
12. Wall of Styles (0:23)
13. Escape (2:07)
14. Viking Funeral (1:08)
15. Blake Eavesdrops (0:25)
16. Power Out (5:33)
17. Check the Girls (0:50)
18. Ferris Hung (0:51)
19. Nick Abducted (0:52)
20. Arm Wrestle / Nick Drugged (1:51)
21. Bed and Breakfast (2:59)
22. Drunken Nick (1:18)
23. Kids Missing / Panicked Nick (2:00)
24. Nazi Bookstore (album version) (1:14)
25. Nazi Bookstore (film version) / Larry Gets It (2:25)
26. Nick on the Move (1:35)
27. Do You Trust Me? / Nick and Odessa (1:10)
28. Nick Styles Show (2:01)
29. Blake to the Tower (2:20)
30. Blake Gets the Point (5:23)
31. Family Reunion (1:36)
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Alternatively, I go around the FSM search engine with Google, like this:
site:filmscoremonthly.com Ricochet "Alan Silvestri"
I used to have this, but I completely lost it. I think I left it in a library computer.
EDIT:
A couple or soyears later found it shoved into another CD case.
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I know, I came in to see how in the world this score could be broken down academically, and how many times the word "awesome" would be used to describe the Main Title.
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I know, I came in to see how in the world this score could be broken down academically, and how many times the word "awesome" would be used to describe the Main Title.
I only have the "Main Title" on the "Voyages" compilation, and it may be my favorite track on that album. It's so awesome, it defies awesomeness. Tension, insanity, excitement - I like Silvestri's work a lot, but when he gets into the groove that allows him to constantly build beyond the point where you think he couldn't possibly go any farther, he's brilliant. Those brass stabs in the "Main Title" get me giggling with glee every time. Have listened to samples elsewhere, but curious for everyone's opinions here: How's the rest of the score compare? Should I look into picking it up?
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Posted: |
Feb 12, 2015 - 2:24 PM
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By: |
Tom Servo
(Member)
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I know, I came in to see how in the world this score could be broken down academically, and how many times the word "awesome" would be used to describe the Main Title.
I only have the "Main Title" on the "Voyages" compilation, and it may be my favorite track on that album. It's so awesome, it defies awesomeness. Tension, insanity, excitement - I like Silvestri's work a lot, but when he gets into the groove that allows him to constantly build beyond the point where you think he couldn't possibly go any farther, he's brilliant. Those brass stabs in the "Main Title" get me giggling with glee every time. Have listened to samples elsewhere, but curious for everyone's opinions here: How's the rest of the score compare? Should I look into picking it up?
The 5-minute track "Blake Gets The Point" is one of the most furious pieces of action music Silvestri has composed, it's worth the price of the album alone.
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Posted: |
Feb 12, 2015 - 2:30 PM
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By: |
GoblinScore
(Member)
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I know, I came in to see how in the world this score could be broken down academically, and how many times the word "awesome" would be used to describe the Main Title.
I only have the "Main Title" on the "Voyages" compilation, and it may be my favorite track on that album. It's so awesome, it defies awesomeness. Tension, insanity, excitement - I like Silvestri's work a lot, but when he gets into the groove that allows him to constantly build beyond the point where you think he couldn't possibly go any farther, he's brilliant. Those brass stabs in the "Main Title" get me giggling with glee every time. Have listened to samples elsewhere, but curious for everyone's opinions here: How's the rest of the score compare? Should I look into picking it up?
The 5-minute track "Blake Gets The Point" is one of the most furious pieces of action music Silvestri has composed, it's worth the price of the album alone.
Here here - "trombone fu" that piece. Oh, and some "timpani fu" on The Escape & Viking Funeral pieces.
Get it.
-Sean
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Have listened to samples elsewhere, but curious for everyone's opinions here: How's the rest of the score compare? Should I look into picking it up?
Someone should do an analysis!
Hahahaha! Yes, yes, I walked into that one eyes wide open. Mea culpa. I was just hoping to hear from more folks about the score, and if there were elements that really hit them or left them indifferent (sort of along the lines of the Deputy's initial post).
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It is absolutely worth the 1 dollar you'll pay for the used one on Amazon right now. It's 29 minutes of score, plus that badass Ice-T track, so none of the 80 minute bloat that has plagued modern day albums by lesser composers. GET IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Posted: |
Feb 12, 2015 - 5:05 PM
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By: |
DeputyRiley
(Member)
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The 5-minute track "Blake Gets The Point" is one of the most furious pieces of action music Silvestri has composed, it's worth the price of the album alone.
Yes Tom! It's so good it gives me chills. Especially 3:46-4:30 and especially especially especially 4:31-5:05. The former section's rhythmic, relentless string lines punctuated by cymbal hits is so primal, so pounding, and so exquisitely aggressive...the latter section begins with a wonderful transitional lightning-fast string swell and brass blast and ends with one of the greatest death-of-the-villain percussive stingers in film music!
The rest of the score doesn't quite match that sustained ferocious intensity at such a high fever pitch, but a few tracks ("Main Title" and "The Escape") come close. It's ok, though, because I really dig Silvestri's very, very dark sonic exploration of the villain's psychological torment of Denzel's character. The track "Power Out" as I've mentioned before is insanely creepy and immense credit should be given to Silvestri for musically translating the psychotic obsession of Lithgow's character so beautifully -- darkly beautifully, if you will. During that scene, when he violently tosses aside the teddy bear and slowly descends upon Denzel's sleeping, innocent young daughters, the camera tightening in on his terrifyingly single-minded and blank facial expression, Silvestri's music adds such a disturbing angle to an already horrifying scene as you wonder what Lithgow has planned for them.
The track "Nazi Bookstore" on album doesn't work for me, really. It's all pomp and circumstance, tonally out-of-place triumphant march music. It's a nice piece of music on its own but wouldn't fit in the scene where Denzel's character is interrogating a white supremacist scumbag for information on Lithgow; thankfully the film version of the cue fits right in with the tone of the rest of the score and is much more thrilling.
One reason I'd really like to see Ricochet expanded is the original Varese album is too heavy on the (albeit tremendously effective) creepy stalking/slow-burn suspense music. There is a fair amount of action on the album and a few nice interludes in "Drunken Nick" (soft and pretty) and "Nazi Bookstore" (even if it's at odds with the score), but a little of "Power Out" goes a long way if it's not tempered with more variety. The unreleased bits of the score would provide a more varied listening experience, particularly cues like (my titled) "Kids Missing / Panicked Nick" and "Blake to the Tower." Even the schmaltzy unreleased finale cue would be a nice close to the score on album if it were included, although it does transition to a very dated R&B/rap urban instrumental closing. The tracks that I titled "Arm Wrestle / Nick Drugged" and "Kids Missing / Panicked Nick" would be examples of terrific expansion material, the former cue an unnerving quiet build to an explosive release as Denzel's character is drugged and flails around, the latter cue pure adrenaline racing rhythms and metallic percussion as Denzel runs out of his house and down the street with a gun to save his imperiled children. Also of great value would be the film version of "Nazi Bookstore" which in the movie is paired with "Larry Gets It," a wonderfully propulsive and tragic cue.
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Posted: |
Feb 13, 2015 - 3:44 AM
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By: |
edern
(Member)
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Thank you for this thread and the tracklist, DeputyRiley. I love this score too!
I have to admit that I didn't appreciate it entirely before. The action tracks are among the most wild and thunderous cues ever composed by Silvestri, and it's that aspect that appealed to me in the first place. The Main Title is like Jaws on drugs!
When I saw the movie, ludicrously over the top and so entertaining (it keeps piling on... quite an insane ride!), I finally got what the composer was doing with all the tense and creepy stuff, and appreciated it on album a lot more.
The existing release has a fair amount of Silvestri's music (and I like the Ice-T song too!) but not necessarily sequenced for the best listen. The album mix is very powerful (just a little too quiet during some of the suspense cues).
I would love to get an expanded/remastered re-release too, of course!
Among the unreleased cues I'm especially fond of two that you mentioned: when Nick gets drugged and when he rushes out from home in panic.
Concerning the "Nazi Bookstore" cue, I believe what we have on the album was supposed to be used as source music in the film (or was maybe intented for a deleted scene). Speaking of source music, I also enjoy the fun stinger Silvestri did for the TV show "Busted", in the beginning of the film. I am not very fond of the overdubbed synth "motif" for the bad guy though, and leaving it out of the album was a good decision.
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I'll save the dollar and shipping and wait for the "bloated" 80 minute CD. And Thor and the other five people who don't want it, can go to Amazon and finally be able to say, "I'd buy that for a dollar!"
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