Steve Jablonsky Is A God

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2007-10-16 12:31pm

FSTargetDrone wrote:
DPDarkPrimus wrote:Well the movie isn't due out until the 16th, so it would make sense that your order hasn't shipped yet.
Yeah, I know. For some reason I thought the score CD (that I thought had already shipped) was shipping separately from the DVD in my order, but I just checked and it's coming in one shipment. Sometimes if a part of a multiple order is delayed, the in-stock items will ship separately.

<Bouncing>

It came, they both arrived today! Huzzah for the (Amazon) shopkeep!

Commence (legal) score ripping!

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2007-10-16 05:21pm

NeoGoomba wrote:
I really, really hope not. Jablonski earned a ton of respect from me (and a lot of other people too I'd imagine) for his work on this movie, and he deserves to expand on his own themes.

To be fair, the likes of Jablonsky, new to the Hollywood scene, also worked with Trevor Rabin, Harry Gregson-Williams, John Powell and Klaus Badelt with Hans Zimmer. They all share traits when it comes to the big blockbusters, yet have unique styles. While it would have been nice to have Badelt finish the PotC trilogy, Zimmer did wonderfully, especially with AWE.

Still, I'd rather Jablonsky was kept on given he's proven himself. I notice this score, though, seems to have a shorted "SOCCENT Attack" than the track on YouTube and it's missing the Barricade theme and the Terminator like section when Optimus and Megs have at it.

Other than that, every track is great. I thought it'd be just "Scorponok", "Optimus" (my bro thinks "Necessary Sacrifice" is a better name for that track) and "Arrival To Earth" would be the really good ones, but I listen to it all. The Decepticon theme is deliciously evil and I never noticed the choral component from that in the scene with Sam on the roof with Megs.

NeoGoomba · Post by **NeoGoomba** » 2007-10-17 03:50pm

I love the whirl of helicopter blades that are present in "Soccent Attack". Such a nice touch for a scene where Blackout dominates.

And yes, that scene is why I have a Blackout action figure on my desk at work

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2007-10-17 06:11pm

Blackout sits on my telly in the lounge.

But I just noticed something. There's a bootleg mentioned on Hans Zimmer's site. It has 52 tracks and covers two discs. I am downloading it now because I know there is stuff missing from the official release and heard that on YouTube.

"SOCCENT Attack" is good, but it's far better when hearing the eerie low-key music as the base commander demands an IFF squawk and dispatches the F-22s. Plus you get the likes of the triumphant music when the CV-22s land at the base too.

Oh yeah, the "Decepticons" theme lyrics:

Low-voice-chant:
Tuba, mirum, Tuba, spargens
Tremor, David, mirum, ante

Chant which gets louder throughout:
Totum totum totum totum David
Totum spargens totum david
Totum quarens, sedisti totum

If you can figure where it's from, you'll likely know how much sense it makes.

Fire Fly · Post by **Fire Fly** » 2007-10-22 03:14am

For a nice fan piano rendition/rearrangement of the Arrival score you can listen to it here and then download it from here.

Its absolutely beautiful.

Old Plympto · Post by **Old Plympto** » 2007-10-22 03:35am

Fire Fly wrote:For a nice fan piano rendition/rearrangement of the Arrival score you can listen to it here and then download it from here.

Its absolutely beautiful.

I tried to write down the tune myself a month or so ago while listening to the Youtube clips. Haven't studied music theory since 1982... I think there might be a couple of bloopers here and there.

Fire Fly · Post by **Fire Fly** » 2007-10-22 03:37am

Old Plympto wrote:
Fire Fly wrote:For a nice fan piano rendition/rearrangement of the Arrival score you can listen to it here and then download it from here.

Its absolutely beautiful.
I tried to write down the tune myself a month or so ago while listening to the Youtube clips. Haven't studied music theory since 1982... I think there might be a couple of bloopers here and there.

-snip-

The guy also wrote a score sheet, if you're interested. Its in the same link as the download.

Old Plympto · Post by **Old Plympto** » 2007-10-22 03:48am

Fire Fly wrote: The guy also wrote a score sheet, if you're interested. Its in the same link as the download.

Awesome! It's in a different key signature but it might be the sound transposed by the *ahem* bad Youtube recording. I'm working on the"Optimus" track, which is fantastic. I can't believe they suppressed some of the main melody in the movie to make way for dialogue. They should have featured the whole theme elsewhere in the movie.

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2007-10-23 12:37am

I've listened to it 3 or 4 times now, all the way through. Great score, really good stuff, sweeping, epic-sounding stuff. It really pounds the speakers in my car. I love all the drums throughout the "Decepticons" track, the mechanical synth-sounding voices, all of it. What a great soundtrack! It's just a shame they tacked on that bland, uninteresting song by whosit over the closing credits. They should have just stuck with the score!

white_rabbit · Post by **white_rabbit** » 2007-10-23 03:09am

man, I'd forgotten how awesome this score was.

Scorponok is fantastic. To think they weren't going to release this, but instead were going to just have the bloody awful music from and inspired by CD.

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2007-10-23 12:30pm

white_rabbit wrote:man, I'd forgotten how awesome this score was.

Scorponok is fantastic. To think they weren't going to release this, but instead were going to just have the bloody awful music from and inspired by CD.

Yep, all that and largely forgettable music, too. The score is not.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2007-10-23 11:26pm

I got the soundtrack from Amazon today. I'll listen and give it my opinion.

I had complained back in the TF movie thread a while ago that I found the music to be uninspired, but upon further viewings I found that many times the music worked so well in the scenes that I wasn't paying attention to the music at all, and thus forgot it was there (which is a mark of a good soundtrack, many times). So consider those remarks rescinded.

NeoGoomba · Post by **NeoGoomba** » 2007-10-23 11:38pm

Theres a good lad.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2007-10-24 12:59pm

I mentioned that in response within the movie review thread too. If you don't notice the score, it's working. A score that sticks out like a sore thumb is not doing its job of immersing you in the atmosphere. Tracks like "Arrival To Earth" are more noticeable because they're more melodic and very little sound is happening with respect to the screen events too.

Likewise, "Scorponok" works because the rhythm fits so well with the action scenes, even if it sounds similar to certain other artists who worked within Zimmer's organisation.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2007-10-24 05:09pm

Actually, the piece that stood out most to me as borrowing from Zimmer was "Optimus". *cough*LastSamurai*cough*

NeoGoomba · Post by **NeoGoomba** » 2007-10-24 06:33pm

See, that piece I thought borrowed heavily from Trevor Rabin's "The Sixth Day" (yes, I have that soundtrack, god knows why), and the flute seems dead on with Rabin's arrangement.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2007-10-24 09:56pm

See, it's the flute part that I thought sounded too familiar to a theme from The Last Samurai.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2007-10-25 12:42pm

There are sections that sound like Batman Begins, but yes, the flute section of "Optimus" is very similar to the flute melody. "Scorponok" sounds like something Harry Gregson-Williams would do with the synth and orchestral mix.