| Release
Date:
August 12th, 2008 |
 |
| Number of discs:
1 |
|
Composed and
Conducted by:
Kevin Kiner |
| Album produced by:
Mark Evans |
| Music Editor:
Mark Evans |
|
Music Recorded and
Mixed by:
Mark Evans |
I really wouldn't want to be
composer Kevin Kiner. Following in on the footsteps of master John Williams must
be a really difficult task, but the man nevertheless decided to commit himself
to the job, and therefore has composed all the music for both the
Clone Wars movie and the TV
show. (In here I'll talk about the music for the former.) So what do I think
about the CD? I guess I could compare it to the film itself - good but not
amazing. (Actually, maybe the music is better than the movie itself.) Kiner has
done a good job at mixing and remixing the classic themes as well as composing
new ones, and although his own work isn't on the same level as Williams' classic
compositions, it nevertheless works both in the context of the movie and
as an independent musical production. I liked the Clone Wars CD, and I'm
pretty sure I'll be constantly listening to it for a least a week or so.
Many people haven't liked the
fact that Kiner has remixed many of the classic Star Wars themes. I
actually support this idea - considering his music is for the TV show, it was a
pretty good idea to "modernize" the music and make it work for such format. I
wasn't bothered by the first track, which contains a remixed version of the
classic Star Wars theme - it actually sounds pretty good. I also like the
incursion of several obscure themes from both the prequel and the
original trilogy - try to spot, for example, the "Rebel Alliance" theme from
Return of the Jedi in track two ("Admiral Yuralen"). Other more recognizable
themes, like the "Imperial March" are absent because they have nothing to do
with the plot of the movie ,and I like this,. I think Kiner's work would have
suffered if he had decided to insert classic Star Wars themes just for
the sake of doing it.
Kiner's music is basically a
hybrid between the modern and the classic, a CD full of Williams-like tunes and
other themes that just don't sound like typical Star Wars music. Take,
for example, the infamous "Obi-Wan to the Rescue" track, which features electric
guitars (used in a "metal" kind of fashion") and other instruments not so
typical in films like this. I wasn't bothered by this. I appreciate the fact
that Kiner has decided to do something different, and the track itself, while
not a masterpiece, is pretty good on its own. It did call attention to
itself during the movie, though, because it just sounds so damn different.
This soundtrack also features
many beautifully and otherworldly compositions that may become some of my
favourite tunes of any Star Wars movie. I like tracks like "Jabba's
Palace", "Jabba's Chamber Dance" or "Landing on Teth" because they sound exotic
and are well-composed, and because they work within the context of the flick.
Kiner makes extensive use of a female chorus in these tunes (and in other ones
too), which give an epic feel to both the soundtrack and the movie. Actually, I
think Kiner's music is a little bit too epic, considering that both the
movie's and the show's scope is a little limited due to the technology and
limited budget ,Lucasfilm Animation is working with. The one scene that did
mesh with its epic track is "Dunes of Tatooine." This particular tune is
beautiful and well-composed, and the scene is brilliantly animated and feels
epic. (Had it not been for the cheesy dialogue, the scene would have worked
excellently.)
I also like the fact that the for
the Coruscant scenes - featuring one of the weirdest characters in the entire
Star Wars mythos -, ,Kiner decided to compose Jazz tunes. I absolutely love
everything related to Jazz, so it shouldn't be a surprise that tracks "Ziro's
Nightclub Band" and "Seedy City Swing" are some of my favourite tunes of this
CD. They are well-composed, great to listen and a lot of fun. (I must also say
that the Ziro scenes along with this music reminded me of the Cantina sequences
of A New Hope. Ah, the memories...)
One also has to take into
consideration that Kiner is working for a TV pilot and series, and that his work
has to be consistently solid because he will eventually compose and record
tons of music. (He has reportedly already recorded about 400 hours of music
for the show.) If this particular CD is to be taken as a promise of what is to
come, then I expect future CDs for the show to be excellent. Also, the fact that
the movie is oriented towards children has some relevance - apart from a couple
of tracks, Kiner's work is a little lighter than Williams' compositions, and due
to the movie's fast pace, the CD contains a surprising 32 tracks with a total
runtime of 67 minutes. That means most tracks are between two and three minutes
long. Surprisingly enough, that doesn't make Kiner's work any less great. I
actually like the fast pace of his compositions, and that we have a lot of
musical variety due to the large quantity of tracks.
Despite having to live up to John
Williams' masterful compositions, Kevin Kiner manages to provide with pretty
cool-sounding music for the latest animated Star Wars flick. Although the
movie itself is not great (it's actually passable, much better than what critics
would lead you to believe), Kiner's work is consistently excellent. I like his
music because it sounds both familiar and unfamiliar, making use of
recognizable Star Wars themes as well as new and odder compositions. The
incursion of instruments such as electric guitars or taikos is welcome because
Kiner makes good use of them, and because they provide with a lot of
musical variety. I didn't think Kevin Kiner would be this good - I absolutely
love John Williams' work and I thought no one would be up to par with him. To be
fair, Kiner is not up to par with him, but nevertheless, his music is a
delight to listen. I'll be looking forward to his work on the TV show.
©2008
Sebastián Zavala - Star Wars Epica
