Soundtrack Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)
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This is a review of the motion picture score for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest by Hans Zimmer.
Considering Hans Zimmer had a normal schedule for Dead Man’s Chest as opposed to the rush job timing for the first film’s score, it’s disappointing that this score is only a marginal improvement. The worst offender is the all-too heavy electronic presence. The grunge feel in “For Whom the Bell Tolls” is unimaginative, while the solo guitar in “You Look Good Jack” is obnoxious. “The Kraken” is an overlong exercise in simplistic Media Ventures constructs. Zimmer says he didn’t use a guitar for all of this but instead ran his orchestra sound through a guitar amp for a darker tone. Either way, the approach is so…BASIC it’s hard to imagine that months of thought went into the music. Further complicating matters is that most of the previously established themes are just rehashed with no thought to thematic development. The love theme (poor as it was) could have just been temp-tracked, while the Black Pearl theme vary between unmemorable statements and the previously mentioned obnoxious performances. The playful cello theme is the only one that stands out as it receives some mildly exciting horn performances in the cannibal island material, but as the motif wasn’t revolutionary to begin with, it fails to alter the appearance of Zimmer’s laziness.
And yet…if one decides to not take this score seriously (much as one had to with the first Pirates score) you can have a good time. The new theme for Jack is unabashedly simple, revolving around alternating three-note patterns (a standard for so many Media Ventures themes), but it makes for some jaunty fun when thrown into the action tracks. The organ for Davy Jones is a nice touch, though it could have used a stronger orchestral presence to give it a sincere sense of menace. Plus the score improves when heard in complete form off of dvd rips. Both the extended “Wheel of Fortune” and “The Dutchman Chases the Pearl/The Sea Monster Returns” showcase Zimmer’s action material at both its most basic and its most fun, with the former exuding plenty of playful unison brass statements and the latter adding apocalyptic choir chants for perhaps the only tolerable performance of the Kraken’s theme. The film version of “Tortuga” is also fun if for no other reason than that it introduces the first legitimately “piratey” feel for the series. If Zimmer had given a bit more thought into the thematic core of this score and been willing to break a bit more out of his stylistic shell (“Hello Beastie” amounts to little more than a lengthy King Arthur reprise), this score could have been really fun. Such as it is, it’s likeable enough, not dead in the water but certainly with the potential to be more ship-shape.
Original Album (58:32)
1. Jack Sparrow (6:06)
2. The Kraken (6:55)
3. Davy Jones (3:15)
4. I’ve Got My Eye on You (2:25)
5. Dinner is Served (1:30)
6. Tia Dalma (3:57)
7. Two Hornpipes (Tortuga) (1:14)
8. A Family Affair (3:34)
9. Wheel of Fortune (6:45)
10. You Look Good Jack (5:34)
11. Hello Beastie (10:15)
12. Bonus: He’s a Pirate (Tiesto Remix) (7:02)
2-Disc Partial DVD Rip (96:12)
Disc 1
1. Main Titles/Wedding Crashers 1 (1:55) sfx
2. Wedding Crashers 2 (0:22) sfx
3. For Whom The Bell Tolls (2:25)
4. Jack the Monkey (0:11) sfx
5. That Way, Direction (1:08)
6. Beckett Compass/Drunk Jack (2:33) unreleased
7. You Look Good Jack (5:34)
8. Elizabeth Behind Bars/The Search for Jack (2:18)
9. Cannibal Island (2:19) unreleased
10. Save Me (0:15) sfx
11. Escape From Cannibal Island (9:24) sfx
12. Tia Dalma (film) (4:26)
13. A Wrecked Ship (0:20) unreleased
14. Dutchman Arrival (3:20) unreleased
15. Jones and Sparrow Negotiate/Betrayal (2:16) sfx
16. Ghostly Appearance (0:57) sfx
17. Tortuga (film) (1:39) sfx
18. The Turners Reunite (5:19)
19. A Game of Liar’s Dice (4:25) sfx
Disc 2
1. The Kraken Hammer (0:38) sfx
2. The Kraken Attacks the Edinburgh Trader (1:51)
3. No Survivors (1:27) sfx
4. Curiosity (1:51)
5. The Search for Dead Man’s Chest (2:45) sfx
6. Wheel of Fortune (film) (11:38) sfx
7. The Flying Dutchman is Back (0:22) sfx
8. The Dutchman Chases the Pearl/The Sea Monster Returns (5:49) sfx
9. Hello Beastie (10:10)
10. End Titles (8:51)
Listen to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest by Hans Zimmer below:
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Comments
I think the score is overall effective and sometimes fun, but it gets pulled back a little by its odd use of electronics and predictable structure. Overall my feeling after the score is slightly better than the first one, and since that got six…you get the idea. I think perhaps I could’ve worded this a little better in the review to expose what I feel were the more fun elements in scores. In general you’re a harsher reviewer than me (you think this year so far has been pretty poor, I think there’s been a lot of good stuff, you despise Eagle Eye, I thought it was awesome), but hey, to each their own. It’s not one of Zimmer’s strongest efforts, but despite its shortcomings, I still enjoy it.
This year there has been LOADS of good stuff, I agree, I just think all the year’s big releases and the ones people have spent most of their time talking about have been undeserving of the buzz and generally, across the board weak. A lot of smaller indie gems out in the last twelve months that few will be exposed to, hence I felt the need to sing the praises of THE GUITAR & LOFT on this very blog. I will shortly be reviewing THE WACKNESS by David Torn, one I doubt most people have heard about – this goes for David Torn in general I think. I’m also in love with AUGUST, both the film and score by Nathan Larson, but this is not avalible either in stores or online sadly. I also thing the year as a whole has improved drastically in the 11th hour of the last two months.
Now, this is a matter of taste, but I’d take any of the aforementioned over the latest Zimmer bloater any day. Once again though, really enjoyed the review, I anticipate your next.
PS. do you have MSN/AIM?
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Soundtrack Seek
It gets a score of 6, yet the review which is largely negative, makes it sound like a 4 at best. Another excellently written, thorough piece, but I wish the score reflected the tone of the review’s content. Most I’d give this collection of Zimmer’s worst habits is a 2! And that’s being kind!
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