Soundtrack Review: Race to Witch Mountain (2009)

Posted by Jorn Tillnes

April 6, 2009

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031409 1121 soundtrackr11 Soundtrack Review: Race to Witch Mountain (2009) This is a review of the motion picture score Race to Witch Mountain by Trevor Rabin.

“So it’s true. Disney and Trevor Rabin aren’t infallible. It’s not bad, but far less spectacular than I had expected and hoped it would be.”

Walt Disney Pictures and Trevor Rabin have always had a good partnership and have produced many great scores. Remember The Titans was spectacular, National Treasure and especially National Treasure: Book of Secrets are amazing scores. Glory Road! Oh how I wish that score was released. It sounded awesome in the movie. Now they are back again with Race to Witch Mountain and my expectations are as usual very high. The movie is about A UFO expert who enlists the help of a cabbie to protect two siblings with paranormal powers from the clutches of an organization that wants to use the kids for their nefarious plans. Sounds fun! Let the score begin!

Track List

Emergency (By Steve Rushton)
Boogie Woogie Saturday Night (By Brokedown Cadillac)
Southern Nights (By Brokedown Cadillac)
Into The Fridge (****)
Long Goodbye (*****)
Siphon Searches (****)
Make Me A Believer (*****)
Bump And Run (****)
Unidentified Main Titles (*****)
Jack And Kids Escape (****)
Tell Mr. Wolf I Meant It (****)
Train Wreckage Survey (*****)
Burke’s Deal (***)
Tracking The E.B.E.’s (*****)
Stand Off (*****)
Tunnel Flight (****)
Excess Baggage (***)
Convention Escape (***)
Meet The Press (*****)

The Hitmaker

Usually a Trevor Rabin offering is quite short, around 30 minutes, but this score contains a surprisingly high 45 minutes of music from Trevor Rabin. There’s also 3 songs on here from Steve Rushton which is very teeny rocky and Brokedown Cadillac which are a little bluesy country-ish. In this review I will focus on the score itself by Trevor Rabin. I have to say Mr. Rabin has given me a lot of great moments. He learned something valuable from his time with the 80s rock group Yes. How to make a hit. Yes granted, not all of his stuff is ‘Owner of a Lonely Heart’ stuff, but when you listen to Trevor Rabin, you immediately know what he is going after. It’s very easy sounding and usually very heroic. Just what I need to get the day going!

In Race to Witch Mountain he neglects to do that until the very end of the cues. It’s still quite a nice listen, but it’s the last seconds of a cue which are the real highlights. Examples of this are ‘Long Goodbye’, ‘Make me a Believer’, ‘Tracking the E.B.E’s’ and ‘Stand Off’. Still it’s these highlight that make this score really good, but let’s start at the beginning with the cue ‘Into the Fridge’. It has a very dark sound to it like the world is about to end or something. It’s a good cue, but it’s not really how I hoped it would start. I wanted something Rabin-ish, heroic, bold and beautiful. It has its moments where you can hear the Rabin sound which definitely lifts it up from mediocrity. At around 3:40, it changes pace quite drastically and transforms into an action cue. Near the end, you get a glimpse of the main theme which sounds like the main theme from Con Air.

A Little Bit Of Trevor

I would say the first cue is a taste of what’s to come. It isn’t the best cue on the soundtrack, but it’ll do. The second cue ‘Long Goodbye’ is definitely an improvement. This is more like it! It sounds like the good old Trevor Rabin that I love. It has a very distinctive and heroic motif which this score could use more of. Yes, I’ve heard it all before, but I want to hear it again. ‘Make me a Believer’ is another great cue. It starts a little slow with strings and woodwinds, but it soon evolves into something grand and great. The 2 note motif in varying pitch that starts from 1:14 is exactly what I want and what I get. It has a great ending which I mentioned in the beginning. The old hit maker Trevor Rabin style way of scoring.

‘Unidentified Main Titles’ is a curious name for a cue, but there you have it. It sounds quite great and this should instead be called ‘Identified Main Titles’ and put right in the beginning of this score. It has some good Rabin action-type scoring, a little pacy, but not over the top. The electric string section is what makes it great and you can hear the small blimps of electric guitar which is just perfect. Another great action cue is called ‘Train Wreckage Survey’ which is sadly a little short at 46 seconds. More of that, thank you very much Mr. Rabin!

More action please! Rabin delivers with ‘Tracking the E.B.E’s’ but the highlight for me is from 1:49 and forward when Rabin throws in a beautiful heroic theme. The last great cue on the Race to Witch Mountain soundtrack is ‘Stand Off’ which has a choir! Yes, it has a choir and it sounds great. When Rabin use choir, it’s usually quite beautiful as everything he does is so neatly planned to give us a real taste of how to score a hit song.

The ending starts off like a standard action cue, but it doesn’t last off as Trevor Rabin wants us to have a proper goodbye. He gives Rabin fans exactly what they want with a thematic sending off that brings back great memories of past efforts.

Conclusion

After I’ve listened to it a few times, I can’t help to feel slightly disappointed. You might be puzzled as the final score is so high, but I truly expected more from Trevor Rabin, I always do. So it’s true. Disney and Trevor Rabin aren’t infallible. It’s not bad, but far less spectacular than I had expected and hoped it would be. I hope it grows on me over time and become another amazing Rabin effort, but for now it’s just a good one.

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