Soundtrack Review: Medal of Honor: Airborne (2007)

Posted by Jon Blough

May 24, 2009

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This is a review of the video game soundtrack Medal of Honor: Airborne by Michael Giacchino.

“Not be everything you want from your Medal of Honor score, but still solid, electrifying”

Michael Giacchino has branched out from “the guy who does WWII actioners” to become a multi-faceted composer, handling jazzy action, space sagas, and French cooking with an exuberant flair. Yet his best results have so far been his earliest efforts in Medal of Honor, and a return to the series in 2007 was viewed with much excitement. Giacchino’s maturation from Williams inspirations to his own style made him a different composer than he was in 1999, thus his score for Airborne has far more in common with his recent action tendencies. The resulting music is thus fairly different from his previous three works for the series, more fast-paced and frenetic than we’re used to, and the test for enjoying the score rests on one’s ability to accept and enjoy such changes.

Militaristic

Airborne feels the most militaristic of any of Giacchino’s WWII scores, with a rigid structure, an uber-present snare, and a tight brass motif that is more direct than the flowing melodies we’ve grown accustomed. Different for sure, and off-putting to some listeners, but I really don’t think Giacchino could have stretched his approach to classic status after Secret Weapons Over Normandy. Stylistically speaking, the score’s new rushed style is very welcome, with the march-like style reaching its bouncy high points in “Operation Neptune” and “Operation Varsity” and even potential underscore cues like “Sniper Showdown” accelerating as they go along. A slight disappointment is the actual main theme though; it keeps the whole score going at a brisk, purpose-driven pace, but it lacks the same addictive flair or lush melodic beauty of the Allied theme or either major theme for Underground or Frontline. Even SWON, a pure action score, found ways to make its themes more engaging. It’s good for sure, but not laudable like previous works.

Frenetic

The action is more of the frenetic style that Giacchino had been making his own since Call of Duty, giving much of these cues a sustained adrenaline rush (the normal staple of excellent MOH scoring). However, it’s a bit less chaotic than its incarnations in MI:3 an Speed Racer, and listeners who were agitated by those (I wasn’t, but some certainly were) will probably find cues like “Operation Husky” and “In The Trenches” more accessible. Sill here is the motif-centric approach for the action, and while none attain the engaging, memorable levels of his past MOH scores, most are still thoroughly exciting. The racing strings and xylophones of “Restoration Temple” and “Gunfight in the Ruins” (admittedly, cues that sound really similar to MI:3) are superbly assisted by some jungle-like percussion, while the tight, brassy motifs in “In The Trenches” and “Room by Room” continue to push the accelerator down. “Das Flakturn” is a magnificent aerial dogfight, coming off like one of those cues you’d see from a WWII film. Things become a bit stylistically repetitive with “Defusing the Charges”, but the thrilling “Taking Out the Sighting Tower”, especially in its last minute, more than makes up for that.
Conclusion

A few minor similarities to previous Giacchino scores pop up, but aren’t terribly troublesome given their exciting execution. More of a disappointment is the utter lack a villains theme, either new or based off old Nazi themes, which was an easy strength in both his MOH and SWON scores and robs the score of much potential depth. Thankfully, the brilliant Allies theme (perhaps my all-time favorite theme) is still incorporate, or else I’d probably be throwing a fit in this review. The relaying of it with the Airborne main in the last minute of the opening cue and its celebratory use in “Unblocking Utah” prove classic theme (which may stand as my all-time favorite theme) still has plenty fresh excitement left in it. The best performances are saved for last, with “Paestum Landing” a final vibrant statement and “End Credits” a slow, elegiac, and presumptive farewell to an old friend. Surprise (and welcome) inclusions are Giacchino’s Nijmega theme from Frontline that works a mysterious edge into “Dropping into Nijmegan” (okay, maybe not so much of a surprise given the titles) and the same score’s angelic title theme in “Wreckage of Nijmega” that gives it a mournful, sweeping beauty. Airborne may not be everything you want from your MOH score, but in this compact frame lies a number of electrifying moments that still keep things strong. For continuing to prevent his WWII actioners from getting stale, Giacchino’s return to the series is more than welcome.

Album Info: Some websites have advertised a “complete score”. It is a bald-faced lie, a game-rip that chops up all major cues and throws in a bunch of trailer music. Making matters worse is the alphabetical listing of cues, making for a miserable listening experience. Please, please just buy the commercial album

Album (63:23)
1.    Medal of Honor:Airborne (Main Theme) 3:48
2.    Operation Husky 3:27
3.    Back Alleys 2:24
4.    In the Trenches 2:34
5.    Restoration Temple 2:46
6.    Gunfight in the Ruins 5:24
7.    Operation Neptune 2:34
8.    Following the Demolition Wires 1:06
9.    Room by Room 2:23
10.    Unblocking Utah 2:43
11.    Operation Varsity 3:38
12.    Sniper Showdown 3:16
13.    Der Flakturm 2:36
14.    Destroying the Fuel Reserves 2:29
15.    Dropping into Nijmegen 3:00
16.    Wreckage of Nijmegen 7:04
17.    Defusing the Charges 2:37
18.    Taking out the Spotting Tower 2:30
19.    Paestum Landing 2:50
20.    Medal of Honor: Airborne (End Credits) 4:14