Soundtrack Review: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
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This is a review of the motion picture score Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen by Steve Jablonsky.
“Its pure madness, pure evil, and it’s so delicious, but it’s way too short. I crave more… a lot more!”
Kids, it’s finally here in my hands. The new Transformers score by Steve Jablonsky. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is here at last. I remember the first one in 2007 and how it almost never came to be. Thanks to the fans who demanded a score release we got it in addition to the various artists soundtrack. We can all agree that the score is far superior, right? Well I can with 100% honesty say that it was the case then and it is the case now. The pressure on Steve Jablonsky to deliver a fantastic score for the sequel has been nothing less than massive. After listening to the 30 second samples on Amazon I couldn’t decide, but the sound bites sounded great. Then I finally got the CD in all its glory and here’s how it plays out.
Track List
- Prime (*****)
- Einstein’s Wrong
- Nest (*****)
- The Shard (*****)
- The Fallen (*****)
- Infinite White (*****)
- Heed Our Warning (*****)
- The Fallen’s Arrival (*****)
- Tomb Of The Primes (*****)
- Forest Battle (*****)
- Precious Cargo (*****)
- Matrix Of Leadership (*****)
- I Claim Your Sun (*****)
- I Rise, You Fall (*****)
Way Too Short
Let’s just deal with the obvious disappointments first, before we go into the non-disappointing parts. Disappointment number 1: There’s only 44 minutes of music here. Where’s the rest!? 44 minutes feels so short when listening to one of the most exciting scores of the decade. Why oh why do we have to wait for the unofficial complete score to be released when it’s obvious there’s more music out there. The first score was at least an hour long, so why not this? Stop being skimpy on the releases! Especially a long awaited one such as this. Oh, when I meant disappointments I didn’t mean plural, because there really aren’t more. If you are a negative person who doesn’t like to read positive stuff or bask in the glory of Steve Jablonsky, then run away… shoo!
Now… where to begin. At the beginning shall we? Good. Sorry for being incoherent here and there, as I am just getting some things off my chest. Let me just start by saying that the samples on Amazon really doesn’t do it justice in any shape or form. Sure, there might be some great stuff in there (and it is), but it’s like watching the highlight of the greatest sports game ever in contrast to actually being there soaking in the atmosphere. Speaking of atmosphere, I’m happy to announce that the great Autobots theme from the first score has been carried across to the sequel even though there’s plenty of new material here. The score still feels heavy, Transformers style; in fact it’s darker now, pure evil even.
I’m supposed to do a lot of things right now for example, but I can’t stop listening to this score while writing a review for you guys. My thoughts are collected into a resounding wow. Heavy, dark, delicious, evil… Those are some of the thoughts I form when listening to the score. At first I enjoyed the themes from the first movie, but I realize it’s purely based on nostalgia of a former glory. There’s more here, a lot more. It’s Christmas morning folks, and it really does go on until Easter, at least if you enjoy Jablonsky’s love affair with the Zimmer-style of scoring.
Autobots
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen starts off in a familiar territory, just to get you off to a proper start. ‘Prime‘ is the perfect start to a lovely afternoon as it is playing heavily on the excellent Autobots theme introduced in the first score. It’s just to ease you in, because even though there are snippets of the themes from the first score, there’s more emphasis on action here, and fewer themes. Don’t worry, you’ll love it! Well ok, maybe there’s one more disappointment. ‘Einstein’s Wrong’ is this score’s version of ‘Sam at the Lake‘ from the first score. Not quite though as it is much better, but it feels much lighter than the rest of the score and in tricks you into thinking “hey, this is going in the wrong direction!” I really got less excited when listening to this one, even though the choirs got me back… slowly.
Did I mention that Linkin Park was working closely with Steve Jablonsky on the score? No? Well they did and ‘Nest’ is the instrumental version of ‘New Divide’ from the various artists soundtrack. I love Linkin Park, I really do, and the instrumental version is great and it’s a gorgeous theme that I feel could have been used more. This is probably the only cue which you can be certain of Linkin Park’s involvement because you know Steve Jablonsky can hold his own pretty well. ‘The Shard’ is a good example of the heaviness of the score. It’s a pure battle/war kind of track which has your pulse going faster than it should. Excited yet? We’re just getting started!
Pure Evil
Now for something pure evil. Yes it’s just plain and simple evil. It’s the devil’s music I tell you! ‘The Fallen’ is such a simple theme. Some clever underscoring, like a pulse beating slowly while an evil-sounding voice is the actual song. Its genius and it works. It’s hypnotic and you can’t stop listening to it. This will take over your day, your life actually. Your mind will have no choice but to be slave to this captivating music. Evil!
Once you are done with that (if you can), ‘Infinite White’ will give you another cue to stick to your mind. It’s very doomsday-like with its female voice, but it is not leading you astray, but instead it brings back the Autobots theme so you know you are safe and sound. It’s actually one of few cues which doesn’t involve some heavy action and it’s also possibly the best one in addition to ‘Matrix of Leadership’ Later on. I hope you don’t mind me skipping ahead a bit since I have to mention this cue. This is my favorite of all. It’s evil and a woman, who resembles Lisa Gerrard, is voicing this masterpiece of a song. Like ‘Infinite White‘ it has a calming effect, but that’s probably why it fits so well. It’s still dark and heavy in a way, but it sounds epic and gives a well deserved breather in-between the loud and hairy action cues.
Action
Let’s get back to action shall we? ‘Heed Our Warning’ is an awesome name for a cue. You can almost hear it before you actually hear it. It starts off with a dark bass underscore and soon the male choir starts to have their voices heard. Get the picture yet? At around 2:40 it takes off with heavy percussion and an angry choir doing their best to keep up. It’s not the most pulse-heightening action cues out there, but the suspense is killing you. ‘The Fallen’s Arrival’ is letting you have it in pure Jablonsky-action style kind of way around half-way through. Something big is happening here and I love that Jablonsky brings back the menacing “TWANNGGGGG” sound heard at the beginning of among others the great ‘Soccent Attack’ from the first score.
‘Tomb of the Primes’ is a reprise of what was so great about the first score because like ‘Prime‘ it features the themes from the first movie. ‘Precious Cargo’ is another one, short but sweet. There’s more in ‘I Claim Your Sun‘ which deserves to be up there with ‘Infinite White’ and ‘Matrix of Leadership’ as the best cues of the score. This is my action-cue of choice. It is one of the heaviest cues on the score and one of the most action-driven as well. I can easily see this as being your favorite since it not only drives you insane with the pulsating percussion rhythm, choirs and Transformer-like deliciousness. It also includes the Autobots theme by the way. A gorgeous cue from start to finish. Speaking of finish, the last cue is ‘I Rise, You Fall‘ which has a massive military like rhythm to it. Dark as any cue I have ever heard on this score, at least in the beginning. Then it’s falls under the category of “I’ve heard it all before, but it’s so good I can’t stop listening”. It’s basically a reprise of the last track from the first Transformers score ‘No Sacrifice, No Victory‘.
Conclusion
I guess you can say I liked this score, in fact I love it. Steve Jablonsky has outdone, outshone, outplayed, outsomething himself with this score. It’s darker, heavier, better, pure evil. From start to finish it shines of grade A quality all the way through. The Autobots theme is still here and there’s enough new material to take it to another level. As good as the first score was, this is better in pretty much every way. I was uncertain at first, but now I’m a believer. I’m convinced this score will go on to be the best score of this year, and if I’m mistaken then I apologize. It’s pure madness, pure evil, and it’s so delicious, but it’s way too short. I crave more… a lot more! I pray that a complete version comes out which I will listen to until my ears bleed. Congratulations Steve Jablonsky, Linkin Park, Hans Zimmer and everyone who has been involved in creating this gorgeous piece of work, one of the best scores this entire decade. You’ve all outdone yourselves!
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(18 votes, average: 7.67 out of 10)
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Comments
I have to say, I think the new Prime theme sounds pretty lazy. Compared to the themes in the first movie and other Jablonsky themes (think The Island, Gears of War 2) this one is pretty weak. The Gladiator-like female vocals add almost a “cheesy” feel to it. Really love Jablonsky’s work as a whole, and this is a clear disappointment.
I can understand a lot of what you’re saying, but the MAGIC of the first score is gone from this. It sounds generic and really lacks an epic, slow build-up style (see “Arrival to Earth”). Where is this film’s “Scorponok”? It just seems like drum loops and crashes and bangs with no real direction that the first had in spades.
Hopefully the music in the film includes new variations on the themes that have stuck with me for over two years and that I keep going back to. Other than NEST (surprising since this is Linkin Park/Zimmer), there isn’t a track I wanted to listen to twice.
I can see where this scores a 10 for some, but for me this is a major let-down.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 3:16 am
Sorry to hear you didn’t like it. For me it’s a big upgrade. The first one had some great themes, but was let down by some lower quality cues. This one is almost perfection to me. The only cue I couldn’t/can’t give top score to was “Einstein’s Wrong”.
“Scorponok” is a wonderful cue indeed, but I’m so glad Jablonsky moved on. Transformers have grown up, become darker and better in my opinion.
Gajer Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Ironically, I’m starting to like “Einstein’s Wrong”. Zimmer’s hand is all over this. From the Frost/Nixon rhythm to start and the outbursts of choir from Angels and Demons, it’s a mix of the last few (and great) Zimmer scores. Different strokes for different folks!
Also, yes, Jablonsky moved on from the themes of the first (sadly in my opinion), but the hooks that are so central to many Jablonsky scores aren’t there. The best parts as I was listening were when the old themes made 20-30 second encores! Darker, yes. But how about a menacing theme in the vein of “Decepticons” or “Frenzy”. It’s just the style that’s missing here. I realize we fall on different sides though and it comes down to personal taste.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 19th, 2009 at 4:28 am
I like “Enstein’s Wrong” too, just less than all the other cues. Ooh I do like the Zimmer-like choirs.
When I first listened to the score, I found that the only cues I really liked were the ones that featured the themes from the first movie, Give it a few more listens. I’m sure you’ll find that the other stuff is great as well. At least that’s what happened to me (and still is)
glad to hear you liked it so much. It must be better than I thought if you give it a TEN.
By the way, using themes from the first way is a great way to add continuity to both films.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 3:17 am
I agree, but perhaps Jablonsky is overusing the Autobots theme a bit. A hint of it would be good enough for me. The pure consistency of the cues presented here is an overall package that is almost perfect.
I have to say, this score does sound much more evil than the original. I did get addicted to The Fallen.
Steve Jablonsky seemed to carry over 2 themes from the original: The Autobots theme and the Optimus Prime theme. The Optimus theme he changed quite a bit, using different key changes and notes, but it’s still recognizable. He also mostly uses a different rythm for the Autobots theme. It’s more driving, and almost desperate feeling, especially in “I Claim Your Sun.” I think he could have just filled in the score with more instruments in parts. In the just mentioned track, the autobots theme feels like it needs more meat to it, maybe an extra background layer or backing up theme line.
Something I’ve noticed is how Jablonsky seems to be using a higher orchestra to electronic ratio as time goes on. The Island was very electronic with not a lot of orchestra. Transformers had more, and Revenge of the Fallen uses much more.
Well, that’s just about it with my comment. I’d have to rate this score 8/10. I liked the first one better, but this is still great.
Jeremiah Pena´s last blog ..Sickness is Stupid 
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 3:20 am
Interesting comment about higher orchestra to electronic ratio. You are right, it seems that’s where he is going. Interestingly enough I rate The Island higher than the first Transformers score, then this above both those scores. Will be exciting to see what he does next.
I loved this score. There are not words to express how much love I have for it. Steve, Hans and everyone else involved have my undying admiration and respect. My idea of heaven. Absolutely amazing. Its so rare that a score comes along you can fall so totally in love with.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 19th, 2009 at 4:31 am
It is very rare… There are only a few of these gems floating around, very few. It’s almost perfect. I think Jablonsky went inside my head and discovered the formula hehe. Wonderful score.
Chad Reply:
June 19th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
that’s lord of the rings for me.
I just found out an interesting similarity between this score and Angels and Demons! In the track “Precious Cargo” there is a repeating sound like a mix between a bell and hammer hitting something every 2 measures for the first 30 seconds. In Angels and Demons Immolation track, at 2:06 and afterwards a couple of times you get an identical sound. I don’t know if it’s just some weird acoustic instrument, or if it’s a synth reuse or something.
Jeremiah Pena´s last blog ..Dark Troubles – Movie Edition
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 20th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Well Jablonsky usually imitates Zimmer. In The Island for example he uses the theme from “Now We Are Free”. After all, he is Zimmer’s disciple 
Best this decade? O_o Haven’t listened to much else this?
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:24 am
Could well be… It’s nearing the end now and this is as good as it will be… The Island might trump it, but it’s too soon to tell.
Now that I’ve seen the movie, I am very anxious to sign any petition that might happen to request a fuller release. I was VERY pleased to see that Jablonsky used the Scorponok theme AT LEAST once, and caught MANY other usages of themes from the first movie that were subtle, re-recorded, and blended perfectly with this score. I actually laughed when I heard the “Sam At The Lake/Witwicky” theme, cause it was used during a Simmons/Leo moment.
Admittedly, on my first listen, I was dissapointed. I too had VERY high expectations for this score, and I was upset that the ONLY theme he really reused was the Autobot theme. However, on the second listen, I found that I actually did like quite a lot of the new songs, and that each usage of any first movies theme simply elevated that song. Now that I’ve seen the movie, I actually adore a lot of the new material. My favorites are definitely Forest Battle, The Shard, The Matrix of Leadership, and maybe Tomb of the Primes.
Oh, and anyone know where Infinite White is played? I’ve been trying to figure that out, but I’m still unsure…
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 25th, 2009 at 11:53 am
As you now have seen (and heard) there are lots of material left out of the released score.
I was also disappointed when I heard it at first and was only really pleased when I heard the cues with the Autobot theme. There’s so much good stuff in the score and I have to say that this score will entertain me for years, probably forever.
Laura Reply:
June 30th, 2009 at 4:37 am
After seeing it AGAIN (of course!!) after knowing the soundtrack by heart, I’m especially pissed. Jablonsky used EVERY. SINGLE. THEME. from the first movie AT LEAST once. Including the All Spark/Bumblebee one. Which KILLS me, since that’s my favorite. And never did it sound identical to the songs from the original score – it was always changed up. So WHY oh WHY isn’t it on this score?! That wouldn’t be repetitive whatsoever.
I also realized that I absolutely adore this score, but now having seen the movie again, I recognize my problem with it: It sounded incomplete to begin with. Which it definitely is. Definitely hoping the rest of the material will either get released in an expanded version, or leaked, because I’m sorry, but the first Transformers score was practically perfect, and I want this one to be too.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 30th, 2009 at 4:45 am
It will be I’m sure. A full release will come, either through official or unofficial channels. Can’t wait for the FULL experience.
ah where to begin?i stumbled upon this site after a quick google search for “the dark knight soundtrack review” which in opinion is one of the best,if not the best,soundtrack for any movie. but thats not my point.so i came back here to read your opinion of Steve’s latest.
now i whole-heartedly agree with all of what you stated above,but i do not think that it deserves a 10 per se.
why?
its simply not better than the first one.there i said it!
over-use of the beautiful theme found in “optimus” quickly turn it stale.other issues include Steve’s thoughts of the second movie.he(maybe producers) opted for a darker tone which is evident in the soundtrack.now thats fine with me but there were many “epic” moments in the movie that were slapped with the “optimus” theme and it simply did not cut it .the main theme that everybody recognizes and loves,is in fact,the “scorponock” theme which shows up a paltry ONE time! and only for half a minute!this theme should have showed up on the soundtrack,and it would have given the “oomph” the soundtrack desperately craves.
all in all i would give it a 7,maybe 8.
Pro’s: very beautiful choir
brings back memorable anthems
Con’s: over-used themes
not enough “bombastic” themes which Steve is more than capable of creating.
Thank you for your time 
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 30th, 2009 at 4:05 am
Thank you for your insightful comment!
Interesting that you found my Transfomers review with a search for The Dark Knight though.
Yes, the Scorponok theme was great, but it doesn’t mean it needs to be heard in the new movie. I’ve heard it, I loved it, but luckily I can love other things, such as this score. It’s heavier, darker and definitely more cool than the first score.
It’s just my opinion though and yours is just as good. Thank you so much for sharing it
Junichi Reply:
September 16th, 2009 at 4:51 am
This may seem like a out of topic question, but there exactly does the Scorponok theme play? I mean, during what scene? Thanks in advance!
your welcome.
but just to clear things up,i didnt mean that it should be heard all the time,im just saying that it would have been more suited for specific themes than just the “optimus” theme,which after watching Transformers 2 twice,is quite evident.does nobody else yearn for more of Jablonsky’s genius found in Gears of War 2 and in Transformers 1?
hey Jorn! i think you might have heard it already,but i would like you to listen to “Armored Prayer” for the GoW2 soundtrack.THAT is a TRUE example of what Steve Jablonsky is capable of! The Transformers 2 OST definately needs that cutting-edge theme that would in fact,complete it.
Like you said this is only my opinion,but i like having calm debates with people who know what they are talking about
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 30th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Gears of War 2 is far inferior to Transformers 1 and 2. There’s a few good cues on GoW 2 though like ‘Expectations’ and ‘Armored Prayer’ but overall it’s not consistent enough. Listen to C&C 3: Tiberium Wars for an awesome Jablonsky-experience. He did that score with Trevor Morris. ‘Blue Control’ have me reaching for my battle gear
nedved5000 Reply:
June 30th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
i did not mean in my last comment that the GoW2 soundtrack was better,i simply said that Steve should have included a “heroic” theme SUCH AS “armored prayer”.you cannot tell me that the Transformers 2 soundtrack did not need its own heroic theme.
i shall give “blue control” a good listen,but i already know that Steve is capable of it.im just wondering why on god’s earth he didnt compose one for Transformers 2!
and i stand by my statement: “Scorponock should have been included in the OST”
alright put it in the movie once,but do not let a great track such as that fade away as a memory.
haha ill stop bothering you now
i just wanted to make my point heard
Well, we don’t differ as radically as we don’t on Outlander, but the gap between our ratings is still wide. I found this score to be completely on Zimmeresque autopilot, lacking competent thematic development and a distinct aversion to originality. The new themes are too simple and are regrettably restrained to singular cues. Most of the vocal work (which conceptually is a welcome addition) apes prior MV scores. The old themes mostly get lip service, with only Prime’s theme getting acceptable variations. There’s nothing new here, and even if one likes the material (I did enjoy the first Transformers score in a guilty-pleasure fashion) there is nothing in the album that suggests masterpiece, especially with so many other, better MV/RC scores scattered throughout the decade.
Jon Blough´s last blog ..WS: Trip to FeilongShan
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
July 11th, 2009 at 3:56 am
Interesting that you found it of Zimmeresque quality. I found it quite different. Zimmer usually always incorporates some themes in his work (even if some are well hidden), but here there wasn’t much of that (except the themes from the first Transformers movie). Themes is not what I wanted here and I got just that. Ok, the choirs are Zimmeresque, I’ll give you that. There’s a lot of new material here however that makes this score stand head and shoulder over most MV scores. Nest for example is an excellent theme on it’s own (but it’s not Jablonsky’s original work). The Shard is another great cue with some great choir works and the composition reminds me slightly of The Island, another marvelous score by Jablonsky.
‘Infinite White’ also deserves special mention. One of the more “quiet” cues here, but the beautiful voice makes it worthwhile. ‘Heed Our Warning’ is just great the way it starts and the rhythm of it. The choir adds to the doom-like cue making this an easy favorite.
Almost all the cues make it an almost perfect mix and it’s even better when you mix them all together (I’ve created a continuous score to create a massive cue and play it on my mp3 player on a daily basis). It’s like a big adventure, a massive story and each day I learn something new.
[...] 06. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen by Steve Jablonsky Before I start I have to say something: This is a great action score. An over the top action score that doesn’t hold back. Yes it’s quite anonymous . Steve Jablonsky, Michael Bay and Hans Zimmer decided to not overuse the old themes and not create too much new stuff. Instead they just decided on pure action scoring of the highest grade and they succeed with this in my opinion. Yes it’s one of the “one night stands” type of scores that is incredibly good while you listen to it, but be honest, can you remember anything from it? For a pure impact score, they don’t come much better than this. Read my review here. [...]
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Well, I disagree. You seems you are really enthousiastic, a thing I usually have when doing a first listen. However after a few listens I get more critical
Here is my review I posted somewhere today in case someone is interested in a different opinion:
Well, after a few listens time for a mini-review.
In one word: okay but average
While I’m not a big fan of Remote Control (ex Media Ventures) scores I really enjoyed Transformers 1. It wasn’t the biggest achievement in scores but it was really fun to listen to. Great and many themes, lot’s of choir, nice motives. So I was really looking forward to this hoping for it to be even better but unfortunatly it isn’t.
Here is why:
- too short. With clocking in on 40 minutes this is way too less music for a movie that lasts for 2 hours and 20 minutes
- too much ambience tracks, too less action music. Since The Dark Knight the Remote Control team is putting lots and lots of ambience music on their disks (Angels & Demons and Wolverine, Outlander spring to mind). While one track on each album isn’t a problem, flilling 80% of it with ambience tracks isn’t good. If you listen to this soundtrack it seems more like a thriller or drama movie instead of the biggest action blockbuster of 2009. A lot more ‘heavy’ music would have been much better. Besides most RC fans favour this kind of heavy tracks…
- too less reprises of original themes: this is a sequel isn’t it? It features the same characters who hopefully progressed. So I would have hoped for progressions and variations on many of the old themes. Unfortunatly that is limited to only a few minutes of the entire disk which is a shame.
- lot’s of reuse: You can hear exactly on which previous Zimmer or Jablonsky each track was based. There is some Gears 2, some Transformers 1, some Chainsaw Massacre, some Desperate Housewives, some Angels & Demons, … But this isn’t anything abnormal when it comes to RC. Esp Jablonsky seem to follow the same approach concept for each score with a choral dramatic reprise of the theme as last track.
Some positive notes:
- Lisbeth Scott as singer. She is great, superb and wonderful as usual
- Although there a lot of drama tracks, they are fairly good. Jablonsky is good at drama and comedy (desp housewives, sims3)
Conclusion: after all not a bad score imo. It isn’t the masterpiece everyone was hoping for and I’m still waiting for the Lair, Outcast and Stardust of 2009. Luckily it’s only June and we’ll get there eventually…
7.5/10
Reply
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 17th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Thanks for your thoughts!
I admit that when I first listened to it I wasn’t very impressed. The best parts were the themes from the first movie, but it grew on me.
I’ve listened to it about 8 times now in its entirety and its get better at each listen.
I agree with you on one point: It’s waaaay to short. That however isn’t Jablonsky’s fault. I’m sure a complete version will be around soon.
As for ambient tracks I disagree. Each one has it’s charm, some heavy, some lighter, some that uses themes and some that use hard action. If you only listened to it a few times, I can understand that, but I can definitely separate track from track and have my clear favorites. Wolverine is a great example of what you describe. It just doesn’t get better with time.
Even if it’s a sequel, a hint of a theme from the previous movie is more than enough. Excellent examples of this are Angels & Demons and Terminator Salvation which both were excellent. In Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen you get lots of cues that features the Autobots theme from the first movie. In Angels & Demons you get a couple and in Terminator Salvation you get a few more, but just hints of it.
Reuse is a great thing when used well. In this case, Jablonsky created the perfect mix of everything he has learned as a composer. Everyone does this. Brian Tyler, John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman. Sometimes it fails, sometimes it succeeds. It all depends on what you like.
I do prefer the action Jablonsky compared to the drama Jablonsky. Sims 3 and Desp. Housewives are decent, but he should stick to what he knows. D-War and Transformers are examples of scores which will stick with you (well at least me).
Reply
Licenturion Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 6:52 am
Well,
For me it was exactly the opposite. When I listened to the Amazon samples a few days ago I was going crazy too with how awesome it was. But when hearing the full product is was slightly disappointed. Because it is an action movie I hoped to see many cool action tracks like D-War for instance (which is a great score). Unfortunately this score has a really slow pacing for being probably the most heavy action movie of 2009.
The problem is (I think) that Jablonsky or the record company wanted to give the public something new and something really easy accessible and easy listenable. This can only explain the lack of action tracks. And epic action is what Zimmer and Jablonsky do best.
I know I will probably give this score a 9.5/10 when the ‘expanded edition’ comes out cause I have a strong feeling the best stuff isn’t in this score. However the previous ‘expanded edition’ was never indented to be leaked to the general public and I really hope people will be careless this time around and that again an expanded edition leaks.
We got a full score of Transformers 1 thanks to a petition. Maybe we should make a petition for a 2CD release after some time (like it was the case with The Dark Knight).
Anyway as long as I didn’t hear the full promo I stay with my arguments and final score. But I’m very sure those will be invalid after a full release. Hopefully we don’t have to wait too long of indefinitely…
Reply
Licenturion Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 7:17 am
Yay: Deluxe edition is coming. Now I hope there are more tracks and it just isn’t the same album with some extra postcards:
http://tformers.com/article.php?sid=11578
Still I think that a petition is in order. You never know…
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 7:35 am
A petition sounds perfect. I’m in! I noticed your comments on the special edition. I wonder… Hope it’s not the Various Artist and Score album in one…
Licenturion Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Great any candidates to write one?
English is not my mother tongue and I’m not that good in making an English text. I know a good places for spreading it though…
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Yeah I know there’s a place for that, but I can’t remember what it was. I guess we have to wait for the special edition details first.
Andres Vargas Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
There has to be a special edition because the movie is said to be very long!
It will need more than 44 mins of music.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 19th, 2009 at 4:25 am
It needs a double CD… stat!
Jon Blough Reply:
June 19th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
I haven’t heard the score yet as it hasn’t been legitimately released, so I can’t comment on its content. However, numerous posts as well as the review seem to have quite the logical fallacy going on: griping about how short the album is. Two issues:
1. Good God, we don’t even know if the rest of the music is any good yet. The film isn’t out for a week! For all we know the rest of the music could be redundant. There were no necessary cues on the promo for the first film that didn’t make the commercial album. Various other “complete bootlegs” feature either repetitive cues or banal underscore as the primary additions, with The Mummy being a good example. Even with the film’s length, I don’t know how you can gripe about missing material when, for all you know, it may not be any good.
2. You all lose the right to complain about length when you illegitimately acquire the score, which all y’all had to have done considering the album and the Itunes releases are not available. Studios are not going to spend more money to release a longer album (or release a special edition) when they know numerous potential buyers will just download the score for free. One also has to consider the economic downturn as a reason to release smaller albums. Seriously, I would think someone would be rejoicing that the album actually got released around the film release date this time!
Besides, considering how notorious the MV/RC clan is for unleashing bootlegs, a bit of patience should probably solve your woes
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Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 19th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
1. The complete version of the first movie was spectacular though. Almost every cue stellar. They composed about 110 minutes of music for Revenge of the Fallen and I definitely want it all. Better with an official release than a bootleg, but I take whatever I get.
2. Are you serious? Just because you listen to something that’s not supposed to be out yet, you automatically lose the right to say anything about it? Well I’m sorry but that is utter bull*hit my friend
. Every opinion counts no matter how you acquire it. Your second point is definitely much better, however I don’t think they have to worry about that. It’s the 86th best selling album right now on Amazon. that’s massive. I’m not going into a piracy debate here, but I firmly believe that piracy isn’t hurting sales at all, but actually help sales. Reports I’ve read says that the people who download music illegally buys music 3-4 times more than those who don’t. And seriously… everyone’s rejoicing for the album… well not everyone, but most do. By the way, you don’t need to download it to listen to it either… its all on YouTube pretty much. Is that bad too?
That being said. Original is best and I hope everyone that has downloaded it to listen to it will end up buying it, and everyone else. Quality like this doesn’t come along often and if no one buys it… well then we’re in real trouble. I have faith in people
and the Amazon numbers prove my point as well.
Oh I believe it’s coming, but don’t confuse a wish for impatience… not here anyway and not judging by the comments.
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Jon Blough Reply:
June 19th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
1. Maybe a few cues were “spectacular” on the promo (which in most cases was still missing better cues like “Arrival To Earth”), but a bunch still fall into the banal underscore category (Angry Camaro, Crazy Grandfather, Mountain Dew) that disrupt a quality album presentation. Sometimes the full presentation is redundant, chopped up into little bits, or just not a very cohesive listening experience (the complete score for Tyler’s Timeline comes to mind) I’m not saying you’re wrong, for perhaps the full 110 minutes contains some better action or actual thematic development on the new themes. I just think these wishes are a bit prematuregiven that none of us have seen the film nor know what the missing stuff sounds like. There is something to be said for enjoying what we have.
2. I am not saying you do not have the right to voice your opinion, I’m just saying you aren’t on very firm footing. It just seems a bit illogical to say “how dare the record companies put out a shorter release that I have currently obtained without paying for?” I’m not trying to prompt a debate on whether piracy is good or bad; such “studies” can probably produce results either way, depending on their survey subject size and composition, thus I’m not sure if any are reliable. Sometimes piracy screws sales, sometimes it doesn’t. I think it probably hurts the more minor releases (Chris Tilton swears this is the reason we never saw a legitimate release for Fracture), but I’m no expert. If your review had come a week later, this obviously wouldn’t be an issue.
I’m not confusing a wish for impatience, but I know someone here said a petition for a complete score was in the works. JEEZ! That’s not as bad as people on forums griping about releases not being leaked more than two weeks in advance (like they have some “right” to such illegality), but it’s close.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 19th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
It’s all in the ear of the beholder I suppose. In my opinion, 1 more great cue makes it all worth it though. I do hope there’s more of course, but I’ll take whatever comes. Hmm, I don’t think it’s premature. Let’s take Star Trek for example. You gave it 10 and loved it. So did I. We both know there’s more out there, but you’re saying it’s premature to wish for it because we don’t know what it sounds like? That’s like saying you don’t look forward to any Giacchino score because you don’t know what it sounds like. It has absolutely nothing to do with enjoying what we have, because we clearly do. I would enjoy it if it was 30 minutes or 15 and I wouldn’t give it less than 10/10. If something is good, you want more of it right? That seems pretty normal to me, don’t you think?
2. I think you are overreacting. Where have you seen such harsh comments on the shortness of the score? In what context? Did someone actually say that this is thrash… to hell with Warner and Jablonsky for releasing such a short score? If they did (I haven’t seen it) then I absolutely agree with you that it’s ludicrous. However I don’t see where you are coming from on this. Care to enlighten us? I’m getting curious now. Chris Tilton may be right, or he may not. We will never know. I personally think there’s not enough interest for it, or maybe it is, but the the ones with the power of decision decided that there wasn’t. Personally I don’t see why Fracture should be released, but that’s me. Like I’ve said before: In a perfect world, we would get complete score releases of everything from the worst of the worst to the best of the best, but I know that it doesn’t work like that. There’s too much money involved.
As for my review coming now, there’s nothing new there. Every soundtrack review site has been “guilty” of that and every movie review site as well. It’s just the way of the world. Some lucky guys get review copies or promo CDs before the actual release, some don’t.
If your gripe is for someone to start a petition, then I’m more confused than ever. What is wrong with that? If I want to start a petition for let’s say extension of the weekend to one extra day for example, what difference does it make to you? It would be a boring world without passionate souls out there. I am obviously not on the forums you are on, but that sounds pretty bad (unless they are posted in a sarcastic and funny way of course)…
Lighten up
Jon Blough Reply:
June 20th, 2009 at 5:40 am
Since I didn’t see a “reply” button specifically on your last post I hope it works.
1. Goodness, I’m not saying one can’t look forward to music one hasn’t heard. Of course I look forward to scores by composers I like. But with missing music I normally hold off on saying, “MORE!” until I have an idea of what I’m missing. In the case of Star Trek, I’ve seen the film and I know there were some good cues missing, however I acknowledge that including all the erhu performances of Spock’s theme may have made the listening experience a bit redundant. Or take Giacchino’s own Up as another example. There’s probably seven cues missing from the album, with only the light introduction of Doug’s theme perhaps meriting inclusion. The rest appear to be performed similarly on tracks already released.
To each their own is certainly the case though. Take me about two years ago and I was clamoring for complete releases across the board. And of course if it’s a score you love as much as you love this one, then wanting more would probably make some sense. Still, seeing the film would probably help with the logic behind your written wishes for more music. Instead of saying “I want more” you could then say something like “section X of the movie features Y type of exciting music that deserves to be put on album”. Hence why I waited until I saw the films for the two scores I mention above: had to make sure 45 minute albums were doing the score justice.
2. It’s not that people are trashing the short release, rather it’s a bit of a bother that at least one poster here thought a petition should be forthcoming. Yes, perfect world=complete albums, but by my guess this leak has only been out for three days. From a studio perspective that seems a bit insulting for fans to say, “okay, heard your release before you put it out, and good job, but…MORE NOW!” Goodness, patience certainly paid off with Lord of the Rings. Maybe this slant is just a culture thing, with my generation wanting everything now and expecting it to arrive almost as quickly (again, the “how dare this album not be leaked now!” raving from other places comes to mind) ala “My Sweet 16″ style.
Now, being a moderately liberal individual I obviously have no problem with petitioning or people seizing initiative. Whether it makes sense or not can only be evaluated on a case by case basis. Saying “well, more music would be good, especially because of this absent cue” makes sense. Petitioning for a complete release BEFORE the commercial release date…not so much sense.
As for advance copies, I think if one actually picks up their own personal promotional copy, that’s cool. It means you have connections with people in the know and it works out for you. I’m totally in favor of that. If one downloads it off Rapidshare or Megaupload, well, that seems a bit different. Opportunism for sure. I mean, heck, I’m guilty of that in one instance (Fast and Furious because it was leaked three weeks in advance, and yes, I did still buy it), but after that I thought about it and felt it was, to a certain extent, cheating and promised myself I wouldn’t do it again. But I have no major qualms about you doing it since a) you can do whatever the hell you want and b) the more review the merrier.
And while writing this I’ve thought more about the piracy/Tilton stuff and I really think it does hurt the little guys. The major scores and composers will obviously get their commercial releases and sales. Note that Brian Tyler throws plenty of stocking stuffers in almost every album. Piracy is not THE END of the music industry nor will it cause all future albums to be shortened. But smaller scores like Fracture or Turning Point cannot immediately get that mainstream hype. Now, certainly the demand factor can solely affect the decision to avoid a commercial release, but I would think some head honchos would have to think enough potential buyers would download it on their own to make actual sales worthwhile. Of course, there is a flipside to this argument, that if the album were released in the first place then people wouldn’t download as much, further proving that we may never get to the bottom of this. I DO HOWEVER think that the increase in legitimate digital download providers have significantly lowered music costs. Goodness, CDs cost $17 at least at stores, yet I see scores like Revenge of the Fallen, Up, etc. available for less than $9. For many (myself included), that makes score loving a lot easier.
On a final note, I DO THINK the expanded release of this score is inevitable, for it appears to have fan hype going in the same manner that The Dark Knight did. My fear is that the company will fuck up the expanded release in a similar manner. Did anyone actually like the organization of the 2-disc set for that? First disc the same, second disc really just rehashing the same and not moving in a coherent manner, plus those idiotic remixes at the end. Hopefully the album sales were bad enough on that (I didn’t buy it, but enough folks who felt the same about the original release as I did told me the same things about the expanded to confirm that I didn’t need it) to make studios realize that’s not the way to go.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
June 20th, 2009 at 10:51 am
1. I hear what you’re saying. I can enjoy scores without ever seeing the movies however. I like to listen to scores before I watch the movies themselves. and I treat scores like I treat normal music albums. For example if I like a normal album very much I wouldn’t mind more songs on it in similar fashion. So I can safely say I want more without knowing it is good or not. I’m 100% certain there’s more good stuff out there so I don’t think it’s weird to want that.
2. I think piracy helps the little guy in the long run. Who has heard of Chris Tilton if it wasn’t for piracy? Because Fracture is being spread (and others I’m sure), his music is being spread. One person listens to it and his sister asks what music that is, sounds cool. Then they spread the word.. “hey I heard something cool the other day…” Before you know it, 10 people who never heard about Chris Tilton before now has bought Chris Tilton albums and is no doubt looking for more. I think if piracy were eradicated tomorrow, the prices of CDs would double or triple. If they know that people have no choice but to buy the albums, the price would skyrocket. Sad but true. The music industry is a terrible business… only in it for the money unfortunately. There needs to be some middle ground however. I wish they would realize that we’re living in a different world now… a different generation. They need to meet the little guy in the middle somewhere and come up with solutions that works well for everyone. Bottom line, people like Chris Tilton and other need to get paid for their work no matter how you look at it, but the way the record companies go, I fear the worst. Soon there will only be Hans Zimmer and Brian Tyler releases if they don’t open their eyes. I have always been a great fan of a monthly fee. MSN did it in Norway and I paid around $20 per month for full access to all their albums in their online store. That was great and I was a happy buyer. Unfortunately they stopped doing that and continued with their evil ways. As a result, my music diversity has gotten worse and I am more careful in what I listen to or buy. Shame really… There’s so much out there and the less popular artists never get the credit they deserve.
I liked the remixes on the 2nd CD of TDK. Great stuff. I agree with you on the rehashing of the music from CD1. There wasn’t much new, but I’m still glad I got it. ‘A Watchful Guardian’ was particularly good. I’d rather have more score than remixes when it comes down to it, which is why I prefer the Transformers 2CD bootleg release.