Soundtrack Review: Land of the Lost (2009)

Posted by Jon Blough

June 18, 2009

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This is a review of the motion picture score Land of the Lost by Michael Giacchino.

“With so many stylistic elements the album comes off as remarkably consistent. Applause for taking the time to weave everything together”

So, this score has a prominent main theme, right? That would seem to be the case for Michael Giacchino’s scores of 2009, with Star Trek and UP both being dominated by a flexible major motif and smartly developing a number of fine secondary motifs. However, Land of the Lost pulls a 180 and instead introduces a flurry of motifs, none of which are a dominant personality. Such an approach does remove an emotional component, but with the film’s adventure comedy attitude and haphazard plotline, the score could really be nothing more than pure action. Given that, the music does mark the end of the composer’s 09 hot streak, but its fusion of fun, B-grade TV adventure interpretations and tribal atmosphere is ridiculous fun.

Tribal Feel

Firmly planting the tribal feel is the exotic, varied use of percussion that that never gets stale and remains tremendously exciting. Its presence in “The Ones That Got Away” and “When Piss On Your Head Is A Bad Idea” is wildly enthusiastic and a great addition to Giacchino’s rumbling style of action, with the latter cue featuring some woodwind bouncing that could have found a home in his Medal of Honor scores. Its mixture with a theremin performance of the Sleestak theme (rising two-note sets) makes for one of the most fun cues on the album, mainly because as a B-movie adventure homage it doesn’t feel cheesy. Certainly when added to piano rumbling and tense strings the approach exudes the composer’s Lost style, yet the epic approach prevents overt familiarity.

Other listeners will look at the other wild insertions as the more addictive. The brief uses of French horn players on conch shells (yes, you read that right) create a demented train whistle. Some folksy twanging shows up in “Enik Calls For Marshall” and “The Cosmic Lost And Found.” “When Piss On Your Head Is A Bad Idea” has a light electronic guitar beat rolling behind it. Yet when all these elements get together, the score REALLY clicks. I doubt anyone will raise their hand saying they knew all the above elements would play at once in the oddball “End Credits Can Suck It!”. Perhaps the disco-underscore feel of “In Search of…Holly” is one stylistic shift too many, though it is very brief

More Melodic

Towards the second half of the album the score does start to become more melodic. “Never Trust A Dude In A Tunic” exudes some of Up’s Golden Age romanticism to start, while “If You Don’t Make It, It’s Your Own Damn Vault” and “Stakbusters” throw in enough driving heroism to feel like a climax. Still, the emotional resonance that could make this score great remains absent due to so much motif usage feeling secondary. Along with the new motifs introduced for heroism and love in the above cues, a jokingly militaristic theme enters in “Food For Thought”, and there are also the two-themes for the T-Rex and the Sleestaks. All are serviceable in construct and used in a lot of fun ways, but they don’t stick like any of the secondary themes in Up (The Spirit of Adventure) or Star Trek (Spock or Nero’s theme).

Two ideas do pop up with the most frequency. A seven-note descending-than-ascending mystery theme that at first glance seems mostly subtle, sneaking briefly into “Enik Calls For Marshall, but later moments explode with enough brass and strong choral backup (“The Crystal Cave” and “Crystal Clear” being the best) to let you know the score doesn’t plan on being anonymous. The second is an offbeat action march that isn’t anything exceptional but remains a bit memorable due to its jolts and frequency, especially when given great dark choir backup in “Undercover Sleestak”. Either motif could have found a home in a TV adventure show for the 60s or 70s, which when you consider the concept is actually quite intelligent scoring. Still, neither receives enough performances to really be considered the primary identity of the score.

Conclusion

One idea I wish had been expanded on more is the original Land of the Lost theme, which is probably unrecognizable to most listeners even in its full presentation in “Ready and Will”. References are done on electric bass and guitar in “A Routine Expedition” as well as 2:35 into “The Greatest Earthquake Ever Known” on brass. Yet with the composer ripping apart the original Speed Racer theme in so many fantastic ways last year, it’s hard not to feel some slight disappointment. It serves as the last staple for a very diverse thematic presentation that doesn’t always remain the most engaging, at least by this composer’s standards. However, with so many stylistic elements the album comes off as remarkably consistent, and Giacchino deserves plenty of applause for taking the time to weave everything together rather than randomly hoping something sticks.

Album (60:38)
1. Swamp And Circumstance (1:25)
2. The Lighter Side Of Archaeology (1:03)
3. Food Coma For Thought (1:01)
4. A Routine Expedition (:48)
5. The Greatest Earthquake Ever Known (3:12)
6. Matt Lauer Can Suck It (1:22)
7. Chaka Chasedown (:43)
8. The Ones That Got Away (4:17)
9. Enik Calls For Marshall (1:16)
10. Sleestak Attack (2:01)
11. Enik The Altrusian (3:20)
12. The Cosmic Lost And Found (1:34)
13. When Piss On Your Head Is A Bad Idea (3:54)
14. A New Marshall In Town (1:37)
15. Pterodactyl Ptemper Ptantrum (:42)
16. The Crystal Cave (1:43)
17. In Search Of … Holly (1:34)
18. Undercover Sleestak (2:18)
19. Never Trust A Dude In A Tunic (4:17)
20. If You Don’t Make It, It’s Your Own Damn Vault (2:40)
21. Holly Mad As Sin (:50)
22. Sleestak Showdown (:53)
23. Stakbusters (2:33)
24. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT (1:27)
25. Crystal Clear (2:31)
26. Mystery Cave Reunion (1:22)
27. Ready And Will (1:36)
28. End Credits Can Suck It! (3:26)
29. Pop Goes The Sleestak (:16)
30. A Routine Expedition (Version 1) (:50)
31. The Devil’s Canyon Mystery Cave (Version 1) (2:04)
32. Crystal Clear (Film Version) (2:19)