Soundtrack Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
| Reviewer: JØrn Tillnes |
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Soundtrack Review: This is a review of the film score Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides by Hans Zimmer & Rodrigo Y Gabriela.
"As much as I enjoy the Hans Zimmer material, I can't overcome the disappointment with this release"
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me! Shiver me timbers, Hans Zimmer returns to Disney and the fourth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. This time he has gotten the duo Rodrigo y Gabriela to dazzle us with some latin rhythms to go with the film. Directed by Rob Marshall, Jack Sparrow is back with Barbossa to find the fountain of youth. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley is out and in comes Penelope Cruz. Much hyped before release, can the score bring back those amazing moments from the previous scores?
Track List
| 1. Guilty of Being Innocent of Being Jack Sparrow | ***** |
| 2. Angelica (Featuring Rodrigo Y Gabriela) | **** |
| 3. Mutiny | ***** |
| 4. The Pirate That Should Not Be (by Rodrigo Y Gabriela) | *** |
| 5. Mermaids | ***** |
| 6. South of Heaven's Chanting Mermaids (by Rodrigo Y Gabriela) | *** |
| 7. Palm Tree Escape (Featuring Rodrigo Y Gabriela) | ***** |
| 8. Blackbeard | *** |
| 9. Angry and Dead Again (by Rodrigo Y Gabriela) | *** |
| 10. On Stranger Tides | **** |
| 11. End Credits | ***** |
Remixes
What will disappoint and shock many fans of the previous Pirates scores are the fact that there are 7 remix tracks by DJ Earworm, Adam Freeland and others. They take up over 32 minutes of what could be more music from Zimmer. Furthermore you have Rodrigo Y Gabriela that takes up 15 minutes of the score not to mention the two tracks 'Angelica' and 'Palm Tree Escape' that feature the group. That leaves only 25 minutes of pure Zimmer/RCP-time. There has been stories on the production of the album and it features around 8 composers so nothing new there in other words.
It seems Disney has gotten remix-crazy after the Tron Legacy remix album. Unfortunately the remixes doesn't work at all unlike some of the remixes on for example "The Dark Knight". It is truly to be avoided at all costs...
Rodrigo Y Gabriela brings some latin flair to the score with their gritty guitar work and yes it sounds pirate-y and they use a lot of Zimmer's themes. However, as much as I tried to enjoy the music with them, it got terribly underwhelming for me after listening to Hans Zimmer's over-the-top action music on here, which I enjoyed immensely.
The fun is back with great cues like 'Guilty of Being Innocent of Being Jack Sparrow' that includes some old favorites like the Jack Sparrow theme, then you have the powerful 'Mutiny' that actually has some new material in it. Just a shame it is so short. 'Mermaids' takes a long time with whispering and chants before it really gets going, but it's still a great track. 'Palm Tree Escape' is another favorite of mine that reprises the old themes.
There aren't much new material here, but fans of the previous scores should at least get some enjoyment out of this.
Conclusion
As much as I enjoy the Hans Zimmer material, I can't overcome the disappointment with this release. If I could take out the remixes and the Rodrigo Y Gabriela stuff and add more Zimmer, this would be perfect, but as it is, it's a real mess. I don't know who listens to these remixes, but it's surely not us film music fans, is it? Maybe people who don't like the score itself might put themselves through the ear torture. If I were you I would just buy the Zimmer tracks myself, but it's too little for my comfort.
CUE RATING: 81.6
->Buy the MP3 Album on Amazon<-
Listen to the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides soundtrack by Hans Zimmer & Rodrigo Y Gabriela below:
blog comments powered by Disqus
