One
really has to applaud DreamWorks for their inclusion of full
orchestral scores in their PlayStation titles. After hearing the
score to the original Medal of Honor,
I promptly borrowed a friend's PlayStation and rented that game to see how
it played and how the music worked within the game. While the game itself is
very well designed and fun as it is, Giacchino's score really did wonders for
it. While the music didn't always match the action onscreen, it worked quite well in evoking
different moods for each level. In fact, the only reason I would buy a
PlayStation would be to able to play this game (something I
have been tempted to do). As soon as I had
finished reviewing Medal of Honor, I
checked to see what Giacchino's next project was to be, and, much to my
surprise, I found out that it was the score for the sequel. Well, Medal
of Honor: Underground is finally
here, and how well does it stack up to the original? Just like what a good
sequel should do, it expands on the original while keeping elements of
familiarity in place. But unlike most sequels, this score
actually surpasses the quality of the original in certain areas.
Giacchino
has been responsible for some outstanding video game scores, utilizing the
talents of the gifted Northwest Sinfonia orchestra. I am amazed at just how
large they sound considering that the number of players generally stands at
around sixty. For this score, Giacchino adds a full complement of 8th
grade boys to provide the chorus work, and the result is excellent. These
boys sound very professional, and they sometimes come off sounding more like
an adult chorus. The chorus work is really outstanding in this score. It
appears in a little less than half of the tracks, but it is always used effectively.
Since this score is a sequel to the original Medal
of Honor, some of the original themes from the first score are
present here and they are excellently infused with the new material. The
"Nazi menace theme" is the most recognizable (and it shows up
quite often in a nice degree of interesting forms), while a few others
appear here and there in slightly mutated arrangements. The score is still
in the same style as the original, though with the inclusion the accordion,
it really gives it more of a French-style theme to the main theme.
Giacchino really knows how to write for choral and it’s really
interesting, since his style is reminiscent of Danny Elfman in a way.
Thusly, you have the orchestral work in the tradition of John Williams
melded with the Elfman-sounding choral pieces and the end result is really
cool.
The music is a bit more subdued than what was found in Medal
of Honor. Of course, I don’t think the French resistance was much
into head-on fighting, so this is to be expected. Thankfully, Giacchino
pretty much always manages to keep things interesting, whether it is by
dropping in some of those excellent themes, or utilizing the choir. The
blending of themes and the choir delivers some excellent cues, with the best
one on the whole CD being The Battle of Monte Cassino. The pulsating
strings, the heavy thematic usage, and choral bits give that track a totally
epic feel. In fact I would say that it is the best cue I’ve ever heard
come from Giacchino (and many other composers for that matter). Another
great cue is The Motorcycle Chase (which comes right after the
awesome Battle of Monte Cassino track). This scherzo is similar in
tone to John Williams cue from Indiana Jones
and the Last Crusade, and it’s really cool to hear Giacchino match
that style. I like both cues, but I found Giacchino’s to be somewhat more
interesting. Of course, this is really just comparing apples to
oranges.
The differing locales in the
game also gave Giacchino a chance to alter his style to match the settings,
and this results in some really cool Greek-styled music in The Road to
Tobruk and Escape from Casablanca. What is really interesting about
these two tracks is that Giacchino builds up a little theme in the first one
which then gets played out in the second. The theme never reappears again,
but it is handled quite well in those two tracks. Another cool twist is how
Giacchino contrasts The Streets of Paris with Returning to Paris.
While the first track is ominous sounding, Returning to Paris has a
more militaristic sound which comes to a head in the very next track, Beneath
the City. A handful of bonus tracks end the CD. There are two versions
of the French-styled song, Each Night He Comes Home to Me, with one
track being the actual recording and the other being a mocked radio
broadcast, an alternate performance of the main title (the ending is more
dependent on the brass section), and the opening narration of the game
(which is unlisted and is actually a pretty cool track).
If you loved the original Medal of
Honor, you can’t afford to be without its sequel. Fans of John
Williams should definitely check this one out as well. Heck, if you love
film music in general, GET THIS! I know this CD will get a lot of playtime
out of me. *****
Interview
with Michael Giacchino about Medal of Honor: Underground
