It never fails to amuse me how movies with comparable subject matter
always seem to get released at close to the same time. Whether it be AntZ
and A Bug’s Life, Saving Private
Ryan and The Thin Red Line, or Mission
to Mars and Red Planet, movie viewers these days a almost guaranteed
to be able to choose different takes on the same subject. As for those two
Mars-themed films, I have only seen Mission
to Mars so far. That film’s score, provided by Ennio Morricone,
was an unconventional orchestral excursion into the far reaches of space
that had some listeners either railing at their speakers or declaring that
it was preciously the quirkiness of it that made it interesting. I find
myself with those in the latter category. It truly was an odd little score
in places, but I found it to be quite enjoyable.
Graeme Revell’s score to the other Mars flick, Red
Planet, is decidedly even more unconventional than Morricone’s
entry. While the standard orchestral and choral elements are present, they
are pretty much buried under mounds of electronic music. Only occasionally
does the blending of synth and orchestra balance out, but when it does the
result is quite good. Still, even with the abundance of synth work, Revell knows how to handle it and it is quite good for what it is.
Thematic work is kept to a bare minimum in here with the repeated themes
and motifs mostly originating from Emma Shapplin’s choral work. Her
tracks are definitely what help Revell’s synth underscore work so much.
Her haunting voice is well-written for and the Latin-sounding lyrics help
to make her moments quite interesting. There are only three of those
tracks but they help the score tremendously. Of course, one must not
neglect to mention the talents of Melissa Kaplan in the Dante’s
Eternal Flame track. Indeed, the biggest draw of this score is the
unique chorus work that can be found here.
In addition to Revell’s score, there are also tracks from other
selected artists such as Sting and Peter Gabriel. None of these songs
really appealed to me and while the style is not that much of a departure
from Revell’s music, I felt that they were just interruptions between
the score tracks. I don’t know if any of these songs are in the film,
but even if they are I’m not too keen on their placement on the disc.
Overall, this is an interesting album, but it’s not for everyone.
Revell fans will probably be pleased, but the small amount of score
available on the CD might turn others off. Unless you’re interested in
interesting electronic work that is mixed with a conventional orchestra,
or you’re a fan of either Emma Shapplin or Melissa Kaplan, you might
want to skip on this. ***
