CD REVIEW - INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL + NEWS FROM TOP DOLLAR PR


Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Music by John Williams
Concord 7230856 (EU)
19 Tracks 77:28 mins


Nineteen years after he first swung onto our screens as archaelogist extrordinaire Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford returns, older and even more grizzled than before, and aided by young up-and-comer Shia LaBeouf, as he battles evil Soviets, lead by Cate Blanchett in a cold war-set adventure this time.
Of course, Lucas and Spielberg's composer of choice, John Williams, returns as well, and this generous album serves as a real nostalgia trip, commencing as it only can with the famous "Raiders March," which crops up pretty regularly throughout the subsequent score, with "Marian's Theme" from the original Indy adventure, Raiders of the Lost Ark," also making apperances, for the returning Karen Allen; and there's even a snippet of the "Map Room/Dawn" theme in "The Spell of the Skull."
But there are of course new themes on display here to, and "Call of the Crystal Skull" has a mysterious theme that initially builds to a crescendo, rather like the Krypton music calling to young Clark in the barn in Superman - The Movie;" but later becomes more intense and powerful; whilst "Irina's Theme" has a dark, seductive beauty. Quite a startling change from what has gone before comes with the splendidly catchy Latin American flavoured tune of "The Journey to Akator," complete with flutes, trumpets, guitars and percussive rhythm. And "Hidden Treasure and the City of Gold" is a standout cue, with its powerful and impressive climax, as is "The Departure;" whilst "Secret Doors and Scorpions" and later "Temple Ruins and the Secret Revealed" provide moments of vintage Williams menace, with the high pitched flutes reminiscent of much earlier work on the likes of Lost in Space and the original Star Wars trilogy.
Of course no Indy adventure would be complete without plenty of exciting action sequences and Williams shows he still possesses enough younthful vitality to provide splendid accompaniment, both light and more menacing, for the likes of "The Adventures of Mutt," "The Snake Pit," "A Whirl Through Academe," "The Jungle Chase," "Grave Robbers" and "Ants!"
The nine minute "Finale" of course reprises the "Raiders March," which brackets an interesting Russian tinged flight of fancy, along with the energetic "Adventures of Mutt" piece, and of course "Marian's Theme;" bringing this thoroughly entertaining album to a close.
The colourful accompanying booklet features stills from the film, together with Steven Spielberg's customary tribute to his composer and friend.

From Top Dollar PR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALONE IN THE DARK® SOUNDTRACK TO BE RELEASED BY MILAN RECORDS

- The Soundtrack to Alone in the Dark Features a Mesmerizing Score by Composer Olivier Deriviere Performed by Grammy Award-winning Choir The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices -

NEW YORK, May 22, 2008 – Atari Interactive Inc. and MILAN RECORDS today announced their first collaboration with the forthcoming MILAN RECORDS release on May 24, 2008 of the soundtrack to the highly anticipated action survival video game Alone in the Dark. The original Alone in the Dark created the survival horror genre and set the standard for later games. Developed by Eden Games, the new Alone in the Dark is set to reinvent the genre once again with unique innovations and thrilling gameplay.

The evocative score was composed by Olivier Deriviere (Obscure) and performed by world-famous, Grammy Award-winning choir The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices. The result is an energetic, memorable score that mixes orchestration with the unique sound of The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices.

“For its first release of a video game soundtrack, Milan Records is very proud to be associated with such a classic series as Alone in the Dark,” said Nick Bobetsky, VP Sales and Marketing, MILAN RECORDS. “This is an original and powerful soundtrack, which goes beyond what you would normally expect in a video game.”

Alone in the Dark follows paranormal investigator Edward Carnby as over the course of one apocalyptic night he must fight to survive and uncover the earth-shattering secret behind New York’s Central Park. With an exhilarating mix of gameplay, intense storytelling in a TV season style, unprecedented environmental interaction, and DVD chapter select feature which lets players move on if they get stuck, Alone in the Dark is set to change what players expect from action games.

Alone in the Dark is scheduled to ship on June 20^th in Europe and June 24th in North America on Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Windows-based PC, Wii™ and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, followed by PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system later in 2008. Classic soundtrack label MILAN RECORDS (City of God, Tsotsi, Flags of Our Fathers, Ghost, Monsoon Wedding, Pan’s Labyrinth) will release the album physically and digitally in North America on May 24^th and across Europe in late June.

Here’s what the press has to say about Alone in the Dark:

“Alone in the Dark’s sheer scale is simply mind-blowing.” – Gamesradar.com

“A fresh approach to video game storytelling” – Gamespot.com

Tracklisting:

1- Prelude to an End

2- Edward Carnby

3- The Fissure

4- Collapsing Floors

5- The Façade

6- Reception Hall

7- The Humanz

8- Who Am I?

9- Central Park

10- Crying NY

11- Loneliness

12- Bethesda Fight

13- Killing The Fissure

14- No More Humans

15- Truth

16- Niamam

17- The Light Carrier Test

18- Shto Li (A cappella)

19- The Final Gate

20- The Choice

21- An End for a Prelude

For more information on the game please visit www.centraldark.com/us

For more information about the soundtrack please contact Greg O'Connor-Read: greg@topdollarpr.com or +1 (702) 407-0935 www.milanrecords.com

Atari Interactive Inc is a wholly owned subsidiary of Infogrames Entertainment S.A.

About Infogrames Entertainment and Atari:

Infogrames Entertainment (IESA) is listed on the Paris Euronext stock exchange (ISIN code: FR0010478248) and has two principal subsidiaries: Atari Europe, a privately-held company, and Atari, Inc., a United States corporation listed on NASDAQ (OTC Pink Sheets: ATAR).

The Atari Group is an international producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment software for all market segments and in all existing game formats (Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony) and on CD-ROM for PC. Its games are sold in more than 60 countries.

The Atari Group’s extensive catalogue of popular games is based on original franchises (Alone in the Dark, V-Rally, Test Drive, etc.) and international licenses (Dragon Ball Z, Dungeons & Dragons, etc.).

For more information: http://www.atari.com

© 2008 Atari Europe SASU. All rights reserved.

Atari and the Atari logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc. Alone in the Dark is a registered trademark owned by Infogrames Entertainment SA in the US and other territories.

Safe Harbor Statement

With the exception of the historical information contained in this release, the matters described herein contain certain "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this release are not promises or guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. We caution you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein. Some of the factors which could cause our results to differ materially include the following: the loss of key customers, such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target, and GameStop; delays in product development and related product release schedules; loss of our credit facility; inability to secure capital; adapting to the rapidly changing industry technology, including new console technology; maintaining relationships with leading independent video game software developers; maintaining or acquiring licenses to intellectual property; fluctuations in the Company's quarterly net revenues and results of operations based on the seasonality of our industry; the termination or modification of our agreements with hardware manufacturers; and other factors described in our SEC filings.

The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company's expectations.

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