CD REVIEW - BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT + NEWS FROM SCREEN ARCHIVES ENTERTAINMENT
Batman: Gotham Knight
Music by Christopher Drake, Robert J. Kral & Kevin Manthei
La-La Land Records LLLCD 1074 (US)
26 Tracks 63:10 mins
Out on DVD is the animated feature Batman: Gotham Knight, a collection of stories following on from the live action feature Batman Begins. Perhaps surprisingly, Dynamic Music Partners, who have written such fine music for previous Batman animations, were not involved, but instead producer Bruce Timm turned to Christopher Drake, who scored two Hellboy animations; Robert J. Kral, best known for his work on Buffy spin-off Angel, and Kevin manthei, who recently scored Justice League: The New Frontier (also available on La-La Land Records) to provide the scores for each episode, which also feature widely different styles of animation, incidentally.
All the music is electronically created and performed by the composers, though live instruments do feature in "Have I Got a Story For You (guitar), and "Crossfire" and "Working Through Pain" (woodwinds and ethnic woodwinds).
Drake's scores are for the aforementioned opening episode "Have I Got a Story For You," and "In Darkness Dwells." The former introduces the Batman character through the eyes of four skater kids and a kind of alternative/punk rock sound, featuring guitars, as aforementioned, and drums, was decided upon for them, but for the kids' differing accounts of their encounter with the Batman, "The Living Shadow" features much bombast, dissonance and atonality; "Batmonster," receives a traditional 40s & 50s B-movie monster music approach, with again some powerful action writing; and a deal of metallic percussion features in the somewhat similar "Robobat" account's music. All this after a suitably grandious opening "Main Title" theme, featuring sampled choir. For "In Darkness Dwells," written by the co-writer of the new Batman live-action films, David Goyer, and featuring Batman Begins villain the Scarecrow, Drake aimed to write music that evoked the scores for those films, along with his own original themes, resulting in some dark electronic atmospheres, as well as more traditonally heroic and powerful action moments.
"Field Test" and "Deadshot" were scored by Kral. The former is pretty uninspiring, with only the last of the three featured tracks having any "life" to it, in its brief moments of action. "Deadshot" receives poignant keyboard-lead scoring for the opening "Parents Killed," but much of the music is dark and determined, with a march-like quality in early tracks, and some powerful action writing in "Gordon/Batman/The Train."
Manthei's contributions are for "Crossfire" and "Working Through Pain." The former is certainly far removed from anything else on this disc, with an Eastern quality (featuring ethnic woodwinds as aforementioned) and also a cold, electronic, almost otherwordly feel, enhanced by sampled choir. One of the ethnic instruments used in "Crossfire" also features in "Working Through Pain," as Bruce Wayne searches for help in dealing with his parents' deaths, along with other typically Indian sounds. Neither score will again find their way onto my CD player, I am afraid - not my cup of tea at all.
The album concludes with an "End Credits Suite," which features the best and worst moments from the scores.
To sum it all up, Drake's and, to a lesser degree, Kral's is the kind of music one expects for a Batman film, unlike the Zimmer/Howard efforts, and, for me, it certainly makes for a more satisfying listening experience, away from the film at least, than that esteemed composing team's efforts. As for Manthei, well, I've enjoyed much of his past work (that I've heard), and can only feel very disappointed by his music for Batman: Gotham Knight.
The accompanying booklet is particularly fine in that not only does it feature plenty of stills, but each composer provides introductory notes on his work for the film.
Order your copy from www.lalalandrecords.com.
From: SCREEN ARCHIVES ENTERTAINMENT
Batman: Gotham Knight
Music by Christopher Drake, Robert J. Kral & Kevin Manthei
La-La Land Records LLLCD 1074 (US)
26 Tracks 63:10 mins
Out on DVD is the animated feature Batman: Gotham Knight, a collection of stories following on from the live action feature Batman Begins. Perhaps surprisingly, Dynamic Music Partners, who have written such fine music for previous Batman animations, were not involved, but instead producer Bruce Timm turned to Christopher Drake, who scored two Hellboy animations; Robert J. Kral, best known for his work on Buffy spin-off Angel, and Kevin manthei, who recently scored Justice League: The New Frontier (also available on La-La Land Records) to provide the scores for each episode, which also feature widely different styles of animation, incidentally.
All the music is electronically created and performed by the composers, though live instruments do feature in "Have I Got a Story For You (guitar), and "Crossfire" and "Working Through Pain" (woodwinds and ethnic woodwinds).
Drake's scores are for the aforementioned opening episode "Have I Got a Story For You," and "In Darkness Dwells." The former introduces the Batman character through the eyes of four skater kids and a kind of alternative/punk rock sound, featuring guitars, as aforementioned, and drums, was decided upon for them, but for the kids' differing accounts of their encounter with the Batman, "The Living Shadow" features much bombast, dissonance and atonality; "Batmonster," receives a traditional 40s & 50s B-movie monster music approach, with again some powerful action writing; and a deal of metallic percussion features in the somewhat similar "Robobat" account's music. All this after a suitably grandious opening "Main Title" theme, featuring sampled choir. For "In Darkness Dwells," written by the co-writer of the new Batman live-action films, David Goyer, and featuring Batman Begins villain the Scarecrow, Drake aimed to write music that evoked the scores for those films, along with his own original themes, resulting in some dark electronic atmospheres, as well as more traditonally heroic and powerful action moments.
"Field Test" and "Deadshot" were scored by Kral. The former is pretty uninspiring, with only the last of the three featured tracks having any "life" to it, in its brief moments of action. "Deadshot" receives poignant keyboard-lead scoring for the opening "Parents Killed," but much of the music is dark and determined, with a march-like quality in early tracks, and some powerful action writing in "Gordon/Batman/The Train."
Manthei's contributions are for "Crossfire" and "Working Through Pain." The former is certainly far removed from anything else on this disc, with an Eastern quality (featuring ethnic woodwinds as aforementioned) and also a cold, electronic, almost otherwordly feel, enhanced by sampled choir. One of the ethnic instruments used in "Crossfire" also features in "Working Through Pain," as Bruce Wayne searches for help in dealing with his parents' deaths, along with other typically Indian sounds. Neither score will again find their way onto my CD player, I am afraid - not my cup of tea at all.
The album concludes with an "End Credits Suite," which features the best and worst moments from the scores.
To sum it all up, Drake's and, to a lesser degree, Kral's is the kind of music one expects for a Batman film, unlike the Zimmer/Howard efforts, and, for me, it certainly makes for a more satisfying listening experience, away from the film at least, than that esteemed composing team's efforts. As for Manthei, well, I've enjoyed much of his past work (that I've heard), and can only feel very disappointed by his music for Batman: Gotham Knight.
The accompanying booklet is particularly fine in that not only does it feature plenty of stills, but each composer provides introductory notes on his work for the film.
Order your copy from www.lalalandrecords.com.
SHAFT ANTHOLOGY FEATURING THE UNHEARD ORIGINAL SCORE BY THE LATE MUSIC LEGEND ISAAC HAYESAnd
THE MGM SOUNDTRACK TREASURY WITH 20 PREVIOUSLY UNAVAILABLE CD SCORES!
For more detailed information, click on this URL:
http://www.screenarchives.com/email.cfm?eid=6
posted by jeffhall | 5:52 AM
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