CD REVIEW - ERASER


Eraser
Music by Alan Silvestri
La-La Land Records LLLCD 1129 (US)
21 Tracks 77:18 mins

There was a time, not so long ago, when Arnold Schwarzenegger was less concerned with the needs of the people and more concerned with blowing them away - on the cinema screen at least. The press also liked to pit him against another big box office draw, Sylvester Stallone, whether their rivalry was real or just their invention. Composer Alan Silvestri at least decided to treat them the same. His score for Eraser, here presented by La-La Land as a much expanded limited edition release of 300 units, could almost have been lifted from Stallone's Judge Dredd a year earlier, so stylistically similar is it. OK, so we don't quite get the bombastic Judge Dredd march but Eraser's main theme comes perilously close.
Altogether there are 8 previously unreleased tracks on this album, plus 4 are expanded from the previous album release, and it even includes the unused "Main Title" track - some 34 minutes of new music.
The film concerns Arnie trying to protect Vanessa Williams' witness on the run and, as such, there is plenty of tension and action in Silvestri's score. All the tension and suspense does get a bit boring at times, so I won't go into every track in detail, but there is plenty of meaty and dramatic action writing to be found in many of the tracks, often featuring the dirge-like main theme (which also appears in more heroic mode): you just have to wade through the suspenseful stuff to get to it.
Another theme or motif that plays a big part in the score is that denoting Arnie's character, which first appears in "You've Been Erased," in the form of a wailing electric guitar; and appropriately Predator-like jungle drums are added to it in "It's a Jungle," which briefly bleeds into "You're Luggage."
There are sympathetic moments for Williams' character to be found, with her gentle theme cropping up from time to time, and combining with a surprisingly romantic variation on the main theme in "Kruger's Story," which reappears in an uplifting variation, sweetened by strings, at the conclusion of "Reunion."
The penultimate track on the album, "Van Explosion" presents a straightforward martial version of the main theme, and leads to "The Eraser," in which both the main theme and the electric guitar motif appear, the former at its most bombastic, providing a big and satisfying conclusion.
Accompanying the CD is the usual quality booklet, with stills from the film, full musician credits, and detailed notes by Daniel Schweiger, including a cue-by-cue guide. Go to www.lalalandrecords.com/Eraser.html for samples and to order your copy.