Shaggy Dog Story

By Randall D. Larson     March 23, 2006

THIS WEEK'S RECOMMENDATIONS

Alan Menken hasn't entirely dropped out of site since scoring a run of successful Disney animated features from THE LITTLE MERMAID through HERCULES. He did some TV work, scored Disney's humdrum animated HOME ON THE RANGE as well as Chazz Palminteri's sensitive drama, NOEL in 2004, as well as, reportedly, some episodes of TV's FAMILY GUY, sans credits. He returns to Disney territory and perhaps the limelight with is broad, orchestral score for Disney's remake of THE SHAGGY DOG. Presented on CD by Disney, the album first proffers seven really stupid dog-related hip hop/rap tunes full of bow-wow jokes and other nonsense, only one of which appears in the film (the other six are the raison d'être for the CD's "music from and inspired by" moniker). Program your CD player to start with track 8 and you'll have a fine soundtrack on your hands. Never listen to tracks 1-7 and you'll be a better person. Menken's score is simply wonderful, a full blooded orchestral score of broad strokes and effervescent humor rich in melodic imagery and feeling, from the exotic opening of "Tibet" to the massive orchestral and choral climax of "Transformation," to the warm orchestral triumph of "To The Rescue," Menken's SHAGGY DOG is a thoroughly effective score in the old Hollywood tradition. "Breaking Through" is a thoroughly emotional track, lush violins over swirling woodwinds and hushed choir emphasizing the dramatics, with bell tree signifying the magicness of it all. "Kozak Gets A Tail" is pure cartoon music scherzo, a very fun and vary varied orchestral romp that becomes one of the score's nicest moments. "Family Time" concludes the score with a provocative recapitulation of Menken's Family Theme are other moments, reprised in good measure. http://disney.go.com/disneyrecords/  

Lakeshore Records has released the soundtrack to Alexandre Aja's remake of Wes Craven's seminal 1977 horror film, THE HILLS HAVE EYES. The soundtrack includes nine rather perfunctory heavy metal and rockabilly songs scattered throughout the film as well as twenty cues from the spooky and atmospheric underscore composed and performed by tomandandy (THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES, KILLING ZOE, RULES OF ATTRACTION). The score is a rather typical layered electronic textual score, enhanced by bass and electric guitar riffs not unlike the work of John Carpenter or Brad Fiedel in their 1980s heydays. It's a simplistic yet a potent score, and Lakeshore has nicely sequenced the score tracks apart from the song tracks so neither has to conflict with the other. It's the kind of score that works remarkably well to accompany the emotional interdynamics of the storyline as it unspools on film, but may not live up to repeated listenings on CD apart from the film's visualizations; however there's a lot more depth to the score than may seem evident on first visit. Tracks like "Praying" and

"Beauty" and "Ravens" belie their potentially sublime sounding titles by proffering little more than a sustained sonic atmosphere of dreadful anticipation, but they carry an oppressive weight that creates a severely discomforting atmosphere that can be quite unsettling. "Beast Finds Beauty" established from a recurring rhythmic riff that is savagely clawed apart in the dissonant industrial tonalities of "Trailer," which create a relentlessly terrifying sound collage through mostly sound effects. "Ethel's Death" (so sorry! that may be a spoiler!) is a somber assortment of dour, low-end electronic pads, slowly meandering downward, accompanied by flighty, synth buzzes, culminating in a slowly stopped pulsating heartbeat. "Village Test" contains a bit of warmth from an acoustic guitar and sampled woodwinds. "Breakfast Time" is a severe cacophonic rhythm for blasting synth chords, the kind of music you want to run away from, quickly. "Play With Us" takes on a similar pulsing rhythm but introduces a quasi-brass theme over the top of it that gives the track a notable musicality, and an emotive depth that hitherto the score hasn't allowed room for; it's a notable contrast to the unadorned electronics comprising the bulk of the score; the theme begins to humanize the Carter family who may be seen as more than just the mutants they initially seem to be. "The Quest I' and "The Quest II" perpetuate this idea a little more, despite the heavy handed chordal pulsing, taking on a slightly more melodic attribute through the dramatic use of a firm orchestral melody at their climax. "Sacrifice" presents a reprisal of "Village Test's" soft acoustic guitar soliloquy, while "It's Over?" nicely resolves the whole score with a dramatic, electric guitar-laden orchestral resolution that is quite satisfying, yet can't keep from adding one final horror stinger at its very end. www.lakeshore-records.com  

A number of folks have posted queries wondering what the big deal is about Percepto's release of John Massari's score for KILLER KLOWNS (FROM OUTER SPACE) hardly a classic of the science fiction genre. The "seriously deranged" 1988 cult offering from the Chiodo Brothers (noted mostly as the effectsbros on films like CRITTERS and SCREAMERS and DEMON ISLAND and the like) surpassed the absurdity of its plot concept (aliens who look like clowns come from outer space and terrorize a small town) to become a rather charming and bizarrely entertaining excursion into science fiction what-iffidness along the lines of ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES and THE DEADLY SPAWN. The musical score is the work of classically trained John Massari, who had dabbled, mostly without credit, on TV

episodes until his feature debut in KILLER KLOWNS. His career didn't exactly take off, but he gained notice scoring low-budget action films like SNAKE EATER and its sequels, PUPPET MASTER 7, and any number of TV and direct-to-video films and documentaries. His most recent work consists of scoring the music for Rubi Zack's supernatural thriller, RING AROUND THE ROSIE (aka FEAR ITSELF), starring Tom Sizemore, Gina Phillips, Randall Batinkoff, and Jenny Mollen, and scoring segments of the cellphone broadcast version of TV's 24, called 24: CONSPIRACY. For KILLER KLOWNS, Massari based his mostly electronic score upon a classical repertoire far removed from the idea of manic alien jesters. Much of Massari's score the most part Massari's score is deadly serious, emphasizing the malevolency of the comic entertainers instead of the inherent clownness of their appearance, but it occasionally adopts a Carl Stallinglike cartoon manicness, as in the very comic cue, "Shadow Show." Massari also occasionally ramps up into pop music, as with the rhythmic chords that accentuate the end of "Knock My Block Off," the jaunty tune for "Officer Mooney," and the vibrantly tuneful electronic romp, "Muscle Klown Kar," but for the most part the score is credible and interesting, rich in flavored nuances of instrumentation and more than a couple referential tributes to classic Hollywood composers like Bernard Herrmann (Justin Humphrey's exhaustive liner notes adequately analyzes the score in the CD's 24-page booklet to this end). It's not John Williams (nor is it Bernard Herrmann, for that matter), but it's rife with creativity and has a simple charm all its own. The CD includes the pure 80's rock and roll title tune (written by Leonard Phillips and performed by The Dickies) www.percepto.com  
also see: www.johnmassari.com  

FILM MUSIC NEWS

According to the Gorfaine-Schwartz Agency, Hans Zimmer and Dave Stewart are both going to work on the music for 20th Century Fox upcoming animated feature film version of THE SIMPSONS, which is currently in development, as reported by Film Music Radio, which is awaiting confirmation from 20th Century Fox. "At this point, it's unclear how the work will be divided between Zimmer and Stewart, and it's also unclear whether or not the composers of the music for the original cult TV series, Alf Clausen and Danny Elfman, will be involved in the project," says Film Music Radio's Mikael Carlsson.

Carlsson also reports that Harry Gregson-Williams, who scored the first SHREK movie together with John Powell and scored the second one solo, will also compose the music for the third film, according to the Gorfaine-Schwartz Agency. In SHREK 3, scheduled to be released on May 18 next year, the voice cast featuring Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy will return. In an interview in the latest issue of Music from the Movies magazine, Gregson-Williams also reveals that he will compose the music for Joel Schumacher's new film, THE NUMBER 23, a thriller starring Jim Carrey and Virginia Madsen. Other upcoming assignments for the busy composer includes another Dreamworks animation project, FLUSHED AWAY, and Tony Scott's new film, DEJA VU.

And finally, Film Music Radio reports that Marco Beltrami will compose the original score for the new TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES film to be released by Warner Bros next year. The film is directed by Kevin Munroe who is making his helming debut with the film which is based on Kevin Eastman's and Peter Laird's comic book, previously made into a successful film franchise in the early 90s. Live action will be combined with CGI animation in the new film which is produced by Imagi Entertainment and The Weinstein Company. Beltrami is also working on the score for THE OMEN remake, directed by John Moore who previously worked with Beltrami on FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX. Beltrami travels to London next month to record the score. Just like Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar-winning score for the original film, Beltrami's music will feature choir and the composer (who studied under Goldsmith) will also include homage to the 1976 score. His other upcoming films include Disney's thriller THE INVISIBLE and the Roland Joffé thriller CAPTIVITY.
www.filmmusicradio.com  

Film Score Monthly has announced the release of GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS, MGM's 1969 film musical featuring songs by Leslie Bricusse and score by John Williams. The set was produced by Michael Matessino, and features a reconstruction of the full

score (including several unused cues by Williams), alternates, source music, unused songs, demos, plus the complete original 1969 album. A 48-page booklet offers a chronicle of the film's production, score analysis, and many never-before-seen photographs. Also offered is a limited collectible edition including a photograph of Williams, Bricusse, Petula Clark, and associate music supervisor Ian Fraser, taken during a reunion at which they signed copies of the CD's front tray inlay. Associate producer Mort Abrahams also added his signature separately. These premium editions are being offered in limited quantity, and include the photo, signed inlay, and certificate of authenticity. www.screenarchives.com  

David Kitay has scored DATE MOVIE for writers/directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Starring Adam Campbell, Allyson Hannigan, Eddie Griffin, Fred Willard, and Jennifer Coolidge, the film is a spoof of the hit romantic comedies of recent years. 20th Century Fox released the film in February, and Lakeshore Records released the accompanying song-oriented soundtrack on March 7, which includes a version of the theme song to THE PRICE IS RIGHT, performed by Kitay. Kitay says his DATE MOVIE score was designed to operate on two levels, sounding authentic to the familiar images of romance while also conveying the humor of the spoof. DATE MOVIE is the latest in a series of hit comedies Kitay has done since early in his scoring career. After solidifying his reputation in the teen genre with hit movies like CLUELESS, CAN'T HARDLY WAIT, SCARY MOVIE, HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE and DUDE, WHERE'S MY CAR?, Kitay kept his sense of humor and expanded into independent films. Two upcoming releases, ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL and DARWIN AWARDS, are the next examples of off-beat, interesting films Kitay has done for a variety of innovative directors. Showing remarkable innovation, his score for Finn Taylor's upcoming DARWIN AWARDS is the world's first retrograde reverse score, wherein the music was performed backwards and digitally reversed to play forwards, so the notes sound reversed even though they are accurate. Kitay has also completed scores for RELATIVE STRANGERS, starring Ron Livingston, and John Cosgrove's comedy ensemble CAFFEINE, both set for release this year.

La-La Land Records will release John Murphy's score for BASIC INSTINCT 2 on April 6. The album features over 50 minutes of the sensual score the composer uses a lot of string portamento to create an erotic air in the music plus a number of bonus tracks. British composer Murphy, who is one of the hottest up and coming composers right now with the recent assignment to score Michael Mann's MIAMI VICE added to

his resume, is including the original 1992 BASIC INSTINCT theme by Jerry Goldsmith in many of the cues in his score. La-La Land also will release the original soundtrack to the Sci Fi Channel Mini-Series THE TRIANGLE, the highest-rated Sci Fi Channel Mini-Series since 2002, produced by Bryan Singer (X-MEN, THE USUAL SUSPECTS, SUPERMAN) and Dean Devlin (STARGATE, INDEPENDENCE DAY) and starring Sam Neill, Eric Stoltz, and Lou Diamond Phillips. Acclaimed composer Joseph LoDuca (XENA, HERCULES, EVIL DEAD I & II, ARMY OF DARKNESS) fashions a powerful orchestral score, harnessing all the excitement and intrigue of this amazing television event. CD booklet includes exclusive liner notes. THE TRIANGLE is. In May, La-La Land will issue the second volume in their FARSCAPE Classics series of complete episode scores (titles to be announced). www.lalalandrecords.com  

After he completes scoring the new James Bond film, CASINO ROYALE, for director Martin Campbell, David Arnold (who perfectly replicated and expanded the classic John Barry 007 sound for TOMORROW NEVER DIES, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, and DIE ANOTHER DAY), will score an upcoming British action comedy entitled HOT FUZZ. That film is directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg, the men behind the popular cult comedy SHAUN OF THE DEAD. The film stars Pegg, Nick Frost and among others Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine, Timothy Dalton, Edward Woodward, Steve Coogan, Martin Freeman, Bill Bailey, and does for action/cop movies what SHAUN OF THE DEAD did for zombie movies. The film is scheduled to be released early next year. Apart from CASINO ROYALE and HOT FUZZ, David Arnold has also started on the score for Michael Apted's new film, AMAZING GRACE, about the Parliamentary reformer William Wilberforce, who virtually single handedly ended British involvement in the slave trade. The film is to be released in December 2006 by Walden Media. For more information, see: www.davidarnold.com  

Award-winning composer Inon Zur has written and recorded a new collection of original orchestral music for use in Hollywood motion picture trailers. Entitled Dramatic Fantastic, the album is commissioned by BMG Zomba and will be released through their subsidiary label Bruton Music on April 1st. Zur was hired to write a range of dramatic orchestral music based on his emotionally charged scores for film, television and blockbuster video game franchises such as Prince of Persia, EverQuest, and SOCOM. The Dramatic Fantastic trailer album features an eclectic collection of exhilarating and stirring Hollywood-calibre feature film music including anthemic and bombastic orchestral, choral, classical, fantasy, sci-fi, military, Middle-Eastern, and epic finale suites, each tailored with Zur's infectious and in-demand, distinctive style. Zur's powerful orchestral scores have previously featured in the promotional trailers for Hollywood movies such as ANNAPOLIS, THE NEW WORLD, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, THE PACIFIER, THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, and FANTASTIC FOUR. Inon's music can also be heard in the hit television series INTO THE WEST. For more information visit www.inonzur.com.

Intrada has following up their recent expanded release of Bruce Broughton's celebrated Western score for SILVERADO (1985) with an expanded release of Broughton's equally celebrated follow-up Western score, from George P. Cosmatos'

TOMBSTONE (1993), a big budget remake of the events that led to the famous shoot-out at the OK Corral, starring Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp and Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday. For this special 2-CD release of TOMBSTONE, several exciting minutes omitted from earlier release have been restored, including dynamic opening Cinergi films 'logo' composed by Jerry Goldsmith, recorded under Broughton's baton for 1993 premiere of TOMBSTONE. Newly re-mastered in 2006 from complete digital session tapes. Intrada's new 2-disc set features full score on the first CD, with a short bonus disc offering handful of alternates, including the "Fabian Theater" music composed by Broughton for the onscreen performance by Billy Zane. David Snell. www.intrada.com  

Perseverance Records, whose upcoming release of Craig Safan's score for REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS has been delayed until June, has announced the release of Michael Hoenig's score to the Sci-Fi Channel series DARK SKIES. The CD will also contain music composed for the series pilot by X- FILES composer Mark Snow. www.perseverancerecords.com  

Harmony Gold Music has issued a 20th Anniversary soundtrack to ROBOTECH, featuring two discs filled to capacity with over two and a half hours of music (note: the discs use an extended-capacity 80-minute format that may not be compatible with some older CD players). The new album contains the most comprehensive collection

to date of the musical score by composers Ulpio Minucci, Arlon Ober and Michael Bradley along with vocal favorites and special tracks from ROBOTECH: THE SENTINELS and more. This update of the popular television series soundtrack includes new music that has never before been released including tracks that were previously believed to be lost and which were recovered during the production of Robotech Remastered. These new tracks (and a number of the classic tracks) have undergone digital restoration to ensure the best listening experience! Disc 1 contains all of the music tracks from the 10th Anniversary Edition plus four tracks never before released on CD; Disc 2 contains all of the music tracks from the 10th Anniversary Edition plus three new tracks, never before released on CD. For more info, see: www.robotech.com/store/viewproduct.php?id=226  

GAMES MUSIC NEWS

Howard Shore's latest work is not for a film, but is a massive orchestral score for Korean video game Soul Of The Ultimate Nation produced by SUN, with the distinctly awesome choir, loud and dense brass & percussion sections along with a grand-sounding organ. Performed by the National Philharmonic of Russia and Academy of Choral Arts. See more about this game at (in Korean): http://sunonline.co.kr/  A soundtrack CD has been released

Film, television and video game composer Garry Schyman has created the original score for the upcoming THQ Inc video game Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers, developed by Pandemic Studios. The score blends Middle Eastern instrumentation with additional orchestral sounds to deliver an authentic, immersive soundtrack that enhances the drama and emotional experience of the player's actions onscreen. To ensure the best live performances, Schyman recorded with Hollywood's leading Arabic instrumentalists and vocalists.

David Rovin, Audio Director, Pandemic Studios, LLC, said, "Our vision for the music on FSW2 was a subtle mix of western military themes and middle-eastern timbres. Garry understood immediately what we were shooting for, and he nailed it. In some pieces he leaned more on the traditional orchestral ideas, weaving in subtle ethnic sounds. In others he let the Arabic instrumentalists and vocalists create the dominant atmosphere."

Schyman's previous video game soundtrack credits include THQ's smash hit Destroy All Humans!, which was recently nominated by the Game Audio Network Guild for "Music of the Year 2005," "Best Live Performance Recording" and "Best Original Instrumental" for "Destroy All Humans! Main Title." This nomination is considered, by many, to be the most prestigious of all music nominations because it is voted on by the leading composers, musicians, and audio directors in the video games industry. More information available at www.garryschyman.com.

Sequel to the critically acclaimed squad-based real-time tactical combat game, Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers, scheduled to release for Xbox®, PlayStation® 2 and Windows PC on March 27, 2006, takes the brand's innovative and authentic military gaming experience to the next level with new features in every aspect of the game. For more information visit www.fullspectrumwarrior.com. 

Sumthing Else Music Works, Inc., through its licensing relationship with Microsoft Game Studios, proudly presents Halo® 2: Original Soundtrack Volume Two. The Halo 2: Original Soundtrack Volume Two CD features nearly 70 minutes of award-winning compositions by Bungie Studios' Audio Director Martin O'Donnell and his writing partner Michael Salvatori, the composers behind the best-selling Halo® 2: Original Soundtrack Volume One and Halo®: Combat Evolved Original Soundtrack. The signature guitar sounds of revered rock guitarist Steve Vai also make an appearance, courtesy of Epic Records, and the album is produced by veteran music producer and Sumthing Else label founder Nile Rodgers.

Commenting on the back-story to the Volume Two soundtrack release, Martin O'Donnell said, "In the summer of 2004 Nile Rodgers and I decided that it would be a good idea to present the music of Halo 2 in two separate volumes. The first volume would contain all the music that was finished and mixed plus some 'inspired by' music from groups whose music was being used in the game."

Since the first Halo 2 soundtrack was assembled before the game actually shipped, it was always envisaged that the second volume would contain the rest of the game's music, some of which Martin O'Donnell was still composing and producing, and would be rearranged for maximum listening pleasure.

"The music in Halo 2 will play back a little differently each time someone plays the game," explains O'Donnell, "But on the soundtrack I have the opportunity to arrange the music in an album format. For Halo 2 Volume Two I decided to use a 'suite' structure that also corresponds to the chapters within the game. In a sense by listening to this soundtrack you will hear the musical representation on the story of Halo 2. Enjoy!"

Halo® 2 is the game that redefined first-person combat and multiplayer action for millions of gamers worldwide. In Halo 2, the saga continues as Master Chief - a genetically enhanced super-soldier - is the only thing standing between the relentless Covenant and the destruction of all humankind. For more information visit www.xbox.com/games/halo2  

The Volume Two soundtrack will be released on April 25th to US retail outlets through Nile Rodgers' Sumthing Else Music Works label, the industry leader for licensing and distributing video game soundtracks. See: www.sumthing.com  

Former editor/publisher of CinemaScore magazine, Randall Larson was for many years senior editor for Soundtrack Magazine and a film music columnist for Cinefantastique magazine. He is the author of Musique Fantastique: A Survey of Film Music in the Fantastic Cinema (Scarecrow, 1984) and Music from the House of Hammer (Scarecrow, 1995). In addition to Soundtrax and Music News for Cinescape.com, Randall reviews soundtracks Music from the Movies, writes for Film Music Magazine, and in many other fields.

Recommended Soundtrack sources:
www.buysoundtrax.com  
www.intrada.com  
www.screenarchives.com  
www.footlight.com  
www.arksquare.com/index_main.html  (Japan)
www.intermezzomedia.com/  (Italy)
www.moviegrooves.com  
www.moviemusic.com  

For questions or comments, contact the author at Soundtrax@cinescape.com