Music from the Batman Trilogy ****1/2

Silva Records 1390

15 tracks – 73:54

Also available as a digital download.

Silva’s last Batman compilation in 2009 featured a bit of music from the original 1960s television series, the Burton films and their subsequent sequels, a couple animated series, and one track each from the newer reimaginings by Christopher Nolan.  This new release focuses entirely on music from the “new” Nolan trilogy.

There are five tracks for each of these films presented on the release.  Some of these have appeared on any number of previous Silva-themed releases, but it appears that most of these are essentially new.  The two selections found on the 2009 release (“Eptesicus” and “Aggressive Expansion”) are the sole performances featuring the City of Prague Philharmonic.  The remainder are by the London Music Works—smaller ensemble of acoustic, sample, and electronic instrumentation that allows for more studio manipulation and manages to recreate very well the sound of the original soundtracks. 

The primary thematic statement from Batman Begins is heard well in “Antrozous,” one of the newer additions to the Silva catalogue.  The performance is well done and remarkably similar to the original.  Another new highlight is “Like a Dog Chasing Cars” from The Dark Knight.  The other tracks included from that score are: “Introduce a Little Anarchy” and “A Watchful Guardian.”  The music from The Dark Knight Rises is still a bit fresh in the ears for fans of the series but having some of these newer takes on this music will be interesting for comparison all the same.  The sequencing allows for a quite dramatic presentation of the music from these films unlike the more random approach that has appeared on some of the other film-series compilations from the label.

With some of the latest technology and a commitment to faithful recreation of film music, this latest release is another of the label’s finer efforts of late.  Easily recommended for fans of the new Batman films, though it is hard to imagine why one would not just opt for the originals to download to their iPods themselves.  If it ever makes it to CD it will make a nice companion for the 2009 release and certainly is a full presentation of score material.

Film Music of Hans Zimmer, Vol. 2 ***1/2

City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by James Fitzpatrick; London Music Works

Silva Screen Records 1362

Disc One: 11 tracks – 51:20

Disc Two: 12 tracks –51:01

Some may find issue with the accompanying booklet’s designation of Hans Zimmer as the person who conquered and became the “King of Hollywood.”  That description belies a European bias that American film score fans have argued about since the composer practically exploded onto the film music scene in the 1990s.  Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Zimmer in some respects managed to recreate “studio system” music that had a distinct sound—some would argue it became so distinct that none of its disciples are all that original sounding.  Zimmer’s exploration of synthesizers and samples into orchestral textures, coupled more recently with using a few musicians to create “larger ensemble” sounds through clever mixing and dubbing may not be everyone’s preferred musical style, but the end results are arguably quite interesting when the thematic content manages to rise above the norm.  That is on fine display in this second two-disc set focusing on the composer’s more recent work.  Some of the selections from the earlier Pirates of the Caribbean films were on a trilogy compilation earlier.  But many of the selections here appear new.

Like many of Silva’s retrospective compilations, this one too works its way backwards from most recent to older music.  Disc One covers 2007-2011 and is bookended by music from the Pirates of the Caribbean (On Stranger Tides and At World’s End).  In the middle are two well-done selections from Inception (“Time” and “Honor”) and The Dark Knight (“Aggressive Expansion” and “Why So Serious?”) as well as selections from The Pacific (“Honor”), Sherlock Holmes (“Discombobulate”) and  Angels and Demons (“160 BPM”).  There is not a bad lot in the bunch with the selections from Inception and Sherlock Holmes coming close to the originals in performances by the London Music Works.

Disc two spans from 1994-2006 and features some rather interesting choices that kick off with two character pieces from POC: Dead Man’s Chest (“Davy Jones” and “Jack Sparrow”) and conclude with a strong performance of “This Land” from The Lion King.  In between are orchestral performances of music from The Ring (“This Is Going to Hurt”) and more from London Music Works.  This “group” covers music from Batman Begins (“Molossus”),  a brief lighter shift I music from Madagascar (“Zoosters Breakout”), King Arthur (“Woad to Ruin” one of the sets highlights), Spirit—Stallion of the Cimarron (“Homeland”), Black Hawk Down (“Leave Me No Man Behind”), Mission: Impossible 2 (“Injection” with the first wailing female vocal of the set, uncredited), a less satisfying realization of music from The Prince of Egypt (“Red Sea”—a missed opportunity for a recording of the chariot sequence with the short playing time), and end titles from The Peacemaker. 

The booklet cover lists the music “performed by” the City of Prague Philharmonic proudly, but if you flip the CD container over you will note that London Music Works is credited with 15 of the 33 tracks in the set.  LMW is evidently a catchall for electronic, or mixed ensembles combining acoustic instruments and synths.  Those performances are coupled with recordings made with James Fitzpatrick which continue to be highlights overshadowing many of the earlier recordings with the orchestra under the label’s other house conductors.  Choral segments, uncredited, appear in a number of tracks as well.  The music appears to be taken from regular published arrangements as well.  Regardless of these caveats, this is a superior collection to the 2007 set which covered Zimmer’s earlier efforts coupled with music credited to other composers to fill out the albums.  The timing of the discs from each compilation is nearly identical, but in this case, one wishes there was even more music due to the fine music making that manages to create engaging musical realizations of these score selections.