Elliot Goldenthal, L'Arc-En-Ciel, Lara Fabian - Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Race to Old New York

-I'm not big on RPG's so I don't know much about the "Final Fantasy" games, but I do hear that the scores are largely excellent so I was a bit surprised when the game composer wasn't used and the great Elliot Goldenthal was brought in instead. Unlike the movie which is a beautiful disappointment, the score is fantastic and definitely one of the best from this very underrated composer that does not get the respect he deserves.

-The best piece of music on the album and one of the best musical cues I've heard in my life is "Race to Old New York" which starts off with this fast moving strings that plays this simple melody, then shortly after the brass comes in and picks up the melody which keeps going to the short cue comes to it's natural resolution. I don't seem to remember hearing that cue in the movie which was a shame because it's so wonderful.

-Other tracks that should make glad that you have ears are "The Phantom Plains", "Dead Rain", "Code Red", "Music for Dialogues", "Winged Serpent", "Zeus Cannon", and "Adagio and Transfiguration". I love how he blends the techno stuff with the orchestral elements in "Dead Rain" and "Winged Serpent" is just creepy as hell. "Zeus Cannon" is a majestic piece that sounds like the music that should accompany a Greek god. "Music for Dialogues" is a great piece that should be familiar territory for all Goldenthal fans.

-There is an isolated track on the DVD which is great, but Goldenthal seems to have the same problem that great composer Marco Beltrami has, which is to talk over the music. Most of the cues he does talk over are on the album so it's not that big of a problem, although I do wish he would have actually talked for the scenes when there was no music. 10 minutes would pass by and we won't hear a peep from him, but he is a brilliant composer so I guess we can forgive his lack of great DVD commentaries.

-Even if you find the movie to be a little disappointing, the score should keep you interested. It's fresh, it's great and gives birth to "Race to Old New York" which should be included in any filmmusic geek's top 50 of great musical cues of all time
April 1, 2007

Masterpiece.

I cannot express how finely crafted this score is. Goldenthal is one of my favorite composers (not just for film) and this is definitely one of his highlights. I believe that where this score really shines is Elliot's way of making really simple musical ideas sound extremely intense and grand. For example, Race to Old New York, one of my favorite cues, has an extremely powerful opening that is nothing but a string ensemble racing up and down a g minor chord. Yet it instantly exposes many raw emotions that other composers would need a few movements of a symphony to convey. Most of Goldenthal's trademarks can be found in this score. Horn tone clusters, near-atonal trills on brass, and HUGE, no, EPIC orchestrations that we fell in love with in Titus. The glass harmonica (and the way Elliot employs it) found its way into this film from the score for Interview with the Vampire. I could go on, but I won't. This is a remarkable CD by one of the best living composers (now that Ligeti is no longer with us). November 28, 2006

Fantastic!

This has to be Goldenthal's best score to date! It's an orchestral masterpiece performed by none other than the London Symphony Orchestra.

Let me explain a few awesome tracks before giving the downside to this release.

The album opens with ambient noise and dark choir, much like Horner's Aliens. The second track, "Race to Old New York", doesn't appear on the film, or as this cue version does on the album. It's played by racing strings and low brass. Very good track and one of my favorites.

"The Kiss" proves to Hollywood and Goldenthal skeptics that he is able to pull of romantic, soothing themes. "The Kiss" is a romantic theme played by piano with some strings.

"Toccata and Dreamscapes" is the longest and most difficult track to perform. Goldenthal employs 40 French horns (!) to blast, grunt and shrill away every once in a while during the percussion and interrupted string action. One of the best tracks!

"Adagio and Transfiguration" closes the score album with a sad, sweeping reprise of the romantic theme and finishes on a solo trumpet.

Between all of these reviewed tracks are mixtures of sweeping cues, rolling strings, tense moments and dark choir. All this makes for a very diverse range of music on about 50 minutes of score for this release.

The album ends with two songs. Lara Fabian's rendition of the love theme in pop form is nice but is ruined by the last song on the album not worth mentioning. The rock song ruins the entire listening experience.

The Complaints:
One I've already mentioned: the stupid rock song at the end of the CD; two, the music is not in chronological order, but I guess it makes for a better listening experience; and three, much good music is missing! "Dead Rain" is almost 8 minutes long on the film and we only get about 2 minutes on the album cut. The good thing about the special edition DVD is that we get the option of an isolated track and commentary by Elliot Goldenthal. Goldenthal is smart leaving the music cues that didn't appear on the album uncommented.

Get this soundtrack and the special edition DVD. They're worth every penny! February 9, 2006

"Where's my second disc?" (sarcasm)

If you've seen Final Fantasy - The Spirits Within DVD, you've probably listened to the isolated score with commentary by Elliot Goldenthal, during which you will notice that he talks over certain bits of score but leaves other chunks of score alone, un-interrupted.

It more or less translates to this: The sections of score he talks over seem to all be here on the soundtrack and well covered. The several chunks of score he doesn't talk over some over eight minutes in length: completely axed and not used for this soundtrack.

"Dead Rain" is missing about seven minutes of great scoring which blend into it seemlessly in the film. Why do those responsible for cutting the score for a film's soundtrack axe some of the better parts (in my mind) in exchange for one or two tracks that don't seem to tell as much of a story? I've experienced this with so many scores I've bought. Exceptional pieces used in films getting axed.. and for what? The expense of a second disc? I'd gladly pay for a second disc or for a third folks. I really would, especially with scores like this.

Which is why I'm giving this soundtrack 3 stars. Not because the music sucks, it's great and I enjoyed every minute of it. Just remember to own the film on DVD as well as this soundtrack so you can get a little extra from Elliot. September 15, 2005

Goldenthal at his peak performance

Elliot Goldenthal wrote a grand, majestic score for the computer-animated science-fiction spectacle "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within." The music bursts with roaring brass under climactic string arpeggios, carrying the listener high on a violent tidal wave, when suddenly the wave is broken and settles down with a soft female voice humming over an elusive and beautiful melody played on the piano. There's a sparse use of the synthesizer, apart from some choir effects in the background and echoing ambient sounds. The accent is very much on music played by a big orchestra.
This film doubtlessly features one of Goldenthal's best film scores. It's rich and inspired in every scene and every take. It keeps your attention, down to the last minute on the album. The music for the dream sequences is the most complex and grand, with a complex combination of percussion, string arpeggios and brass - often culminating like a thunderstorm, but always leaving a calm resuscitation behind. Buy this if you like modern, complex, grand music and lush sweeping "dreamscape" music.

This one gets 4 stars. July 22, 2005

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