Zimmer is a genius (Gladiator - Soundtrack)

Member Name: Slim Lee

Product:	Gladiator - Soundtrack
Date:	15/02/01 (2515 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: See the review (far too many to realistically list here)

Disadvantages: Ditto ... c'mon read the opinion!, Go on .... read it!

I wouldn’t necessarily label myself as a fan of classical music. If anything I tend to avoid it, but not this time. After watching the multi Academy Award nominated "Gladiator" earlier this year, one of the things that stuck in my mind the most was the music, so I had to get hold of this soundtrack.

Anyone who has seen the film will know what I’m talking about. It’s uplifting, rousing where it needs to be, dreamy and emotional the next. One thing this album is NOT is music “inspired by” the motion picture. This is a true and genuine collection of the film soundtrack. You don't have to have lvoed the film to appreciate this at all, but it has to be said you're likely to enjoy it a whole lot more if you, like me, really enjoyed the film itself.


• Artists


The soundtrack for Gladiator is composed and produced by Hans Zimmer (a previous Academy Award nominee and winner for film soundtracks), with additional vocals supplied by Lisa Gerrard (formerly a member of Dead Can Dance and a Golden Globe Nominee). It is obvious how passionately Zimmer is with his music and how much of a perfectionist he is. Watch the profile of him on the Gladiator DVD if you get the chance as it’s very informative. He has obviously poured his heart and soul into this musical score.


• Style


The musical style is fairly traditional orchestral music on the whole but with some more ancient instruments and styles surfacing throughout the album, fused with the haunting tones of Lisa Gerrard. This combination creates an extremely forceful and dramatic soundtrack to compliment the visual splendour of Gladiator.

The musical style doesn’t hark back to any identifiable era. It is perfect for this film and can be described as having a sort of timeless and dreamy/spiritual quality to it in places, particularly in the sections featuring the vocals of Lisa Gerrard. The
sections in which she sings (in Hebrew) are truly beautiful.


• Tracks


This isn’t a regular album where you can pick out one or two tracks for praise. The only way to listen to this album (for me anyway) is from start to finish (with hardly any skipping even after a few months of listening now). For once, this is an album that is more than just a collection of songtracks. It really is better than the sum of its parts. Tracks can of course be listened to in isolation, but the overall experience of them played in sequence is far more enjoyable for me.

All of the tracks seem to smoothly melt into one another so keeping a check on which particular track you are listening to will become unimportant. The total running time of the CD is a shade over sixty minutes.


Tracklist:-
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I’ll try and give a brief description of each of the tracks (without giving away too much of the plot of the film). This has been quite difficult to do as each track, while a stand alone piece of music in its own right, melt into one another so well that you can easily lose track (argh bad pun sorry) of the individual pieces. When listened to as one fluid piece it works far better than if you try and listen to it as you would any other CD (i.e. skipping tracks or random track selection).


(1) Progeny
Slow, and initially very quiet (to the point where you will wonder if it is actually playing!) but it does build up into a foreboding, if short, piece.

(2) The Wheat
It almost seems that the first track melts into this one. The join is barely noticable. It's also the first time we hear the distinctive and haunting vocals of Lisa Gerrard. This piece is used in the first dream sequence in the film (the hand brushing through the wheat field - hence the title).

(3) The Battle
This is the music set onto the build up to and the duration of the battle with the Germanic Barbar
ians. It is a whopping ten minutes long and is quite difficult to describe, and could quite easily have been broken up into two or three tracks. As in any good “war” piece it builds up steadily to a crescendo as the battle commences. The surprising thing with this piece is that technically, due to its pace, it is classed as a waltz. An extremely dramatic piece and conjures up a feeling of danger and exhilaration. Makes the hairs stand up on the back of my head!

(4) Earth
The first half is a rather quiet, thoughtful piece to match the brooding, sombre atmosphere after the battle is over. Mid-way through the piece it transforms into a beautiful section that lifts the gloom away. This latter type of melody typifies the feel of the soundtrack for me.

(5) Sorrow
As the title suggests, this is a sad piece to match an equally sad passage of time for Maximus in the film. Lisa Gerrard's vocals (sung in Hebrew) are very striking and convey his emotions extremely well indeed(even if I don't have the faintest idea what they mean!).

(6) To Zucchabar
A meandering tune with a strange, distant feel to it. They used some ancient and rare instruments in the making of this piece, and had difficulty in finding anyone still alive who knew how to play them. Not the best of tracks on the CD but fits nicely with the rest.

(7) Patricide
Another dark piece, full of woe and betrayal (well it has too be considering the event!) It’s probably my least favourite track on the CD, and only tends to stay on when I have the CD playing as background music.

(8) The Emperor is Dead
Another short instrumental piece. The only way I can think of describing this one is similar to the feeling of calm before the storm.

(9) The Might of Rome
The pace picks up here with the movement in the film to Rome. A dramatic piece meant to convey the awesome power of Rome. It trails off a touch towards the end though. <
br>
(10) Strength and Honor
Another short piece, which uses the same tone as the 'Earth' track. Most of the tracks that use this type of style are my favourites on the CD. This is no exception.

(11) Reunion
Again, similar in places to Sorrow, this track has Lisa Gerrard's vocals fading in and out in a dreamy quality.

(12) Slaves to Rome
I suppose this one could best be described as a march (to convey the passage of the Gladiator slaves by Proximo to the Coliseum of Rome). Not a stand out individual track, but it works well when listened in sequence.

(13) Barbarian Horde
Starts off as slow and as quiet as Progeny did, building up into a fast paced waltz, very reminiscent of “Mars, the god of war” from Holst’s planets suite. A rousing track that perfectly suits the section of the film it was written for, the Gladiator battles in the Coliseum of Rome (the Carpathian Horde and the chariots?). The second half of the piece moves a little away from the Holst comparison and becomes more distinctive (matching the fight-back in the arena). Parts of the Earth piece are inter-weaved in the middle of this piece too. This is another mammoth track weighing in at just over ten minutes in length, but it really does fly by.

(14) Am I Not Merciful?
An emotional and sometimes dark piece, used in scenes of the film to portray the paranoia and the cloak and dagger ways of Commodus. I think this track goes on a touch too long, but I am trying to be picky with this collection! The harsh cynic in me is really trying, honest!

(15) Elysium
A really beautiful and dreamy piece, again with the haunting vocals of Gerrard. You don’t need to comprehend what she is exactly saying in the lyrics to really understand the emotions here. Simply beautiful.

(16) Honor Him
This one tugs at the heart strings (particularly in the scene it is played on in the film). It is quite short (aroun
d one minute in length) and moves fluidly into the final piece.

(17) Now We Are Free
The last track and easily my favourite one! An extremely uplifting and hope filled piece that always gets to me. A fitting finale to a wonderful collection.


Phew! I’ve really tried to keep these descriptions concise, so apologies to anyone if I’ve rambled at all. This has been a very hard opinion for me to write, as classical music is not normally my cup of tea.


• Recording Quality


Another feature of this CD is probably not that obvious to most people. It lies in the quality and sharpness of the sound. Why is that? Well, it’s because this CD has been recording purely in digital format, as shown by the DDD symbol on the top of rear of the case. Most CDs are produced in either AAD or ADD format, which means they have some elements of the tracks recorded in analogue. The only discs that seem to have this digital quality are classical ones. As the Gladiator soundtrack falls into this classical bracket then you get a great quality sound. An unexpected bonus!


• 2001 Oscars


With the nominations announced on Tuesday 13th February 2001, this movie soundtrack has been put forward for a golden statuette in the Best Music, Original Score category (up against Chocolat, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Malena and The Patriot). For once the CD soundtrack is not just a collection of music "inspired" by a great film but actually IS the music from the film. Rarely is a film soundtrack so good that it can be realised in its entirety as done here. It's also reasonably fluid with the continuity of the film (i.e the tracks follow roughly in the same order as they appear in the film). This helps to give a much better experience and relates to the film in a very strong manner. Rarely does a CD evoke a visual response as this one does by simply listening to it.

---> For more
details on the Oscar nominations then check out www.oscars.com

At last, a movie soundtrack that really is what it claims to be. If it doesn’t win an Academy Award for best soundtrack then there is no justice in the world! Hans Zimmer is a genius, truly inspiring.


So, if you’ve not seen the film … GO SEE IT!
If you have, and like me were hooked by the music then you won’t be disappointed by this purchase. An essential one for your collection.


Footnote:
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I got my copy of the Gladiator soundtrack from www.play247.com for £9.99 (including all postage and packaging). I ordered it last Wednesday and it arrived this morning on recorded delivery (within a week). Still my favourite place for CDs and DVDs.


• OSCARS UPDATE!! (Post "Oscars" 26th March 2001)

Well, what can I say about the awards? Not many big surprises really, but for me this effort not getting the "Best Music, Original Score" was far and away the (very) low point of the evening.

Serves me right I guess for labelling it as a certainty to win! I'm cursed I tell ya! It also serves to remind us all that the favourites do NOT always win.

Right i'm off to carry on crying in my beer ....

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