Jul 042013
Man of Steel
Academy Award, Grammy, and Golden Globe-winning composer Hans Zimmer composed the music for this highly anticipated project, joining forces for the first time with director Zack Snyder.
The challenges of creating a Superman score are daunting because Superman is so iconographic, said Snyder. I really feel like what Hans created is perfect. Subtle and stirring, epic and commanding. Honestly, Hans crushed it.
Both the standard and deluxe editions will include the epic track Man of Steel (Han
List Price: $ 24.97
Price: $ 15.76
Great on film, poor album arrangement,
Got back from seeing the film this morning and have been listening to the album for a few days. I thought the music itself was very good, and thought it was great after seeing the movie and realizing how well it fit with each and every scene. It really gave all the action and emotion an extra kick in the pants, and Zimmer’s propulsive score perfectly fits the character when he’s in his element.
My main gripe, however, is the album arrangement. It’s bizarre, and a little irritating, that the main highlights (DNA, Terraforming, Krypton’s Last, If you Love These People) arrive so early on the album. When I first listened, I was waiting for some spectacular finale that, eleven or so tracks later, never came. Thats because I had already listened to it on track seven, in “if you love these people”. It is also rather silly that they put “flying” and “what will you do when you are not saving the world” right beside each other in play order. They are very nearly identical save for a bit brighter feel in the latter song.
So, great music and a wonderful revisiting of the character, but do yourself a favor and create your own playlist. You’ll enjoy it better that way.
*UPDATE*
I saw the movie again yesterday, so I put up a list. I don’t think I can make an exact movie-order playlist since I don’t have the film in front of me, but I’ll do my best.
1. Look to the Stars
2. DNA
3. Goodbye My Son
4. Launch
5. I Will Find Him
6. Krypton’s Last
7. Oil Rig
8. Are You Listening Clark?
9. Sent Here For a Reason
10. I Have So Many Questions
11. Flight
12. Earth
13. Tornado
14. You Led Us Here
15. General Zod
16. You Die or I Do
17. This is Madness!
18. Terraforming
19. Ignition
20. Arcade
21. If You Love These People
22. This is Clark Kent
23. What Are You Going To Do When You Are Not Saving the World?
Now, It was difficult for me to place “This is Madness” and “You Dir or I do”, mainly because when Jor-el says the former quote, the music doesn’t match up, and neither does it when Zod says “You Die or I Do.” “This is Madness” sounds like the scene where the U.S. army converges on Smallville, and “You Die or I Do” sounds a lot like when Superman is fighting Faora. “You Die or I Do” and “Arcade” seem mostly interchangeable, though. Arcade is just longer, so I put Arcade later on the list.
If anyone else thinks they have a more accurate list, put it in the comments section for me!
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|Action Packed and Emotionally Gripping,
Updated review for the DTS:X at the end. Thanks for the comments and votes everyone; I appreciate the time you all take to read the review (I know it’s a bit long).
Review for the Regular Soundtrack:
Zimmer’s “Man of Steel” soundtrack holds a variety of themes and moods in the score. The most obvious theme is the one used for the action scenes. Zimmer has many tracks on the album devoted to the action type music and most songs have at least a small section of action in them. Songs like “Oil Rig” and “I Will Find Him” are almost entirely action cues. The action music focuses on the use of drums. The drums used in the tracks are powerful and sometimes a little overwhelming with Zimmer’s fearless and bold songs that could easily raise the tension in any scene just with their sound. Fortunately, each action cue is not a rehash of the theme and each song has it’s own unique sound. Secondly, there are several somber or elegant pieces that evoke strong emotions. “Goodbye My Son” is a particularly powerful piece that uses an escalating string and vocal movement reaching toward a climax with a solo violin and a single female humming a tune (think “Pan’s Labyrinth” with more in the background). The song is very powerful and really sets a great tone for the loss and hope for the scene. Also, “Krypton’s Last” is another song with an emotional pull. The song opens with many instruments playing a sad tune but it quickly moves into a solo violin as it plays a somber theme for Krypton’s last moments. It concludes with an action section that is heavy on drums and strings. The third obvious sound is the majestic theme for Superman. The most obvious of these is, “What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World” (That’s a mouthful). This song is an extended version of the song heard from the third trailer. The song opens with the piano for the first minute before jumping into a crescendo of strings and piano that builds into the majestic theme for Superman.
On the whole, this soundtrack offers music of all kinds. This soundtrack is much heavier of action music than most of Zimmer’s scores but it is all very well done. There were very few tracks that ever felt like fillers. Every track obviously has a purpose in the film. I really enjoyed it and found it to be an excellent score; definitely the best so far this year. The Sketchbook song is interesting as well because there are several sounds that you get to hear without all of the added instruments because of it being an early version. The song is long but it feels like a string of songs, which are all worth listening to.
Standout Tracks:
Look to the Stars
Goodbye My Son
Krypton’s Last
Terraforming
This Is Clark Kent
What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World?
Regular Soundtrack: 4.8
Deluxe Soundtrack: (Review of just the songs that are exclusive to the Deluxe Version)
The Deluxe Soundtrack is good but not as good as the standard one. There are several tracks that are good but there are only one or two that are great in my opinion. “General Zod and “Arcade” are both great songs, “General Zod” is very action heavy and “Arcade” is a good action cue that has a darker feel to it, as if there is a tougher, darker battle going on then normal. The strings are tense and the brass blares notes throughout, continuing to add onto itself, making what is tense get tenser. It then moves into heavy drums and brass blast before moving back into the tense strings; it’s a bit heavy handed, but still a very well written piece. Also, “Are You Listening, Clark?” is a good song and a little quieter then the other songs. The song opens with ominous sounds that sound like people squealing, wailing, and talking. It then moves into the soft piano theme for Clark Kent. The voices are very creepy and mysterious but the piano gives a redemptive, uplifting ending that wipes the “scary” sounds away. The exclusive songs are mainly darker and mysterious but there are a few songs that are quite good, even though they are not exceptional.
I really liked the packaging for this soundtrack. The steel case looks really cool and the raised metal symbol is an excellent addition. There is a sheet that is stuck to the back with some sticky things that can be peeled off with ease without hurting the soundtrack or the paper. I have not yet tried the DTS download but I look forward to trying it. I will update the review when I have had some time to listen to it.
Overall, the deluxe edition has some good additions to the score but the first disc is still the best. However, that is not a reason not to get the deluxe which definitely has some tracks worth buying. The sound is a little different on these tracks but the songs are still quite good from time to time.
Standout Tracks:
You Led Us Here
This Is Madness! (Interesting Drum Piece)
Arcade
Deluxe Tracks:…
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|Man of Steel – Original Soundtrack,
“Man of Steel” looks to be very different from any previous Superman films, and so it requires a different style of music.
If anyone is right for the project, it’s composer Hans Zimmer. Zimmer has been involved with some of my favorite movies in recent years – The Dark Knight, Inception, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Gladiator. With the Dark Knight Trilogy, he successfully created a new tone that was different from any previous Batman music. It appears he has done the same for the Man of Steel. Everybody loves John Williams’ theme for the original Superman films – to try and replicate it would be a mistake. So Zimmer does the only sensible thing, and goes in a completely different direction with his score.
Every track on this album has something unique to offer; there is great variety, and that makes for a pleasant listening experience. There is plenty of the intense epic music that Zimmer is known for (those who have accused him of being too bombastic in the past will no doubt have the same complaint here). But there’s also plenty of emotion too – some of my favorite cues are the softer ones.
As a bonus, you get a 28-minute track called “Hans’ Original Sketchbook”, which features some of Zimmer’s key musical concepts, plus some early ideas and a bit of music unused in the film (although much of it sounds like pieces from other tracks on the album).
Also, for those wondering where the music used in the film’s trailer can be found, it’s the track titled “What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World?” – Track #17 (or Track #1 of Disc 2 for the limited edition CD).
The superhero genre is full of great music, and the “Man of Steel” soundtrack is right up there with the best of them. I highly recommend this album!
FAVORITE TRACKS
[5] Goodbye My Son
[6] If You Love These People
[16] Flight
[17] What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World?
* The Deluxe Edition of the soundtrack, available in physical CD format or in MP3 format, contains an additional 6 tracks (approx. 30 minutes in length) not included on the regular release.
** Also included with purchase of the CD is an insert with a unique code to download the Man of Steel Soundtrack in the Z Plus App. This is the first soundtrack album to use the new DTS technology called Headphone:X – which simulates an 11.1 channel surround mix on a normal pair of headphones. The Z Plus app works with iOS devices (such as iPad, iPhone, etc) and the 11.1 mix can be emulated using any pair of stereo headphones.
*** With Amazon’s AUTORIP service, if you order the CD then you automatically get the Amazon MP3 version added to your account for free (so you can listen to it immediately while you wait for the CD to arrive in the mail.)
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