Alice Through The Looking Glass - Danny Elfman |
6/11/16 |
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What You Will Hear: A continuation of the soundscape created by Elfman in Alice In Wonderland. The full orchestra and multiple choirs get a work out. Oh, and Pink.
Standout Tracks: Alice, Saving The Ship, Hatter House, The Chronosphere, Oceans Of Time, Hat Heartbreak, Time Is Up, World's End, Kingsleigh & Kingsleigh Will You Be Humming Along? The main melody is filled with childlike wonder. Humming? No. Singing? Yes - learn the lyrics and enjoy! The album this makes me want to dust off: Pan – John Powell Will I come back to it? The main theme from Alice is Elfman’s best work in a decade. Add to that the wonderful unifying cell of three ascending chords (and accompanying triplet ostinato) and you’ve got a solid foundation. This simple collection of notes gives Elfman the ability to do whatever he wants, but always make us feel like everything is connected. It is a personal taste issue, but I gravitate towards scores that feel like a complete sentence (like Alice), instead of fragment after fragment.
In addition to the well-established material, Elfman has introduced a dark and quite quirky melody for the character of Time. (See: Watching Time) Featuring the low & double reeds, it is menacing and fun all at the same... well, time. The only weak spot here is with some of the adventure writing. At times it feels like the thin orchestrations of Spider-Man, and they just don't fit with the Scissorhands-like wonder featured on the rest of the album. There are only a few moments like this, but they are quite jarring. Besides those little instances, I enjoyed my time with the score. The ensembles sound unapologetically big in an age where most scores are getting smaller. Alice Through The Looking Glass gives Danny Elfman a chance to stretch and shine like we know he can. |