Arabian Nights
Richard Harvey
" too much to handle "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Richard Harvey is one of those B- list composers emerging out of the darkness. He is now known for his wonderful choral piece on The Da Vinci Code but back then he was mostly scoring TV movies and series. Animal Farm was one of the best surprises of the last couple of years and I wanted Arabian Nights to be the same. Alas.
The Hallmark movie consisting to last for 4 hours did bore me already after 30 minutes (meaning I stopped early). And so I can't honestly say I experienced Harvey's score in the way it is meant to be heard. But still multiple occasions and I mean that literately (9 times before the rating was decided) and I think the score probably got the rating it deserved. The soundtrack overall isn't thematically rich. We have our dissonant and volume changes from left to right. But the effort and the orchestration, the power and the choral back up along with the solo vocals are still impressive enough for a recommendation.
The magic of this score starts to rise when Harvey enters the Eastern mood. Right then it starts to put a love theme a la Kitaro's Heaven & Earth into the mix and those moments become truly wonderful. But this doesn't take away that the score isn't good enough for everyone. This was just my second soundtrack of Richard Harvey and it was a rocky experience (and actually still is). The score has the stuff I wanted but not everything is easy to digest. I want a heroic main theme, an epic one that weaves throughout all the action when it concerns a story like Aladdin. This sadly isn't on board which probably made it harder for me to like everything else.
There is of course a main theme but this one only appears three times. "Main Titles", "The Storyteller" and "Conclusion / End Titles" are the only times it appears, plus it isn't really the theme I imagined it would be. Of course that makes it harder for some but others might dig their way into the rest. And the rest that I adore is the Kitaro influenced eastern music. It supports the love material that begins to swell to excellent proportions in "Aladdin's Wish" and "Aladdin's Perfect Dream / The Illusion Shattered". Now these moments are worthy of attention.
"Aladdin and the Princess" has even more hints towards his highly praised Animal Farm. But the rest is probably the biggest disappointment. It’s not the music itself but probably what some might interpret of it. I mean when you look at the titles you expect perhaps the big thematic adventure with all the themes and the glorious statements. Sadly this doesn't happen and if the music takes on a different form, it becomes more disappointing (while still being decent and impressive enough on detail alone). Especially the track at the end "The Final Battle" is nothing but orchestral noise.
It’s basically music that doesn't speak to me as it supposed to do. A Kid in Aladdin's Palace (a soundtrack I refer it to often) isn't perhaps high quality difficult music but I like it since I personally enjoy its tone and thematic material. Of course the initial thought is only strengthened by a singular review praising that this score is worth the attention to those who loved The Mummy and The Prince of Egypt.
First of all, who didn't enjoy those two and secondly comparing Harvey's Arabian Nights with two classic entries of two of the best composers is making it harder for the man in question. The fans will expect more of it eventually and the theme might alone disappoint them deeply. So if people want a theme (even if it’s not that superb) A Kid in Aladdin's Palace of David Michael Frank does miracles in its orchestral rousing form. Arabian Nights is simply too overbearing and it makes the listening experience harder for sure.
Meaning the right mood will perhaps do much in the end. The Mummy packs a heck of an energy, Arabian Nights isn't bad either but it misses the right Goldsmithian thing and Zimmer's Prince of Egypt brings ultimately more magic in the end. So if people get that right, there might be a good possibility they will enjoy the best moments of Arabian Nights. Sadly and perhaps the ultimate downfall of this score is the mammoth running time. This is way too long (if it was 45 to 50 minutes it might have gotten 3 stars but this is too much).
At the end it delivers some small highlights but nearly not enough. One thing to mention though. In the begin of track 22 there seems to be a scratch or a loud noise. I'm simply warning you because it scared the hell out of me the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, .... time I heard it. Be warned and if it isn't there, praise yourself lucky. Then only this person faces the consequences of his actions.
Tracklisting
1. Sultan Shariar's Dream (2.53)
2. Main Titles (1.06)
3. The Brother's Feud (2.18)
4. Scheherazade's Decision (1.25)
5. Ali Baba in the Treasure Cave (1.44)
6. Open Sesame! / Black Coda (2.27)
7. Kasim's Fatal Mistake (4.31)
8. Coda's Men Search For Ali (2.20)
9. Under Cover of Darkness / Thieves Sent Tumbling (2.55)
10. Another Story ... (0.25)
11. Bacbac - Death of a Funny Man (3.12)
12. Aladdin and the Princess (2.12)
13. In the Tomb of the Warriors (2.35)
14. The Genie of the Lamp (3.11)
15. The Storyteller (1.44)
16. Aladdin's Wish (2.57)
17. Schazzanan's Army (2.22)
18. The Heart of a Princess (4.22)
19. Aladdin's Perfect Dream / The Illusion Shattered (5.07)
20. Mustappa's Victory (0.31)
21. Another Happy Ending (1.51)
22. Amin and the Sultan's Madness (2.36)
23. The Three Brothers (2.40)
24. The Magic Carpet (3.36)
25. Into the Great Desert (0.47)
26. The Final Battle (4.40)
27. Conclusion / End Titles (2.20)
Total Length: 69.21
The Hallmark movie consisting to last for 4 hours did bore me already after 30 minutes (meaning I stopped early). And so I can't honestly say I experienced Harvey's score in the way it is meant to be heard. But still multiple occasions and I mean that literately (9 times before the rating was decided) and I think the score probably got the rating it deserved. The soundtrack overall isn't thematically rich. We have our dissonant and volume changes from left to right. But the effort and the orchestration, the power and the choral back up along with the solo vocals are still impressive enough for a recommendation.
The magic of this score starts to rise when Harvey enters the Eastern mood. Right then it starts to put a love theme a la Kitaro's Heaven & Earth into the mix and those moments become truly wonderful. But this doesn't take away that the score isn't good enough for everyone. This was just my second soundtrack of Richard Harvey and it was a rocky experience (and actually still is). The score has the stuff I wanted but not everything is easy to digest. I want a heroic main theme, an epic one that weaves throughout all the action when it concerns a story like Aladdin. This sadly isn't on board which probably made it harder for me to like everything else.
There is of course a main theme but this one only appears three times. "Main Titles", "The Storyteller" and "Conclusion / End Titles" are the only times it appears, plus it isn't really the theme I imagined it would be. Of course that makes it harder for some but others might dig their way into the rest. And the rest that I adore is the Kitaro influenced eastern music. It supports the love material that begins to swell to excellent proportions in "Aladdin's Wish" and "Aladdin's Perfect Dream / The Illusion Shattered". Now these moments are worthy of attention.
"Aladdin and the Princess" has even more hints towards his highly praised Animal Farm. But the rest is probably the biggest disappointment. It’s not the music itself but probably what some might interpret of it. I mean when you look at the titles you expect perhaps the big thematic adventure with all the themes and the glorious statements. Sadly this doesn't happen and if the music takes on a different form, it becomes more disappointing (while still being decent and impressive enough on detail alone). Especially the track at the end "The Final Battle" is nothing but orchestral noise.
It’s basically music that doesn't speak to me as it supposed to do. A Kid in Aladdin's Palace (a soundtrack I refer it to often) isn't perhaps high quality difficult music but I like it since I personally enjoy its tone and thematic material. Of course the initial thought is only strengthened by a singular review praising that this score is worth the attention to those who loved The Mummy and The Prince of Egypt.
First of all, who didn't enjoy those two and secondly comparing Harvey's Arabian Nights with two classic entries of two of the best composers is making it harder for the man in question. The fans will expect more of it eventually and the theme might alone disappoint them deeply. So if people want a theme (even if it’s not that superb) A Kid in Aladdin's Palace of David Michael Frank does miracles in its orchestral rousing form. Arabian Nights is simply too overbearing and it makes the listening experience harder for sure.
Meaning the right mood will perhaps do much in the end. The Mummy packs a heck of an energy, Arabian Nights isn't bad either but it misses the right Goldsmithian thing and Zimmer's Prince of Egypt brings ultimately more magic in the end. So if people get that right, there might be a good possibility they will enjoy the best moments of Arabian Nights. Sadly and perhaps the ultimate downfall of this score is the mammoth running time. This is way too long (if it was 45 to 50 minutes it might have gotten 3 stars but this is too much).
At the end it delivers some small highlights but nearly not enough. One thing to mention though. In the begin of track 22 there seems to be a scratch or a loud noise. I'm simply warning you because it scared the hell out of me the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, .... time I heard it. Be warned and if it isn't there, praise yourself lucky. Then only this person faces the consequences of his actions.
Tracklisting
1. Sultan Shariar's Dream (2.53)
2. Main Titles (1.06)
3. The Brother's Feud (2.18)
4. Scheherazade's Decision (1.25)
5. Ali Baba in the Treasure Cave (1.44)
6. Open Sesame! / Black Coda (2.27)
7. Kasim's Fatal Mistake (4.31)
8. Coda's Men Search For Ali (2.20)
9. Under Cover of Darkness / Thieves Sent Tumbling (2.55)
10. Another Story ... (0.25)
11. Bacbac - Death of a Funny Man (3.12)
12. Aladdin and the Princess (2.12)
13. In the Tomb of the Warriors (2.35)
14. The Genie of the Lamp (3.11)
15. The Storyteller (1.44)
16. Aladdin's Wish (2.57)
17. Schazzanan's Army (2.22)
18. The Heart of a Princess (4.22)
19. Aladdin's Perfect Dream / The Illusion Shattered (5.07)
20. Mustappa's Victory (0.31)
21. Another Happy Ending (1.51)
22. Amin and the Sultan's Madness (2.36)
23. The Three Brothers (2.40)
24. The Magic Carpet (3.36)
25. Into the Great Desert (0.47)
26. The Final Battle (4.40)
27. Conclusion / End Titles (2.20)
Total Length: 69.21