Balls of Fury

Randy Edelman

 
" Edelman's balls are mighty enough "

Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release

Tiny balls, big actors, no intentions to go stylish on us whatsoever. It was obvious Balls of Fury was intended to be nothing more than ridiculous, ridiculous that it was actually funny. Well funny to a degree (because it ain't Dodgeball). Music wise, Randy Edelman stepped on the plate to deliver his usual charm. The chinese music is quite good, no surprise there considering he always had a knack for that. The darker suspenseful material is as expected the weakest element of the score, but luckily there's not much of that here. What I was surprised about the most was the actual ping pong music, the adventurous take on it that became actually the best part of the album. There's stuff here I truly liked, while other things remained serviceable. All in all, no grand art here but again more than enough to sit through, and actually enjoy it.

Edelman always did eastern music well, no difference here ("History in a Paddle", "Cracking the Ice").
Another hint towards one of his biggest successes, "On the Bridge" and "Homecourt Advantage" holds another Come See the Paradise theme influence.
Various cool segments of ping-pong action gets you easily excited ("Taking All Corners", "Pong the Swords").
A questionable debate remains about Edelman's darker music, it just doesn't always work ("Statesman Feng Makes the Intros").

Track Listing

1. History in a Paddle (3.23)
2. Shock From an Eastern Bloc (2.09)
3. A Harsh Ballerina (2.15)
4. Tiny Balls Go Olympic (1.36)
5. Training Shakedown (2.17)
6. Open Invitation (1.19)
7. Journey to the Competition (1.51)
8. Reflecting in a Glass Pool (0.40)
9. Sweet Victory (2.10)
10. Statesman Feng Makes the Intros (3.51)
11. Falling Hard and Going Soft (1.02)
12. On the Bridge (3.25)
13. Cracking the Ice (1.04)
14. Derailed (1.42)
15. Homecourt Advantage (2.33)
16. Taking All Comers (2.23)
17. Blood Ties (0.32)
18. Storming the Garrison (2.00)
19. An Old Wise Tale (1.02)
20. Facing the Dragoness (2.01)
21. Pong the Swords (2.44)
22. Spoons and Bugs (1.47)
23. Little Girls Don't Cry (2.11)

Total Length: 45.57
(click to rate this score)  
 
  •  
(total of 2 votes - average 3/5)

Released by

Varèse Sarabande 302 066 838 2 (regular release 2007)

Conducted & Orchestrated by

Randy Edelman