Face/Off
John Powell
" John Powell music with the face of Hans Zimmer "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
While John Woo was quickly making a name for himself with Hard Target and Broken Arrow, he really ignited his Hollywood career with Face/Off, still his action masterpiece alongside Hardboiled when it comes down to action, shoot outs and ... pigeons. Face/Off is a thrilling action packed movie starring 2 incredible actors (Travolta and Cage) as they both swap their faces so that they can do what they were set out to do, namely executing plan B: kill each other. Considering Hans Zimmer wasn't interested or couldn't aid John Woo after Broken Arrow, Hans encouraged unknown composer John Powell to take the job instead.
Well, we all know what has happened with both Woo and Powell. Both worked together on Paycheck after that, but Face/Off remained their action masterpiece nonetheless. Woo delivered the bangs, Powell gave the picture its Media Ventures clangs. Back then, Powell couldn't deliver us his own true voice, so he gave what he was taught to do instead. Namely a typical MV action score with one tiny detail, a main theme capturing that own special John Powell voice.
It is that theme that opens and closes the score softly, lovely, beautifully. I like to call this the family theme as it leaves and reunites Sean from his family in the begin and the end of the film. In the first track "Face On", besides the main theme "Since by Man Came Death" from Messiah by George Frideric Handel is inserted as it gives an epic meaning to Castor Troy's explosive message. In the end though the main theme is much more optimistic and resolving, hence the reason this track is one of the best of the album, namely the conclusive "Ready for the Big Ride, Bubba".
In between we receive the hard as nails action pieces that explode on disc as they explode on screen. The first will surely be remembered as the big ballsy one. In "Furniture" you receive the sound or motif that represents Castor Troy (also discovered in the first and second track), but the main action theme will surely be the most remembered moment for those die hard MV junkies who can't get enough of good / fun / loud action themes.
"The Golden Section Derma Lift" brings back the main theme as Castor (sorry Sean) sees in Adam his killed son Michael. But if it comes down to memorable non action music, Face/Off has one track that fits the bill stylishly, namely "This Ridiculous Chin". Powell scores this scene by the way brilliantly with an exceptional piece of music, almost portraying it through a certain kind of tension, reaching Jerry Goldsmith standards of mystery and unbelief. By using the action theme as underlying element, it shows that it is more than just a typical MV theme. The main theme reappears again emotionally charged through solo violin at the end of "No More Drugs For That Man", as Sean (sorry Castor) visits the grave of the son he killed.
Considering this album isn't exactly offering us the perfect order of the tracks (nor the names), it is almost impossible to correctly pinpoint each exact moment. Considering "Hans' Loft" is not the shoot out moment in the loft but the speedboat chase, it also leaves half of the action music behind. So this makes Face/Off sadly incomplete. Yet the album does it differently instead, pasting various other moments instead through each other.
And so as stated "Ready for the Big Ride, Bubba" closes first with the music for Sascha and Sean (I finally got it right) on the beach, before going to the final main theme statement. This mixing might be offensive for the order of the music in the film, it does make for nice listening instead.
Face/Off is as a film perfection in both its action as dramatic story, and the music inside the film enhances this enormously. Sadly on disc a lot of these elements are forgotten. For instance, where's the full escape from the prison sequence? Where's the shoot out in the loft (covering the now overtly loved Somewhere over the Rainbow music sequence) and where's the rest of the action music from the speedboat chase? Meaning for an action film, the soundtrack of Face/Off forgets a lot of its action music. It nonetheless fixes a lot of these faults through various mixes and paste jobs. Creating altogether an action statement of John Powell he swore never to repeat again without the imprint of his own unique voice.
Tracklisting
1. Face On ** (4.57)
2. 80 Proof Rock (4.29)
3. Furniture (7.12)
4. The Golden Section Derma Lift (3.13)
5. This Ridiculous Chin (6.49) Excellent track
6. No More Drugs For That Man * (7.27)
7. Han's Loft * (3.35)
8. Ready For The Big Ride, Bubba (3.54)
* Contains additional Music by Gavin Greenaway
** Contains "Since by Man Came Death" from Messiah by George Frideric Handel
Total Length: 41.46
Well, we all know what has happened with both Woo and Powell. Both worked together on Paycheck after that, but Face/Off remained their action masterpiece nonetheless. Woo delivered the bangs, Powell gave the picture its Media Ventures clangs. Back then, Powell couldn't deliver us his own true voice, so he gave what he was taught to do instead. Namely a typical MV action score with one tiny detail, a main theme capturing that own special John Powell voice.
It is that theme that opens and closes the score softly, lovely, beautifully. I like to call this the family theme as it leaves and reunites Sean from his family in the begin and the end of the film. In the first track "Face On", besides the main theme "Since by Man Came Death" from Messiah by George Frideric Handel is inserted as it gives an epic meaning to Castor Troy's explosive message. In the end though the main theme is much more optimistic and resolving, hence the reason this track is one of the best of the album, namely the conclusive "Ready for the Big Ride, Bubba".
In between we receive the hard as nails action pieces that explode on disc as they explode on screen. The first will surely be remembered as the big ballsy one. In "Furniture" you receive the sound or motif that represents Castor Troy (also discovered in the first and second track), but the main action theme will surely be the most remembered moment for those die hard MV junkies who can't get enough of good / fun / loud action themes.
"The Golden Section Derma Lift" brings back the main theme as Castor (sorry Sean) sees in Adam his killed son Michael. But if it comes down to memorable non action music, Face/Off has one track that fits the bill stylishly, namely "This Ridiculous Chin". Powell scores this scene by the way brilliantly with an exceptional piece of music, almost portraying it through a certain kind of tension, reaching Jerry Goldsmith standards of mystery and unbelief. By using the action theme as underlying element, it shows that it is more than just a typical MV theme. The main theme reappears again emotionally charged through solo violin at the end of "No More Drugs For That Man", as Sean (sorry Castor) visits the grave of the son he killed.
Considering this album isn't exactly offering us the perfect order of the tracks (nor the names), it is almost impossible to correctly pinpoint each exact moment. Considering "Hans' Loft" is not the shoot out moment in the loft but the speedboat chase, it also leaves half of the action music behind. So this makes Face/Off sadly incomplete. Yet the album does it differently instead, pasting various other moments instead through each other.
And so as stated "Ready for the Big Ride, Bubba" closes first with the music for Sascha and Sean (I finally got it right) on the beach, before going to the final main theme statement. This mixing might be offensive for the order of the music in the film, it does make for nice listening instead.
Face/Off is as a film perfection in both its action as dramatic story, and the music inside the film enhances this enormously. Sadly on disc a lot of these elements are forgotten. For instance, where's the full escape from the prison sequence? Where's the shoot out in the loft (covering the now overtly loved Somewhere over the Rainbow music sequence) and where's the rest of the action music from the speedboat chase? Meaning for an action film, the soundtrack of Face/Off forgets a lot of its action music. It nonetheless fixes a lot of these faults through various mixes and paste jobs. Creating altogether an action statement of John Powell he swore never to repeat again without the imprint of his own unique voice.
Tracklisting
1. Face On ** (4.57)
2. 80 Proof Rock (4.29)
3. Furniture (7.12)
4. The Golden Section Derma Lift (3.13)
5. This Ridiculous Chin (6.49) Excellent track
6. No More Drugs For That Man * (7.27)
7. Han's Loft * (3.35)
8. Ready For The Big Ride, Bubba (3.54)
* Contains additional Music by Gavin Greenaway
** Contains "Since by Man Came Death" from Messiah by George Frideric Handel
Total Length: 41.46