Journey to the Center of the Earth
Andrew Lockington
" Lock it on "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
It feels like Canadian composer Andrew Lockington only surfaced a year ago when he gave us 2 wonderful adventure scores. But this is untrue considering Lockington has been busy for quite some time. From 2000 to be exact. And in 2006 Skinwalkers didn't exactly got much attention despite it being his ever first CD release. But this attention scale all changed when Journey to the Center of the Earth and City of Ember were released upon us. And if one thing is clear, it is this. Give this man from now on all the adventure scores. Because he literally excels in them.
The opening with "Journey Theme" surely is promising with the main theme briefly stated, alongside a fast action whirl. The lighter side of the score is soon spotted during "Morning Routine", "Max Things" and the lovely "Iceland". The first sign of the wonderful adventurous voice of Lockington happens in the brief but rousing version in a variation of the main theme, this in "Climbing Sneffels".
However it does take some time to get to those rousing moments. "Trapped", the dissonant "Rope Decent" and "The Generator" are warming ups, showing flashes of that brilliance. But some bring it bigger, better and longer.
The brassy "Mine Car Adventure", the absolutely rousing "Storm" and the exciting "Dinosaur" are tracks you just don't hear anymore. In these moments Lockington shows you his amazing orchestral voice, guiding his main theme and many other blasts through a melodic adventurous line. And when the choir jumps in, you receive epic music. And in "The Center of the Earth" and "Building the Raft" Lockington shows you how easily he can make wonderful thematic music. The first holds a lovely choral laden magic, the other a montage of supreme building adventure, with the main theme ever so shining.
There is some upbeat material surrounding "Water Drop", but with the orchestral tight grip of Lockington behind it, it never fails. There is some room to breath after this, with "Mushrooms House and Artifacts" and the lovely emotional "Goodbye Max". The soft "The Search for Sean" is ignited near the end, but the action continues in "Skull Rescue" and "Volcano". The end salutation is with the main theme in "The Return".
It is weird. Journey to the Center of the Earth has the biggest highlights of the 2, but City of Ember most definitely brings us the best listening experience.
Journey to the Center of the Earth is a dream of a soundtrack if it literally loses minutes of score. Coming from a soundtrack fanatic, this is harsh because Lockington's 5 to 10 tracks are some of the biggest crowd pleasers most of you will hear this year. But the album is choppy in begin and end, is minutes too long and loses because of that appeal and overall quotation. This is extremely sad considering Lockington has given us adventure music in one score that a foe like Brian Tyler can't even master in 10 of his scores. Look out Williams fanatics, Andrew Lockington is definitely one to look out for.
Tracklisting
1. Journey Theme (1.14)
2. Morning Routine (1.13)
3. Max's Things (1.55)
4. Iceland (2.28)
5. Hannah and the Institute (1.11)
6. Climbing Sneffels (1.30)
7. Trapped (2.56)
8. Rope Descent (2.10)
9. The Generator (2.26)
10. Mine Car Adventure (2.37) Excellent track
11. Diamonds and Muscovite (1.53)
12. Water Drop (3.10)
13. The Center of the Earth (4.44) Excellent track
14. Mushrooms House and Artifacts (3.52)
15. Goodbye Max (2.44) Excellent track
16. Building the Raft (3.45) Excellent track
17. Storm (3.24) Excellent track
18. The Search for Sean (4.00)
19. Magnetic Rocks (3.45)
20. Meet at the River (3.12)
21. Dinosaur! (2.59) Excellent track
22. Skull Rescue (2.00)
23. Volcano (4.00)
24. The Return (4.00)
Total Length: 67.19
The opening with "Journey Theme" surely is promising with the main theme briefly stated, alongside a fast action whirl. The lighter side of the score is soon spotted during "Morning Routine", "Max Things" and the lovely "Iceland". The first sign of the wonderful adventurous voice of Lockington happens in the brief but rousing version in a variation of the main theme, this in "Climbing Sneffels".
However it does take some time to get to those rousing moments. "Trapped", the dissonant "Rope Decent" and "The Generator" are warming ups, showing flashes of that brilliance. But some bring it bigger, better and longer.
The brassy "Mine Car Adventure", the absolutely rousing "Storm" and the exciting "Dinosaur" are tracks you just don't hear anymore. In these moments Lockington shows you his amazing orchestral voice, guiding his main theme and many other blasts through a melodic adventurous line. And when the choir jumps in, you receive epic music. And in "The Center of the Earth" and "Building the Raft" Lockington shows you how easily he can make wonderful thematic music. The first holds a lovely choral laden magic, the other a montage of supreme building adventure, with the main theme ever so shining.
There is some upbeat material surrounding "Water Drop", but with the orchestral tight grip of Lockington behind it, it never fails. There is some room to breath after this, with "Mushrooms House and Artifacts" and the lovely emotional "Goodbye Max". The soft "The Search for Sean" is ignited near the end, but the action continues in "Skull Rescue" and "Volcano". The end salutation is with the main theme in "The Return".
It is weird. Journey to the Center of the Earth has the biggest highlights of the 2, but City of Ember most definitely brings us the best listening experience.
Journey to the Center of the Earth is a dream of a soundtrack if it literally loses minutes of score. Coming from a soundtrack fanatic, this is harsh because Lockington's 5 to 10 tracks are some of the biggest crowd pleasers most of you will hear this year. But the album is choppy in begin and end, is minutes too long and loses because of that appeal and overall quotation. This is extremely sad considering Lockington has given us adventure music in one score that a foe like Brian Tyler can't even master in 10 of his scores. Look out Williams fanatics, Andrew Lockington is definitely one to look out for.
Tracklisting
1. Journey Theme (1.14)
2. Morning Routine (1.13)
3. Max's Things (1.55)
4. Iceland (2.28)
5. Hannah and the Institute (1.11)
6. Climbing Sneffels (1.30)
7. Trapped (2.56)
8. Rope Descent (2.10)
9. The Generator (2.26)
10. Mine Car Adventure (2.37) Excellent track
11. Diamonds and Muscovite (1.53)
12. Water Drop (3.10)
13. The Center of the Earth (4.44) Excellent track
14. Mushrooms House and Artifacts (3.52)
15. Goodbye Max (2.44) Excellent track
16. Building the Raft (3.45) Excellent track
17. Storm (3.24) Excellent track
18. The Search for Sean (4.00)
19. Magnetic Rocks (3.45)
20. Meet at the River (3.12)
21. Dinosaur! (2.59) Excellent track
22. Skull Rescue (2.00)
23. Volcano (4.00)
24. The Return (4.00)
Total Length: 67.19