Speed Racer
Michael Giacchino
" Go Michael Go "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
In all the hoopla surrounding the Lost Season 3 CD's, one almost forgot that Michael Giacchino participated on the new Wachowski movie Speed Racer. Personally this should've been offered to Don Davis instead. But apparently he's been busy for years working on his opera, so he declined or wasn't chosen. If Don Davis falls away I bet Michael Giacchino is your best choice. After all the man is the next in line to follow John Williams' footsteps to stardom heaven, plus he is the biggest Speed Racer fan the musical world has ever known.
When listening to Speed Racer I must admit, it feels like Lost with action sequences and a choir. Naturally this forms into the sound that made M:I:3 one hell of a rhythmic ride. Personally I felt the sound didn't fit the genre of this movie. A Medal of Honor approach would have worked so much better. For instance the string sound in "World's Best Autopia" are reminders of the MOH saga, and it sounds really good. "Thunderhead" then goes for the ultimate sound of this score, a beat, whirling brass and strings ala The Incredibles and M:I:3, and yet it doesn't click. The technical bravura is present but somehow the melody or the creative spark is missing.
This was all before I saw the movie. Now I have seen the movie three times and I will see it again. And now I feel the score actually works very well in the movie, despite me having to hear all the influences of the Giacchino sound in it. But that doesn't change the fact Giacchino is a master of reprising his ideas. Always has been (even in his Medal of Honor days). And so "World's Best Autopia" captures musical ideas that will be reprised better and stronger near the end.
"The Tragic Story of Rex Racer" is unique due to the solo vocal and the fanfare that attracts a lot of praise. The flutes and comical dance in "Vroom and Board" show us the trip through Royalton Industries and "World's Worst Road Rage" shows us the danger and power of Arnold Royalton, with brassy fanfares and enough rhythm to show it firmly enough.
One of the better tracks depicting the speed racing is "Casa Cristo". The fanfares mean something now, the choir is controlling the pace and the end shows the wacky nature of the beast with Speed Racer's original theme. And must I point out the vocal is from Lair? The sinister "End of the First Leg", the bouncy alive "Taejo Turns Trixie", the jazzy and brassy "Bumper to Bumper, Rail to Rail", the rhythmic "The Maltese Ice Cave", all these tracks are a little bit too much. Perfect for the movie but too much on disc. It is like they lack a line to guide them.
The Speed Racer main theme returns in "Go Speed, Go!" but this is again found in a ruckus, it's hard to get a kick out of it. And the emotional "He Ain't Heavy" is nice but Lost is spelled out loudly again. "32 Hours" shows that there's a better way to insert the main theme into the action, making it more enjoyable here.
The finale goes even bolder than what we have heard until now. I can't deny some moments (and especially fanfares) kick ass in "Grand Ol' Prix", but it is still one big wall of sound that gets tiring after a while. And suddenly out of the blue "Reboot" shows a change in composition. More structured, more thematically enticing, it feels more like the music we love to hear. Perhaps the big reason is that it's becoming to sound like MOH after all, using the theme of track 2 now bigger and better. And don't forget the choir too in this track as in the mighty send off "Let us Drink Milk" (with the best original Speed Racer theme version).
I'm gonna be blunt but honest. While Speed Racer carries the depth, the pace and the instrumentation that we have come to love of the composer, I feel this is one of Giacchino's least enjoyable scores in a while. At first I thought it had to do about the fact the sound didn't fit with the movie at all. But that's not totally it. It fits just fine with the movie, but on disc I don't get it, don't see it, don't feel it. The exceptions aside, this is one nutty over exhausting ride. In the movie you have the occasional comical or dramatic scene to take your mind of it, here we don't have the luxury. I still feel that this needed a Don Davis sound, more a Don Davis Matrix sound. But despite working wonderfully well alongside the visuals, Giacchino's score is too chaotic to get a 'Go Speed Racer Go' feel out of it.
Tracklisting
1. I Am Speed (0.37)
2. World's Best Autopia (1.14)
3. Thunderhead (3.06)
4. The Tragic Story of Rex Racer (4.48)
5. Vroom and Board (3.38)
6. World's Worst Road Rage (2.41)
7. Racing's in our Blood (1.52)
8. The True Heart of Racing (4.04)
9. Casa Cristo (4.04) Excellent track
10. End of the First Leg (2.18)
11. Taejo Turns Trixie (1.36)
12. Bumper to Bumper, Rail to Rail (3.05)
13. The Maltese Ice Cave (2.03)
14. Go Speed, Go! (1.25)
15. He Ain't Heavy (1.45)
16. 32 Hours (3.49)
17. Grand Ol' Prix (6.11)
18. Reboot (3.08) Excellent track
19. Let us Drink Milk (4.31) Excellent track
20. Speed Racer (4.20)
Total Length: 60.14
When listening to Speed Racer I must admit, it feels like Lost with action sequences and a choir. Naturally this forms into the sound that made M:I:3 one hell of a rhythmic ride. Personally I felt the sound didn't fit the genre of this movie. A Medal of Honor approach would have worked so much better. For instance the string sound in "World's Best Autopia" are reminders of the MOH saga, and it sounds really good. "Thunderhead" then goes for the ultimate sound of this score, a beat, whirling brass and strings ala The Incredibles and M:I:3, and yet it doesn't click. The technical bravura is present but somehow the melody or the creative spark is missing.
This was all before I saw the movie. Now I have seen the movie three times and I will see it again. And now I feel the score actually works very well in the movie, despite me having to hear all the influences of the Giacchino sound in it. But that doesn't change the fact Giacchino is a master of reprising his ideas. Always has been (even in his Medal of Honor days). And so "World's Best Autopia" captures musical ideas that will be reprised better and stronger near the end.
"The Tragic Story of Rex Racer" is unique due to the solo vocal and the fanfare that attracts a lot of praise. The flutes and comical dance in "Vroom and Board" show us the trip through Royalton Industries and "World's Worst Road Rage" shows us the danger and power of Arnold Royalton, with brassy fanfares and enough rhythm to show it firmly enough.
One of the better tracks depicting the speed racing is "Casa Cristo". The fanfares mean something now, the choir is controlling the pace and the end shows the wacky nature of the beast with Speed Racer's original theme. And must I point out the vocal is from Lair? The sinister "End of the First Leg", the bouncy alive "Taejo Turns Trixie", the jazzy and brassy "Bumper to Bumper, Rail to Rail", the rhythmic "The Maltese Ice Cave", all these tracks are a little bit too much. Perfect for the movie but too much on disc. It is like they lack a line to guide them.
The Speed Racer main theme returns in "Go Speed, Go!" but this is again found in a ruckus, it's hard to get a kick out of it. And the emotional "He Ain't Heavy" is nice but Lost is spelled out loudly again. "32 Hours" shows that there's a better way to insert the main theme into the action, making it more enjoyable here.
The finale goes even bolder than what we have heard until now. I can't deny some moments (and especially fanfares) kick ass in "Grand Ol' Prix", but it is still one big wall of sound that gets tiring after a while. And suddenly out of the blue "Reboot" shows a change in composition. More structured, more thematically enticing, it feels more like the music we love to hear. Perhaps the big reason is that it's becoming to sound like MOH after all, using the theme of track 2 now bigger and better. And don't forget the choir too in this track as in the mighty send off "Let us Drink Milk" (with the best original Speed Racer theme version).
I'm gonna be blunt but honest. While Speed Racer carries the depth, the pace and the instrumentation that we have come to love of the composer, I feel this is one of Giacchino's least enjoyable scores in a while. At first I thought it had to do about the fact the sound didn't fit with the movie at all. But that's not totally it. It fits just fine with the movie, but on disc I don't get it, don't see it, don't feel it. The exceptions aside, this is one nutty over exhausting ride. In the movie you have the occasional comical or dramatic scene to take your mind of it, here we don't have the luxury. I still feel that this needed a Don Davis sound, more a Don Davis Matrix sound. But despite working wonderfully well alongside the visuals, Giacchino's score is too chaotic to get a 'Go Speed Racer Go' feel out of it.
Tracklisting
1. I Am Speed (0.37)
2. World's Best Autopia (1.14)
3. Thunderhead (3.06)
4. The Tragic Story of Rex Racer (4.48)
5. Vroom and Board (3.38)
6. World's Worst Road Rage (2.41)
7. Racing's in our Blood (1.52)
8. The True Heart of Racing (4.04)
9. Casa Cristo (4.04) Excellent track
10. End of the First Leg (2.18)
11. Taejo Turns Trixie (1.36)
12. Bumper to Bumper, Rail to Rail (3.05)
13. The Maltese Ice Cave (2.03)
14. Go Speed, Go! (1.25)
15. He Ain't Heavy (1.45)
16. 32 Hours (3.49)
17. Grand Ol' Prix (6.11)
18. Reboot (3.08) Excellent track
19. Let us Drink Milk (4.31) Excellent track
20. Speed Racer (4.20)
Total Length: 60.14