The Abyss (2014)

Alan Silvestri

 
" Alan Silvestri back on the air "

Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the limited release

Alan Silvestri has been a composer that can match any genre, but somehow I never saw him composing music for a James Cameron film. Then again, looking at his extensive career now, something tells me he could have been perfect for it. I see him coming up with a classic theme that would support The Terminator through all his killing attempts, somehow I see him delivering a magical adventure that would support Jake Sully through an experience of a lifetime, somehow I hear his thrilling tempos creating the pace and the danger of a frantic descent into Aliens madness. And yet it only stayed with one motion picture experience, but what an experience it became.

Because let's face facts, The Abyss is an experience on itself. Whereas most CD's create the ambiance and the mood for the film today by using mere effects and tools, Alan Silvestri created the same kind of experience BUT he never forgot to bind it together with melodies, themes and ideas that matter. Don't get me wrong, from time to time, The Abyss is a pool of ambiance and mood, necessary to reflect the almighty depths of the ocean and the darkness that surrounds them. But when Silvestri unleashes fury, hell, mystery and magic, The Abyss is nothing short of ground breaking. It's both styles together at their almighty bests.

An example where ambiance and mood conquers the experience is the 10 minute "Let me Drown your Rat / Search the Montana", supporting every bleak spec of water with an eerie ambiance, every possible dead body with a solemn synth that cries out despair and death, every musical sound effect that supports a look towards the depth and bottom nobody can see. It's only when light shines out of this darkness ("Jammer Freaks", "Lindsey's Close Encounter") that vocals begin to unveil some kind of mystery, a sense that there's something not from this world with them. And when Silvestri unleashes his orchestra along the side lines, it's stop or bust.

Silvestri's suspenseful action music has always been exciting, and always drenched in his typical style. "He's Convulsing", "Crashing Crane" and "What a Drag" are nothing short of the same riveting stuff you're heard of him all these years. And yet sometimes I hear James Horner's Aliens in the riveting "Crashing Crane", surely something must have influenced Silvestri to give it that Cameron nudge. Another returning element of the score are the military drums for the Seals that are there with their own agenda ("Marker Buoy / They're Coming", "MIRV Recovery / Seals Return", the end of "Freeze").

In the end it's the combination of the eeriness, the mystery and the playfulness when the crew begins to see the MTI's, the playful interludes when "Lindsey's Close Encounter" starts to take place, or when "The Pseudopod" starts exploring Deepcore, delivering tones of eerie lonesome sfx for the nearly deserted station, and vocal effects for the creature gliding through the halls. It's only when the crew discovers it, that Silvestri again begins to give it some color (even some mighty suspenseful rage when it is discovered by Coffey). Leading to the death of "Coffey Implodes" and the cold harsh "The Only Way" (which is enlightened by a ?different version? of the love theme). A love theme version that does sound better in "Resurrection" after that.

But from "Bud's Big Dive" on, the score switches towards the inevitable climax. A James Cameron film is nothing without its climaxes, and The Abyss is one of the many examples where the music follows the exact same path. First the big dive of Bud dares to deliver again the sfx for the depth that never seems to end, guiding Bud with eerie strings that stand for the hallucinations (or aren't they?) he's having. Again it's a cold drop two and a half miles straight down, but luckily that's not without a little bit of help of their new friends. In "Bud on the Ledge", "Back on the Air" and "Finale and End Credits", Silvestri dares to surprise everyone with the finale of finales. A majestic powerhouse combination of fanfares and wondrous choral outbursts the depth was hiding from us all along. It's insane and catalogs The Abyss suddenly ten times higher than what people would have probably placed it instead.

Again, it's the reason why The Abyss is still so beloved today. And even though it is indeed the final minutes of the score that makes all the hoopla, it is not wise to discard everything else as well. Alan Silvestri's cold, eerie and sombre first hour is of vital importance for the movie. It forms James Cameron's intentions and creates a mood that musically adds what Cameron and the actors are telling us. It's a sign that this is not just mere mood, but well thought of musical intentions that literally make the film. It's a sign that this was not one way ticket, but an experience that was conceived, well thought off and craftily executed to create one thing only, The Abyss. An experience that can hold any depth. Must have if you crave for experiences that deliver what they build to.

The Abyss (1989 release) ****
The Abyss 2 CD (2014 release) ****12

CD 1: 56.50
1. Opening Title (0.42)
2. Montana / Crash / Flood (2.01)
3. Marker Buoy / They're Coming (1.17)
4. Let Me Drown Your Rat / Search the Montana (10.09)
5. Jammer Freaks (3.30)
6. He's Convulsing (1.14)
7. MIRV Recovery / SEALs Return (2.03)
8. Crashing Crane (2.08) Excellent track
9. What A Drag (2.01) Excellent track
10. The Draggiest Man (1.22)
11. Lindsey's Close Encounter (6.23) Excellent track
12. Here's MIRV / Some Huevos (2.27)
13. Have to Take Steps / Jarhead is Watching (1.13)
14. The Pseudopod (5.35)
15. Coffey Break (1.56)
16. Freeze (3.40)
17. Bud and Cat Dive / Click (0.59)
18. The Fight (1.52)
19. What A Drag (Original) (6.05)

CD 2: 57.28
1. Coffey Implodes (1.09)
2. The Only Way (7.49)
3. Resurrection (2.00)
4. Bud's Big Dive (6.40)
5. Defusing the Bomb (2.17)
6. Bud on the Ledge (3.12) Excellent track
7. Bud Reborn / Blinky Bows (3.22)
8. Back on the Air (1.47) Excellent track
9. Finale and End Credits (4.47) Excellent track
Bonus Tracks
10. Opening Title (Demo) (0.43)
11. Flood and Sinking (Alternate) / Unused Synth Cue (1.01)
12. Crashing Crane (Alternate) (2.08)
13. What a Drag (Wild Original) (4.33)
14. Some Huevos (Alternate) (1.19)
15. The Pseudopod (Alternate) (5.33)
16. The Fight (Alternate) (1.51)
17. The Only Way (Alternate) (4.54)
18. Lindsey Dies (Alternate) (1.05)
19. Vocal Insert (0.56)
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(total of 13 votes - average 4.85/5)

Released by

Varèse Sarabande CD Club VCL 1213 1144 (limited release 2014)

Conducted by

Alan Silvestri

Orchestrations by

James B. Campbell

Performed by

The Hollywood Studio Symphony