The Expendables
Brian Tyler
" You're Welcome "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Sometimes actors can make for surprising directors. After all we have seen countless examples from various sources all around the globe. And even though tough guy Sylvester Stallone has been seen as nothing more than a mindless action hero, people mustn't forget the sober impact he has given his own fictional character Rocky during his many fights. Besides Rambo though, it is the Expendables that gave Sly the room to hit a few heads, slice a couple of throats and deliver the gun ho approach a killer combination of action actors warrant from their presence alone (Stallone, Li, Lundgren, Statham, Austin, Rourke). The cameos of Schwarzenegger and Willis are nothing but a comic footnote is what is obviously one of this year's biggest action packed features.
Director Sylvester Stallone went again for Brian Tyler after their effective if typical result on Rambo. After all, Tyler is good at it, at least if you consider you'll know exactly what to expect after a while. And even though the album is incredibly entertaining and addictive in parts, it is also another failed album experience. How many times do I have to hear an album of Tyler kicking grandiosely in motion, to realize it will inevitably slow down near the end. I highly doubt the movie will deliver the same uninteresting passage. If it wasn't for the final propulsive tracks, we would have been left hopelessly sober ... again.
So, The Expendables opens the way we expect it, namely big, bold and Tyler like in sound and scope. The rousing heroic theme receives a couple of Rambo II additions, giving the choir the time to rise to its potential. And even though it all sounds remarkably the same for a Tyler connaisseur, it works wonderfully nonetheless.
And once you've adapted to the fact you're into another roller coaster opening (driven by the familiar Tyler energy), you're ready for more of the goodies in "Aerial", a percussive string festivity that is only beaten by the incredibly intensity of the strings in "Ravens and Skulls" (at least in the first part).
Goldsmith opens "Massive" with its Rambo II influences, but soon it all changes back to the familiar Tyler moves, and "Lifeline" pushes the adrenaline up a notch by delivering another string workout. "Royal Rumble" delivers a proud musical rumble that exhilarates the more you hear it.
Occasional breathers are acquired when listening to full bombastic music in the first part, and "Lee and Lacy" sets the mood down with its dreamy guitar performance, emotion flows through "Confession", a romantic marimba sets aside "The Contact" from all the others while "Surveillance" and "Trinity" do it a little sneakier, delivering darker material after a while.
But suddenly, this all hampers the listening experience unintentionally, providing no really interesting material between tracks 10 and 18. Even the highly promising title "Giant with a Shotgun" turns out to be nothing more than a loose cannon. It is in "Time to Leave" that Rambo's influential material jumpstarts the sound again to what it was like in the beginning, typical but at least loud and exciting. The "Mayhem and Finale" may repeat every trick heard in the first tracks, but as least it's exciting.
Sadly, it is not that what interest me the most at the end. In the end I have to see whether the composer made an effort to deliver us something original, and if not at least effective and entertaining. When it comes down to Tyler, effectiveness isn't the problem whatsoever. He remains to work with orchestras, he remains to deliver effective and fitting movie music, and he remains to deliver music that equals the scope of the film. But no matter how fun The Expendables starts your listening experience, and no matter how it fails to entertain me during the middle part, it is once again Tyler doing what he has been doing so many times before. Namely entertaining orchestral rushes that ware down once you begin to realize it isn't gonna change a thing.
Tracklisting
1. The Expendables (3.22) Excellent track
2. Aerial (2.58)
3. Ravens and Skulls (4.49)
4. Lee and Lacy (2.15)
5. Massive (3.24)
6. The Gulf of Aden (6.57)
7. Lifeline (4.29)
8. Confession (2.57)
9. Royal Rumble (3.42)
10. Scanning the Enemy (3.47)
11. The Contact (1.31)
12. Surveillance (3.27)
13. Warriors (3.49)
14. Trinity (4.19)
15. Waterboard (3.01)
16. Losing his Mind (2.37)
17. Take your Money (2.41)
18. Giant with a Shotgun (3.57)
19. Time to Leave (1.55)
20. Mayhem and Finale (5.48)
Total Length: 71.49
Director Sylvester Stallone went again for Brian Tyler after their effective if typical result on Rambo. After all, Tyler is good at it, at least if you consider you'll know exactly what to expect after a while. And even though the album is incredibly entertaining and addictive in parts, it is also another failed album experience. How many times do I have to hear an album of Tyler kicking grandiosely in motion, to realize it will inevitably slow down near the end. I highly doubt the movie will deliver the same uninteresting passage. If it wasn't for the final propulsive tracks, we would have been left hopelessly sober ... again.
So, The Expendables opens the way we expect it, namely big, bold and Tyler like in sound and scope. The rousing heroic theme receives a couple of Rambo II additions, giving the choir the time to rise to its potential. And even though it all sounds remarkably the same for a Tyler connaisseur, it works wonderfully nonetheless.
And once you've adapted to the fact you're into another roller coaster opening (driven by the familiar Tyler energy), you're ready for more of the goodies in "Aerial", a percussive string festivity that is only beaten by the incredibly intensity of the strings in "Ravens and Skulls" (at least in the first part).
Goldsmith opens "Massive" with its Rambo II influences, but soon it all changes back to the familiar Tyler moves, and "Lifeline" pushes the adrenaline up a notch by delivering another string workout. "Royal Rumble" delivers a proud musical rumble that exhilarates the more you hear it.
Occasional breathers are acquired when listening to full bombastic music in the first part, and "Lee and Lacy" sets the mood down with its dreamy guitar performance, emotion flows through "Confession", a romantic marimba sets aside "The Contact" from all the others while "Surveillance" and "Trinity" do it a little sneakier, delivering darker material after a while.
But suddenly, this all hampers the listening experience unintentionally, providing no really interesting material between tracks 10 and 18. Even the highly promising title "Giant with a Shotgun" turns out to be nothing more than a loose cannon. It is in "Time to Leave" that Rambo's influential material jumpstarts the sound again to what it was like in the beginning, typical but at least loud and exciting. The "Mayhem and Finale" may repeat every trick heard in the first tracks, but as least it's exciting.
Sadly, it is not that what interest me the most at the end. In the end I have to see whether the composer made an effort to deliver us something original, and if not at least effective and entertaining. When it comes down to Tyler, effectiveness isn't the problem whatsoever. He remains to work with orchestras, he remains to deliver effective and fitting movie music, and he remains to deliver music that equals the scope of the film. But no matter how fun The Expendables starts your listening experience, and no matter how it fails to entertain me during the middle part, it is once again Tyler doing what he has been doing so many times before. Namely entertaining orchestral rushes that ware down once you begin to realize it isn't gonna change a thing.
Tracklisting
1. The Expendables (3.22) Excellent track
2. Aerial (2.58)
3. Ravens and Skulls (4.49)
4. Lee and Lacy (2.15)
5. Massive (3.24)
6. The Gulf of Aden (6.57)
7. Lifeline (4.29)
8. Confession (2.57)
9. Royal Rumble (3.42)
10. Scanning the Enemy (3.47)
11. The Contact (1.31)
12. Surveillance (3.27)
13. Warriors (3.49)
14. Trinity (4.19)
15. Waterboard (3.01)
16. Losing his Mind (2.37)
17. Take your Money (2.41)
18. Giant with a Shotgun (3.57)
19. Time to Leave (1.55)
20. Mayhem and Finale (5.48)
Total Length: 71.49