The Phantom
David Newman
" Great adventure ride of the brassy kind "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
If you're into music written by David Newman you will be either the person who loves the comedic craziness of many of his scores of today, or the person that was disappointed when they heard Serenity and The Spirit. Of course they were disappointed by those because they heard other stuff by him before. If you think you've heard it all of David Newman, think again. Operation Dumbo Drop and this one, The Phantom are musical equivalents of today's rousing adventure score. Meaning big, feisty and a lot of fun.
The score opens threatening enough with the music heard in the teaser of The Mummy. But the thundering opening of orchestra and percussion is surely enough to excite you a first time. The second time it will happen with "The Phantom" or David Newman's full adventurous statement of the main theme (aka statements of theme that were heard in the trailer of Starship Troopers and the teaser of The Mask of Zorro). Sadly this is stuff that David Newman can't do anymore, due to the fact he doesn't get the chance to write something this big.
In between, the ominous choir in "The Tomb" is surely powerful enough to be worth mentioning. But by then we are back on adventurous waters and "The Rescue" and "The Escape" are masters in their genre. The first is the seductive suspense builder using the main theme as fuse for the second one, which is the explosive reply. A heroic blast from the past, this is gloriously swashbuckling stuff.
After that spectacle comes relief, due to a noble main theme version in "Must be the Humidity". But the real pride is the second theme that appears here, because that baby will receive its prime time and joy in the final track. There's some energetic rumble in "Diana Must Leave / New York" that will amuse the comedy fans before "The Museum" opens with a dash of mystery through the percussive choral music.
The Phantom's music of David Newman is anything but subtle and even in his adventure music, energy bursts out that could easily spawn into crazy comedic music. But it doesn't happen and "Flying to the Island" is the perfect example of that. There's an relentless energy during the action music that keeps it chaotic and masterful at the same time. It is like throwing his comedic rhythm on an adventurous performance. Wow!
The choral resolution doesn't push away the epic'ness of the adventure and as said "Escaping the Island" brings forth the rousing performance of that secondary theme, now in full epic sound levels. But the real surprise is to find the main theme with soft performances and the secondary theme now in full epic colour. Talk about getting an unheard finale.
The Phantom is as unsubtle as an adventurous score could get. And David Newman doesn't beat around the bush. This is swashbuckling music that some might find a little too much to handle. But true devotees of the David Newman voice will swallow and enjoy every bit that comes their way. This is adventure music he doesn't write anymore, this is orchestral thundering music that continues to explode one second after another. This is our David Newman's own Cutthroat Island and some people will forever treasure it for that.
Tracklisting
1. For Those Who Came in Late (1.20)
2. The Tomb (2.56)
3. The Phantom (5.38) Excellent track
4. Anything's Possible (1.33)
5. The Rescue (4.32)
6. The Escape (5.44) Excellent track
7. Must be the Humidity (2.07)
8. Diana Must Leave / New York (1.00)
9. Ray Gets the Point (1.21)
10. The Museum (2.41)
11. Flying to the Island (6.08)
12. Quill is Destroyed (2.27)
13. Escaping the Island (8.47) Excellent track
Total Length: 46.35
The score opens threatening enough with the music heard in the teaser of The Mummy. But the thundering opening of orchestra and percussion is surely enough to excite you a first time. The second time it will happen with "The Phantom" or David Newman's full adventurous statement of the main theme (aka statements of theme that were heard in the trailer of Starship Troopers and the teaser of The Mask of Zorro). Sadly this is stuff that David Newman can't do anymore, due to the fact he doesn't get the chance to write something this big.
In between, the ominous choir in "The Tomb" is surely powerful enough to be worth mentioning. But by then we are back on adventurous waters and "The Rescue" and "The Escape" are masters in their genre. The first is the seductive suspense builder using the main theme as fuse for the second one, which is the explosive reply. A heroic blast from the past, this is gloriously swashbuckling stuff.
After that spectacle comes relief, due to a noble main theme version in "Must be the Humidity". But the real pride is the second theme that appears here, because that baby will receive its prime time and joy in the final track. There's some energetic rumble in "Diana Must Leave / New York" that will amuse the comedy fans before "The Museum" opens with a dash of mystery through the percussive choral music.
The Phantom's music of David Newman is anything but subtle and even in his adventure music, energy bursts out that could easily spawn into crazy comedic music. But it doesn't happen and "Flying to the Island" is the perfect example of that. There's an relentless energy during the action music that keeps it chaotic and masterful at the same time. It is like throwing his comedic rhythm on an adventurous performance. Wow!
The choral resolution doesn't push away the epic'ness of the adventure and as said "Escaping the Island" brings forth the rousing performance of that secondary theme, now in full epic sound levels. But the real surprise is to find the main theme with soft performances and the secondary theme now in full epic colour. Talk about getting an unheard finale.
The Phantom is as unsubtle as an adventurous score could get. And David Newman doesn't beat around the bush. This is swashbuckling music that some might find a little too much to handle. But true devotees of the David Newman voice will swallow and enjoy every bit that comes their way. This is adventure music he doesn't write anymore, this is orchestral thundering music that continues to explode one second after another. This is our David Newman's own Cutthroat Island and some people will forever treasure it for that.
Tracklisting
1. For Those Who Came in Late (1.20)
2. The Tomb (2.56)
3. The Phantom (5.38) Excellent track
4. Anything's Possible (1.33)
5. The Rescue (4.32)
6. The Escape (5.44) Excellent track
7. Must be the Humidity (2.07)
8. Diana Must Leave / New York (1.00)
9. Ray Gets the Point (1.21)
10. The Museum (2.41)
11. Flying to the Island (6.08)
12. Quill is Destroyed (2.27)
13. Escaping the Island (8.47) Excellent track
Total Length: 46.35