Tracksounds Rating = 7 /10

Composed by Trevor Rabin
Performed by Uncredited
Released by Varese Sarabande on August, 1999

A rock and a hard place is where composer Trevor Rabin must have found himself when sitting down to write the score for this deep sea thriller.  The obvious temptation of going in the  Jaws-direction  must have been great.  On the other hand, to do that would bring on instant ridicule.  Hopefully, most of us who were scared to death by Williams' 1970's-two-note-theme have out grown our fear of the water by now.  Right?  None of us want to relive that fear and no composer can do John Williams better than, well, John Williams.

Rabin's other choice would be to go his own route and use his own style to help scare the audience to death. Rabin's most recent works have painted him as a hit-and-miss-composer with many film-score fans.   Rabin's work for Armageddon (along with Harry Gregson-Williams) was one of the most notable scores of 1998, while their later effort, Enemy of the State, left most film score fans writhing in pain. Rabin was actually able to take a few of EOTS's best elements and work them into his score for Deep Blue Sea.  He does this rather well using solo piano, guitar, a haunting chorus, and the patented synthetic orchestra.

The CD begins, ironically, with a piece that comes from the end of the film, Aftermath.  It is a very beautiful piece similar to Brill's Theme from Enemy of the State, but far more melodic.  It just happens to be the best cut on the CD.  It begins with a simple piano solo and soon erupts into a wonderful orchestral burst.  Fans of Armageddon will be sure to enjoy this track along with  Susan Softens and Journey. Another of the softer tracks is Doctor's Orders, but the remainder of the tracks fall into the shock-your-socks-off-suspense category.

The main titles start off quiet and serene but it isn't long before the audience is baptized in an ominous mix of choral accents, shrieking horns and strings.  Pulsating rhythms (which might be a slight tip of the hat to Jaws, after all) complete the terrifying feel of the track.  These ingredients surface again in several other tracks:  Journey and Shark Side.

Hunting in Packs and Experiments are a bit different from the rest of tracks.  They are more of traditional underscore without much of any identifiable theme to be found.  They help to reinforce the underwater mystery and nightmare of the film.

Varase Sarabande's release is, sadly, too short.  We all know and understand the reasons as to why, but it sure hurts to shell out $15 for one-half hour of music. The average track length is about three minutes long. Be this as it may, the amount of quality music on this CD makes it worth such a price.  The liner notes are full of useless pictures and give very little information regarding the music, composer, or recording sessions.  Thankfully, the track times are provided on back insert.   

If one is a fan of Armageddon or for some unexplained reason, a fan of Enemy of the State, there is likely to be a good deal of music to enjoy in Rabin's latest effort.

Aftermath

2:47

Susan Softens

2:25

Journey

4:46

Hunting in Packs

1:43

Experiment

4:27

Jim Returns

1:19

Shark Side

4:27

Anarchy

4:24

Doctor's Orders

0:34

Category

Score

Composer 
Trevor Rabin