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“Composer John
Debney is certainly well-respected and well-honored in the world of
musical scores and if he has not yet had his defining musical
moment, LAIR, just might be it. ”
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What Layeth in Wait
in Debney's Lair?
Review by Christopher
Coleman
What layeth in wait
in John Debney's LAIR?
Be this a film? A
concert? A video game
dare?
Surely not such a work
as this.
A piece that none
honest could easily
resist.
Musical themes? A film
score fan's dreams.
Yes for the gameplay
itself,
and, of course, the
cut-scenes.
Doth today's
orchestras blare with
such bold fanfare?
Indeed they do...in
John Debney's LAIR!
What is a
poem doing here you
might ask. It's
simple. This
5-track promo of
composer JOHN DEBNEY's
upcoming score for the
Playstation 3 video
game, LAIR, has inspired
this bit of
spontaneous poetry.
Now any score that can
do that might just be
worth a listen.
But before you
listen...read on.
Composer John Debney's
epic effort for what
has become one of the
most anticipated games
for Sony's next-gen-gaming
console
certainly contributes
to the level of "must-haveness"
the game has garnered.
The promo
delivers some 16,
enticing minutes of
score, but reportedly
there were literally hours
of material recorded
by the London Symphony
Orchestra.
According to an
interview in February
2007, conducted by IGN.com, John Debney
and orchestra recorded
some 8 discs of music
for LAIR! Ah
what a glorious tease
this promo is.
Each of the five
tracks are engaging in
their own right.
The end result being a
whistle-wetting-experience
that bodes well for
the upcming
soundtrack release
(releasing label not
determined at the time
of this review).
Track 1, "Main Titles"
delivers a bold and
majestic introduction
to LAIR's main theme.
The heroic piece
echoes back to musical
eras seemingly long
gone.
Thankfully, the video
game industry
continues to keep this
fading musical style
alive and well and
Debney takes full
advantage of the
opportunity.
After a initial brass
fanfare, the track
flares into a clear
Miklós
Rózsa
reference...and it's
just beautiful to
hear. While that
bit would be enough to
distinguish this score
from any other video
game score (and many
contemporary film
scores), Debney
delivers yet
another unexpected
twist.
Continuing his
inventive use of
ethnic instrumentation
as he did in
THE PASSION OF THE
CHRIST, Debney
surprisingly employs
the Chinese erhu.
Karen Han's
performance on the
erhu introduces
another prominent
motif of the score.
This unexpected
introduction of
Eastern
instrumentation into a
predominantly Western
score is startling at
first, but soon
settles into the
overall score quite
well.
Again John Debney
collaborates with
Lisbeth Scott, whose
vocal and composition
talents have graced
such film scores as
THE LION, THE WITCH,
AND THE WARDROBE,
MUNICH, and Debney's
own THE PASSION OF THE
CHRIST. For LAIR
she writes the lyrics
which are performed by
lead vocalist, TANYA
TSAROUSKA and THE
LONDON VOICES.
Every track on this
promo release contains
some vocal element
usually performing one
of the two apparent
main themes. The
final result is an
expansive and deep
musical experience
that has been
exclusively reserved
for feature films
until recent years.
While tracks such as
"Epilogue" (2) and "Rohn
Basil" (3) are
performed at a slow,
dream-like tempo, the
promo concludes with
two, tour de force
pieces: "Fire
Bomb" (4) and "Asylia
4" (5). "Fire
Bomb" features heavy
percussion
undergirding the theme
first introduced by
the erhu in track 1.
The track builds in
drama, anticipation
and simultaneously
with the sort of hope
and vitality that
marked "The
Resurrection" from
Debney's THE PASSION
OF THE CHRIST.
And finally we reach
track 5, "Asylia 4"
and Debney moves full
into John Williams
territory. With
more than a slight nod
to Williams' "Battle
of the Heroes" and
perhaps "Duel of the
Fates" from the STAR
WARS prequel trilogy,
"Asylia 4" hits all
the same musical peaks
as Williams' headline
pieces did: the
expansive choir, the
blasts of brass, the
heroic performance of
the main theme
countered by
unrelenting timpanis,
anvil strikes,
cymbals, gongs and
yes, even the "boom
tiss"...is all there.
Suffice it to say that
this piece goes beyond
just "working"...it
soaringly brings the
promo to a triumphant
conclusion. One
can imagine just how
much these pieces lift
the game experience to
a completely new
level.
Composer John Debney
is certainly
well-respected and
well-honored in the
world of musical
scores and if he has
not yet had his
defining musical
moment, LAIR, just
might be it.
Hats off to Factor 5,
the developer of the
game, and Sony
Computer Entertainment
for spending the money
and taking their
score's production to
the highest levels.
John Debney, the
London Symphony
Orchestra, Lisbeth
Scott, The London
Voices, and Abbey Road
Studios? It
doesn't get any more
top-drawer than that.
Whether you bother
with the game or not,
make sure you keep
your eyes and ears
open for the eventual
soundtrack release of
LAIR...and see what
poetic words John
Debney's music might
inspire in you.
 Rating: 9/10
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Track |
Track Title |
Track Time |
Rating |
|
1 |
Main Titles |
2:14 |
***** |
|
2 |
Epilogue |
3:17 |
***** |
|
3 |
Rohn
Basil |
2:07 |
**** |
|
4 |
Fire
Bomb |
3:59 |
**** |
|
5 |
Asylia
4 |
4:26 |
***** |
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Total Running Time (approx) |
16 minutes |
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