Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
by Hans Zimmer

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Composed by Hans Zimmer Disney Records Rating: 7/10 from Amazon.com Jack Sparrow Dinner is Served Wheel of Fortune

Timbers will shiver!
Review by Christopher Coleman

Following the enormously successful PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, comes it's sequel, DEAD MAN'S CHEST.  At the musical helm this time is veteran composer Hans Zimmer. Klaus Badelt, composer of THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, has kept himself plenty busy of late with four projects in the first half of 2006:  16 BLOCKS, ULTRAVIOLET, POSEIDON, and MIAMI VICE, so not seeing his named tied to the sequel is not a complete surprise.  Zimmer, reportedly making a project switch with Badelt, CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL for what turned out to be abysmal project, MADAGASCAR, may have thought better this time around.  Let's leave the 3D animated stuff to the young bucks and let me give these pirates a try.

The first PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN film was bold success at the box office and less of a hit with a number of film music fans.  Whether faulted for the score-by-committee-style of the "Media Ventures" symposium, or for generating a-genre film music, the score for THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL drew the ire of many.  Of course, that merry band of Media-Venture-devotees were treated to another dose of that great gang of composers, orchestrators, and arrangers adrenalized-music.  With the sequel, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST, came the announcement that Klaus Badelt et al would not be manning the post of score composer, but this time 'round it would be Hans Zimmer....et al.  MV fans rejoiced as the ever-growing gang of haters winced, moaned and flung their collective heads upon their computer keyboards. 

If you were one of those that thought the first PIRATES was an in-thy-face-overblown-mess-of-a-score, then get yourself ready for the sequel...for timbers will shiver!  For PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN; DEAD MAN'S CHEST, Hans Zimmer pulls out whatever stops he might have been saving.  If THE DA VINCI CODE was forceful in a diabolical, mysterious way, then DEAD MAN'S CHEST is forceful in a cannonball-like way.  There is no hinting around here.  DEAD MAN'S CHEST is the type of score that Hans Zimmer's name is synonymous with; bold, expansive, and electronic-sounding (whether its a processed, live-orchestra or not).  PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST beckon the ghosts of THE ROCK, CRIMSON TIDE, DROP ZONE, THE PEACEMAKER... and yet there is a bit of character that helps to distinguish this effort.  Whether it be the lead cello in tracks such as "Jack Sparrow" or pipe organ in "The Kraken," Zimmer gives his latest efforts enough moments of "flare" to keep it from being a complete "retread."  Having established that he could go "other directions" in his scoring, it is usually a pleasure to hear Zimmer and friends let loose again and do their very best to test the limits of even the best sound system.  Such is the case with DEAD MAN'S CHEST.

So for those looking and hoping for some sort of debauchery-laden-high-seas-accuracy from this score, you will, no doubt, be mostly disappointed.  I say "mostly," because there are the briefest of respites from this true Zimmerfest in the latter half of track 5, "Dinner is Served" where Zimmer moves into an entertaining bit of a waltz, and track 7, "Two Hornpipes," which is a short diddy of a folk song.  Aside from that its all "Zimmer" all the time.

Composer Hans Zimmer reprises the main Pirates theme and presents a familiar, but re-engineered theme for Jack Sparrow; however, in the end, this sequel's score is more consistent and more fully developed than is forerunner.  Disney records release of the score is adequate at just over 58 minutes.  With the clear exception of the last track, the soundtrack is recorded and sequenced very well and plays right through much smoother than CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL does.  This is one score begs for an SACD or DVD-AUDIO release.

Just as it predecessor, DEAD MAN'S CHEST may not make you feel like dawning your favorite peg-leg and eye-patch or mounting a fake parrot on your shoulder, but as a stand alone music experience its one of the Summer's most fun. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST will be loved or hated based on, for the most part, your orientation to what Hans Zimmer made his name on.  If you enjoy his patented style of big, punchy, rumbling, music, then you'll be casting anchor on this soundtrack for quite a spell.  If you are not such a fan, then it will likely take you until the NEXT PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN film hits theaters to recover. 

Track	Track Title	Track Time	Rating
1	Jack Sparrow	6:06	****
2	The Kraken	6:55	****
3	Davy Jones	3:15	****
4	I've Got My Eye On You	2:25	***
5	Dinner Is Serverd	1:30	***
6	Tia Dalma	3:57	***
7	Two Hornpipes (Tortuga)	1:14	***
8	A Family Affair	3:34	***
9	Wheel Of Fortune	6:45	****
10	Your Look Good Jack	5:34	***
11	Hello Beastie	10:15	***
12	He's A Pirate (Tiesto Remix) Bonus Track	7:02	*
	TOTAL RUNNING TIME	58:32