Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Composed by Hans Zimmer
Disney Records (2011)
Rating:
5/10
More soundclips below provided by AmazonMp3
“ON STRANGER TIDES
is a rare case where the score that was apparently written for the
film appears to have been much better than what ended up in the
film, while simultaneously the soundtrack which could have
compensated for that error, ultimately fails with the
over-indulgence of sub-par, uninteresting remixes.”
Low Tide
Review by Christopher Coleman
With PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END in 2007, it was thought that the
franchise had done its “trilogical” duty. True. The film itself was a convoluted
mess, but it delivered one of the most exhilarating film score experiences of
the year and so, in that sense, the trilogy was concluding on a high note. Well,
actually there was one other note on which the film proved successful. Let’s
call it nearly 1 billion, worldwide notes. With all those notes in mind, when it
was announced that Captain Jack would be back, it probably should have come as
little surprise. But where would the franchise go from the end of the
world?
Four years later, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES would see the
return of Jack Sparrow as well as composer Hans Zimmer. However, director Gore
Verbinski would not be returning as the romantic tale of William Turner and
Elizabeth Swann had come to an end. Instead, Captain Sparrow would now be the
centerpiece of the story and this time director Rob Marshall would be calling
the shots. The final result is a film that is more straight-forward than its
predecessors, but in fact too much so. This fourth foray into this famous world
of Disney lacked much of the grandeur, attention to detail, and fun of the first
three. A race for the mystical fountain of youth with the likes of Sparrow,
Barbosa, and the infamous Blackbeard would seem to provide a big enough splash
easily increased, by a decent original score, into a tidal wave of a film. As it
turns out, On Stranger Tides, is further evidence that the tide has been slowly
receding since the closing credits of the CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL.
HANS ZIMMER returns to high seas hijinks, but this time his shipmates are the
amazingly talented guitar-duo of RODRIGO Y GABRIELA. To reflect the inclusion of
a Spanish armada and Sparrow’s love interest, Angelica Teach, incorporating the
duo was a brilliant call. Most unfortunately, their creative contributions
largely go to waste...especially as heard in the film. The soundtrack release
itself does offer a better sampling of their work, but, as we’ll look at later,
suffers from its own mixups and setbacks.
Aside from the expected Jack Sparrow and main Pirates theme from the trilogy,
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES is built upon three main thematic
elements: the Angelica theme, the mermaids theme, and the Blackbeard theme.
Interestingly, the best of these three themes gets the worst treatment in the
film. We get low-mixed glimpses of Angelica's theme throughout the film, but if
you want to hear what it could have (should have) been listen to this wonderful
guitar-laden tango by Rodrigo y Gabriela in track 2, “Angelica.” In “Mermaids”
(5), we are first reacquainted with a mystical, vocal theme first introduced in
AT WORLD’S END in “At Wit’s End” before we get full exposure to the haunting,
female chorus singing out, what will be, the oft employed motif. Lastly, we have
the film’s seriously under-utilized villain, Blackbeard. Bell tolls, slow tempo,
guttural brass, and male chorus, clearly define Blackbeard’s theme (8), yet it
can be distractingly similar to Zimmer’s music for the Kraken from DEAD MAN’S
CHEST.
When it comes to the original soundtrack release, what makes ON STRANGER TIDES
an interesting listen is RODRIGO Y GABRIELA’s contribution. In addition to the
wonderfully delicious “Angelica” (2) piece, we are treated to tracks like “The
Pirate that Should Not Be” (4), “South of Heaven’s Chanting” (6) and the superb
“Angry and Dead Again” (9). It’s more than a shame that the score, as heard in
the film, failed to capitalize on the amount of life and character these pieces
contain.
Now this isn’t to say that this soundtrack release is faultless. In fact, it has
a defect that severely impacts my final rating. The inclusion of seven remix
tracks is simply deplorable. Yes. There have been plenty o’ remixes from the
Pirates scores in the past, but those were relegated to albums of their own.
Surely, there was enough original score to fill a CD, so the exclusion of such
tracks for these remixes is a crime. One can only wonder if the combining of
this amount of original score with this many remixes actually causes greater
sales with, presumably, the target audience is widened. My guess would be
a big, fat, "nay."
Well it seems clear that the tide is going out on the Pirates of the Caribbean
franchise, but with over $1 Billion at the box office, who’d be surprised if
there were another Pirates movie on the horizon? If we be subject to another
adventure, let us hope that they are able to inject more of the Disney magic and
adventure found in great supply in the first film. Also, let us hope, should
Hans Zimmer (and guest) return, that their subsequent score finds adequate
representation in the final mix of the film and on the associated soundtrack
release. It’s hard to imagine that the tide could go out any further than it has
here. ON STRANGER TIDES is a rare case where the score that was apparently
written for the film appears to have been much better than what ended up in the
film, while simultaneously the soundtrack, which could have compensated for that
error, ultimately fails with the over-indulgence of sub-par, uninteresting
remixes. As a result, my final rating likely doesn't reflect the quality
of the score that was written for the film, but the shame that is its
implementation and neglect on the original soundtrack.
Rating:
5/10
Track
Track Title
Track Time
Rating
1
Guilty of Being
Innocent of
Being Jack
Sparrow
1:42
***
2
Angelica
4:17
*****
3
Mutiny
2:48
***
4
The
Pirate
That
Should
Not
Be
3:55
*****
5
Mermaids
8:05
****
6
South of Heaven's Chanting Mermaids
5:48
****
7
Palm Tree Escape
3:06
***
8
Blackbeard
5:05
***
9
Angry and Dead Again
5:33
*****
10
On Stranger Tides
2:44
***
11
End Credits
2:00
***
12
Guilty of Being Innocen of Being Jack Sparrow (Remixed by DJ Earworm)
2:45
*
13
Angelica (Grant Us Peace Remix) by Ki: Theory
3:08
**
14
The Pirate That Should Not Be (Remixed by Photek)
6:26
**
15
Blackbeard (Remixed by Super Mash Bros & Thieves)
5:26
*
16
South of Heaven's Chanting Mermaids (Remixed by Paper Diamonds)
