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Q-Review
Dreamworks Pictures first full-length animated film, The Prince of Egypt was
truly a marvel in almost everyway- including the stellar work by composer
Hans Zimmer and songwriter Stephen Schwartz. When the announcement of
a "prequel" of sorts, was made, I held high hopes that Zimmer
and company would be returning.
Upon
finding out that this would be direct-to-video release, that hope was dashed. Instead of Zimmer and Schwartz, composer Danny Pelfrey
and songwriter John Bucchino were enlisted to provide the music for the
film. Still, I had a measure of hopeful expectation.
Joseph:
King of Dreams is an adaptation of the Old Testament story of one of
Israel's most important characters: Joseph, one of the thirteen sons of the
patriarch, Jacob. As the Prince of Egypt told the story of a
man in the who helped to liberate an entire nation, King of Dreams,
tells the story of the man who brought the seeds of that very same
nation to Egypt, some 400 years earlier.
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The music for Joseph: King of Dreams utilizes a few of the
ingredients heard in The Prince of Egypt, most clearly, the Middle Eastern
and North African influences; however this effort is more dependent
upon synthesizers- which is no surprise given a comparatively limited
budget.
The
Bottom Line
This music has its moments,
but like the video itself, does not come close to detail and multi-textured
feel of The Prince of Egypt. The score tends to truly suffer in
the action sequences and the vocal songs are rather flat and
uninspiring. Where this album does work are in the softer moments, but
even those prove thin compared to the Prince of Egypt. There is nearly an hours worth of
music released in this promotional disc and features an adequate
recording. If one is a serious collector of animated film music, then King
of Dreams might interest you; however, if you are looking for an
adequate follow up to The Prince of Egypt, this will prove
disappointing.
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Composed
and Conducted by Danny Pelfrey
Songs by John Bucchino