Super Composed by Tyler Bates
Lakeshore Records (2010)
Rating:
2/10
More soundclips below provided by AmazonMp3
“The SUPER
soundtrack verges on an insult to anyone expecting something that
resembles a film score”
Super or Duper?
Review by Richard Buxton
16 minutes. That’s all the score you’ll get if you decide to part with the
cash required to purchase SUPER’S soundtrack. Of course, if TYLER BATES’
16 minutes of original music were to revolutionize film scoring as we know
it, this could potentially be forgiven. Instead, SUPER offers listeners
the chance to hear what is surely one of the most incomprehensibly
structured scores in recent memory.
SUPER will inevitably be subject to countless comparisons to the excellent
KICK ASS, and critically it is certainly suffering in the shadow of the
2010 comic-book-action flick. A lack of originality is obviously not
something that should be condemned instantly, otherwise very few modern
films would see the light of day, but it does set up certain expectations
that need to be met to avoid a legacy of failure. One trait that SUPER is
entirely original in is the TYLER BATE’S score, and the “Original Motion
Picture Soundtrack”. The originality on display here is not heard in the
music itself, but in how poorly the soundtrack is presented. The 35
minutes or so of licensed music, almost apologetically punctuated by the
odd score track, makes for a painfully stilted listening experience, and
ensures that SUPER will remain a bastion of the inexplicable in soundtrack
history.
After the debacle of 300 and a general stream of mediocre scores with the
occasional standout moments, a TYLER BATES score is unlikely to be the
subject of breathless anticipation within the film score community, but
with SUPER, the music on offer and the structure it resides in is simply
poor. The score hits the peak in the very first track “Two Perfect
Moments” (2), offering an initially interesting vocal-based track that
quickly becomes grating, and sets a decisively mediocre precedent for the
rest of the score.
“Finger of God” (8) is about as formulaic as film music gets. The
propulsive strings mixed with an awkward pitch-bending synth, and simple
string and choir blasts evoke none of the emotions they were clearly
designed to, such is their simplicity and brashness. The orchestration
heard within the piece makes for an unfinished and dry texture that does
little for the ears. “Holy Avenger’s Advice” (9), the very next track,
displays a similarly weak foundation, and the curious choice of an organ
eventually lays way to an almost insultingly anti-climactic ending. “The
Second Prayer” (12), like “The Prayer” (5) echoes this with a strangely
premature end to an uninspired, but somewhat relieving relaxed
composition.
The penultimate score track, “Libby Goes Down” (15), is clearly the most
ambitious piece heard in super, although ambitious may be a little
flattering in this case. The track can almost be summed up as 5 minutes of
generic music intended for a trailer, rather than an actual film. The
pulsating synth-line, heard beneath the afterthought wailing vocals and
formulaic strings are perhaps the only noteworthy element of the piece
that ends in yet another anti-climax.
BATES’ contribution to the soundtrack comes to a merciful end in
“Aftermath and Resolution (16) as the opening score track is refit for an
attempt at reflection and catharsis. BATES’ clearly has an affinity for
anti-climax as the finale maintains the pattern set before it, summing up
the limp score offering.
The licensed music in SUPER seems to offer little indication as to why it
was chosen, and the structure is seemingly random. Sandwiching the
pleasant “Nobody Knows You Anymore” (10) between the adequately
invigorating “What it Was” (11) and a score track is mystifying and just
goes to emphasize the lack of cohesiveness on display here. The SUPER
soundtrack can be summarized as a media player on shuffle, such are the
random choices on offer here.
Despite having being subject to a lot of criticism in recent years, TYLER
BATES could generally be relied upon to write a sufficient, if uninspired
score for the various films and games he has worked on. Collaborating with
Zack Snyder has seen his reputation plummet in terms of originality, but
still showed an ability to construct satisfying music, regardless of where
he may have lifted parts. The SUPER soundtrack verges on an insult to anyone
expecting something that resembles a film score. The blame should not be
shouldered entirely by BATES, those in charge of assembling the soundtrack
are clearly at fault too, but a composer writing for major motion pictures
should surely hold himself to standards far higher than this.
