Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End

[MissPadmé 17]

Oh my I never thought that I would say this.. but I really love "Dead Man's Chest" and "At World's End" (the films). I just like that charcter of Davy Jones and the constant betrayal that is going on

but a word about the music:

While the one for part Two: Dead Man's Chest is not even worth defining as (new) music (Exept for davy jonses theme), I really love the third one!!

I don't know what it is, but it has something more creative than all that MV/RC crap and on some parts it seems as if you can hear pure orchestral sound.. nothing overlayerd with Soundfonts.. you even have orchestral effects something pretty unusual for Hans Zimmer (orchestral flouishes) of course there are about 30% of standard MV stuff but the rest has atleast some potential of being a great soundtrack experience. some parts could even be from post-mummy2-Silvestri which is a very good thing I think (well for MV atleast) I dont think I would have thought that a track like "Up is Down" was composed by Hans Zimmer (not for the most part of it) sounds more like Debney

Hell even Will and Elizabeth get something like an LoveTheme.. and it even dosnt sound like RC

what do you gus think guys about the music of 2 and 3?

[Neimoidian 14]

I definitelly agree. While I don't like Zimmer's action scores, the 3rd one is really good and more inspired than most of the others. The writing is more complex than in the previous ones and the themes are considerably good. It's not high art, by any means, but it's fun entertainment without feeling of guilt. The album severly lacks couple of great cues like extended Singapore, one from the final battle and the beautiful one from the scene when Will is stabbed.

As for the DMC, I like the concert cues - Jack Sparrow (one of Hans's best), Davy Jones and - yes, this one is guilty pleasure - The Kraken. I also have some sentiment for "Wheel of Fortune", I once tried sailing while listening to it and the result was extraordinary.

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

This is Intolerable!

Slap! That for the Blasphemy.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

While the one for part Two: Dead Man's Chest is not even worth defining as (new) music (Exept for davy jonses theme), I really love the third one!!

I don't know what it is, but it has something more creative than all that MV/RC crap and on some parts it seems as if you can hear pure orchestral sound.. nothing overlayerd with Soundfonts.. you even have orchestral effects something pretty unusual for Hans Zimmer (orchestral flouishes) of course there are about 30% of standard MV stuff but the rest has atleast some potential of being a great soundtrack experience. some parts could even be from post-mummy2-Silvestri which is a very good thing I think (well for MV atleast) I dont think I would have thought that a track like "Up is Down" was composed by Hans Zimmer (not for the most part of it) sounds more like Debney

Hell even Will and Elizabeth get something like an LoveTheme.. and it even dosnt sound like RC

Hans Zimmer always uses a real orchestra, this is nothing new. Up Is Down sounds like pure HZ and not like Debney at all. And there is a Love Theme, an extremely good one at that, not "something like" a love theme.

[indy4 155]

DMC is a great score, if only for "Jack Sparrow" and a few others.

AWE is one of my all time favorite scores, it's probably in my top ten.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I would probably guess that At World's End is Hans' own favorite of all his scores.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

DMC is a great score, if only for "Jack Sparrow" and a few others.

"Jack Sparrow and a few others" does not make it a great score by any standard...or even a good one for that matter.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The whole album is a solid effort. All the tracks are great.

I really wish Pirates Of The Caribbean would get some kind of complete score treatment. Hans Zimmer recorded 3 hours of music for At World' End. There have been several compilation albums and re-recordings.

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

Hans Zimmer always uses a real orchestra, this is nothing new.

He uses real musicians, but not always a orchestra in their own.

[CJWilkie 0]

Curse of the Black Pearl was a fun soundtrack. A little similar throughout but set the tone for the whole series.

Dead Man's Chest soundtrack was very, very dire. Sure "Jack Sparrow" is one of my favourite pieces ever. "Davy Jones" is nice, and "The Kraken" is alright, the rest of it is a disaster considering the music they could have put in it. As for the "Bonus Track" of the Tieseto remix...while interesting I think it should not have been included.

At World's End however is definitely one of my favourite soundtrack albums of all time. The use of the various parts of the love theme throughout; the complexity of some of the cues created; and the sheer beauty of it all make it stand out. Although the film wasn't great (enjoyable, just not special), I agree that the music is some of Hans' best.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Hans Zimmer always uses a real orchestra, this is nothing new.

He uses real musicians, but not always a orchestra in their own.

I'm pretty sure every score of his has a real orchestra in it, in some way. He writes the music using his computer, but he hands it over to people like Gavin Greenaway, Bruce Fowler, and formerly Harry Gregson-Williams who can read and write music to conduct it with a live orchestra.

[Henry B 50]

At World's End is almost good enough to be a guilty pleasure.

[crocodile 8,012]

I agree. I like Cutthroat Island-like theme.

Karol

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

At World's End is almost good enough to be a guilty pleasure.

That's just about what it is for me. The highlights, at least. I haven't ever gotten into the second score, being unable to get past the headache-inducing "The Kraken."

[John Crichton 4]

I have no intention of ever listening to these on CD, but from what I've heard in the film- DMC is an improvement but still almost as headache enducing as the first, especially in the last act. I will give credit to the little celeste diddy for Jack, it's just too bad there's no variation on it in the entire score, it's exactly the same every time.

There were parts of AWE that I actually found tolerable. I haven't seen it since the theater so once I get around to it again, who knows, I may actually find a snippet or two I actually (gasp!) like.

[Ollie 1,059]

I agree. I like Cutthroat Island-like theme.

Karol

I'll just listen to Cutthroat Island.

[crocodile 8,012]

That's another matter.

Karol

[Red 75]

At World's End is most definitely the best score of the three, and it probably one of Zimmer's best. Coincidentally, it is the Pirates score that uses the least amount of synths.

[Pieter Boelen 740]

I agree. I like Cutthroat Island-like theme.

That is NOT an insult of Cutthroat Island. Is it?

[Morlock 11]

I don't hear any PoTC theme that sounds like Cutthroat Island.

[FattyMcButterpants 1]

Dead Man's Chest I absolutely hate. The concept for The Kraken is questionable at best, Jacks Sparrow is a whisper of a melody that is underdeveloped and overly stretched into a concert suite that is four minutes too long.

Plus, a lot of the action music sounds as if someone loaded their french horn patch into their sampler and used a sequencer that doesn't recognise dynamic marks.

At World's End still has some of the obnoxious action music of DMC, but overall it sounds as if Hans Zimmer actually put some effort into it to make it a memorable score. Whenever it delves into old material, though, like in the end credits, it loses impact.

And Curse Of The Black Pearl is a score I'd really like to forget in its entirety.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

I really quite like At World's End. There's a few very good tracks and Up Is Down has to be one of Zimmer's best cues ever (and a wonderful track regardless of composer). Thanks to this and The Simpsons Movie, I was pleasantly surprised by Mr. Zimmer for 2007.

[MissPadmé 17]

Hans Zimmer always uses a real orchestra, this is nothing new.

He uses real musicians, but not always a orchestra in their own.

I'm pretty sure every score of his has a real orchestra in it, in some way. He writes the music using his computer, but he hands it over to people like Gavin Greenaway, Bruce Fowler, and formerly Harry Gregson-Williams who can read and write music to conduct it with a live orchestra.

Oh mister I never said that he doesn't use a real orchestra at all... I mean you can even see a real orchestra playing the score on several documentaries.. but as we all know Zimmer likes to dub that real performance with VSL samples so that it gets a really crappy synthetic sound..

I just think that he decided to reduce that on At World's End

[FattyMcButterpants 1]

Zimmer doubles it with VSL? That's ... unusual.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

2007 was an overall excellent year for Zimmer in general.

He proved he could get away from the lame slump of same-scores he had since post-Gladiator.

The Da Vinici code sort of started, and we saw him sort of move away from the status-quo and try something new...and then in 2007 he actually went outside of his comfort zone, which is more than we can say for the best living composers at the moment.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Hans Zimmer always uses a real orchestra, this is nothing new.

He uses real musicians, but not always a orchestra in their own.

I'm pretty sure every score of his has a real orchestra in it, in some way. He writes the music using his computer, but he hands it over to people like Gavin Greenaway, Bruce Fowler, and formerly Harry Gregson-Williams who can read and write music to conduct it with a live orchestra.

Oh mister I never said that he doesn't use a real orchestra at all... I mean you can even see a real orchestra playing the score on several documentaries.. but as we all know Zimmer likes to dub that real performance with VSL samples so that it gets a really crappy synthetic sound..

I just think that he decided to reduce that on At World's End

He doesn't dub anything. His scores are a mixture of both synth and orchestra. In his early scores, everything was synth, but that was a long long time ago.

[Vaderbait1 1]

Yeah, he uses both so that there's this really crappy, reality-show vibe to all his scores. So many times I find myself saying "My God that would be amazing music if only it didn't sound like a video game!"

[FattyMcButterpants 1]

Actually, video game scores nowadays sound better than Zimmer.

[Vaderbait1 1]

Actually, video game scores nowadays sound better than Zimmer.

I should have clarified. I'm thinking NES level video games.

[Richard Penna 3,688]

I really enjoy the third score - the epitome of a guilty pleasure IMO. The themes are very memorable and there is some very fun action music.

I love Jack Sparrow, the first half of Davy Jones (edited the last part out) and some of Wheel of Fortune from DMC, and that's it. The rest of it was boring as hell when I last tried to listen to it, if not giving me a headache.

Wouldn't be attracted by any sort of expanded scores, even of AWE. After all, we got the parachute cue already! ()

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

For the first movie, I was actually pleasantly surprised - for the first twenty minutes or so. It all went downhill from there, and very quickly so. Score was horrible.

I haven't seen or heard the second one.

Not seen the third one either, but yes, the score actually is quite good. Not great, and for long stretches the action stuff seemed endless and not that much more, but there's some nearly wonderful stuff in there too.

I should have clarified. I'm thinking NES level video games.

The C64, which was around at about the same time as the NES, had one of the most famous sound chips of all time. And while there was a lot of music that didn't take advantage of it and just resulted in the "typical beepy computer sound", there also was some excellent music.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Yeah, he uses both so that there's this really crappy, reality-show vibe to all his scores. So many times I find myself saying "My God that would be amazing music if only it didn't sound like a video game!"

His scores don't sound like video games at all. And if synths are your only problem with his scores, then just buy Music From Pirates Of The Caribbean, or Film Music of Hans Zimmer, and you will have his music performed by an orchestra only.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

Which still doesnt make the music from the first two scores any better.

[Desplat13 1]

Zimmer doubles it with VSL? That's ... unusual.

Not really. Lots of people like to double a real orchestra with samples, so as to get the realism of a real orchestral performance, and then add the 'lush' sound of 200 violins all playing the same note. Needless to say, I disapprove.

Now, I do think it is rarer in the big budget film score scene, 'cause they can usually afford to get 200 or so violinists. I guess Zimmer just wants 400 instead...

This is why I love Attack of the Clones.

[Henry B 50]

200 violins? Ridiculous. I'm quite okay with scores having a smaller sound, e.g. Star Wars.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Actually for The Phantom Menace, john Williams used a lot of subtle synth enhancements.

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

And Jurassic Park.

[Vaderbait1 1]

Zimmer doubles it with VSL? That's ... unusual.

Not really. Lots of people like to double a real orchestra with samples, so as to get the realism of a real orchestral performance, and then add the 'lush' sound of 200 violins all playing the same note. Needless to say, I disapprove.

Now, I do think it is rarer in the big budget film score scene, 'cause they can usually afford to get 200 or so violinists. I guess Zimmer just wants 400 instead...

This is why I love Attack of the Clones.

Which is funny, because scores with both orchestra and samples DO NOT sound lush and huge. They sound like they're small and trying to be huge.

[Morlock 11]

Not necessarily. John Powell's scores don't sound smaller. Zimmer's tend to, though.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

John Powell is a master of synth/orchestra combination.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Not compared to what Jerry Goldsmith has done in this field since the 70's.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

The Spanish flag speaks the truth.

[Morlock 11]

Not compared to what Jerry Goldsmith has done in this field since the 70's.

No....but the synth element in Goldsmith's scores is not exactly uniformly successful.

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

The Spanish flag speaks the truth.

VASPAÑA!

[Desplat13 1]

Zimmer doubles it with VSL? That's ... unusual.

Not really. Lots of people like to double a real orchestra with samples, so as to get the realism of a real orchestral performance, and then add the 'lush' sound of 200 violins all playing the same note. Needless to say, I disapprove.

Now, I do think it is rarer in the big budget film score scene, 'cause they can usually afford to get 200 or so violinists. I guess Zimmer just wants 400 instead...

This is why I love Attack of the Clones.

Which is funny, because scores with both orchestra and samples DO NOT sound lush and huge. They sound like they're small and trying to be huge.

Exactly.

[Desplat13 1]

Actually for The Phantom Menace, john Williams used a lot of subtle synth enhancements.

Keyword being subtle.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

Which is funny, because scores with both orchestra and samples DO NOT sound lush and huge. They sound like they're small and trying to be huge.

Well...if you're listening to it on your tin can with a bit of string, I will grant you that. If anything they sound too huge for their own goods.

This is why I love Attack of the Clones.

Never take opinions regarding mixing from someone who loves Attack of the Clones.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

No....but the synth element in Goldsmith's scores is not exactly uniformly successful.

That can be debated.

Generally speaking Jerry did not follow the popular tastes in synth as they were used in pop music or other scores, he always tried to find something different, something unique, something that spoke of the film.

The Zimmer/Media Ventures/Remote Control sound has not undergone any radical differences as far as I have noticed since the 90's.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

If you want to hear what MV would sound like if it creatively pushed itself, listen to John Powell.

Or better yet...Van Helsing.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Van Helsing is MV on steroids.

John Powell is music beyond MV's reach.