Michael Giacchino's Jurassic World (2015)

[King Mark 3,631]

where's that?

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Any appearances of the Williams fanfare theme? I just can't listen through the whole thing.

[King Mark 3,631]

yeah, at the end of "As the Jurassic World Turns"

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

where's that?

By the end of Raptor Your Heart Out. About 42:26 in the video.

[King Mark 3,631]

I'm getting there

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Blah! Fuck Giacchino, unless it's The Lost World video game or Space Mountain at Disneyland.

So far the highlight it's Giacchino's own quote from his Lost World game score.

Perhaps the only highlight...

[King Mark 3,631]

He seems to be stagnating a bit, or not reaching the greatness we expected

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

So far the highlight it's Giacchino's own quote from his Lost World game score.

Perhaps the only highlight...

Didn't you say you weren't going to hear it all? Then how do you know?

[King Mark 3,631]

Well, I'm sitting through it till the end

Nothing too memorable so far...I liked Tomorrowland better

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

The suite is nice.

[King Mark 3,631]

I guess "The Park is closed" is Gia's main theme

Again, I think that cue and As the Jurassic World Turns would work best without the JW quotes because it inserts great music into "alright" music

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Oh, this is good. Infinitely more interesting and intelligent than Jupiter Ascending or Tomorrowland. Great new theme too. Better than the one cool one from Tomorrowland if only because it has more soul. Wow, there are some Silver Age shades in here. No doubt folks will find them too tenuous... but A for effort!

I'll need to listen a few more times, but I suspect this is the Giacchino score I've been waiting for. There's self-assuredness in the composition, a nice breadth of color, both orchestrationally and harmonically, and, most importantly for him to achieve again, meaningful themes and generally interesting linear writing. I hear the best of his prior work brought together here, and really, none of the weaknesses.

Even with Iwataki on board though, there's something irksome about the whole sound. Not nearly as bad as it used to be but still there. Too heavy on the mids, a wonky balance between the decca tree and room mics. Or just a brass section that's too thick from bloating? 10 horns and 8 trombones might sound nice in harmony, but you don't need them all in unison all the time, Mikey....

[Incanus 5,715]

Sadly I wasn't too impressed with this score. Where did a clear throughline vanish from film scoring? Some kind of inner structure of cues where they don't just start and stop every once in a while? Something like Indominus Wrecks doesn't leave much impression on me after its 6 minute running time. And perhaps I am starting to suffer from short term memory loss since none of Gia's themes register in my memory afterwards. And yes I don't like Gia's new recording/mixing either.

It could have been a lot of better Michael, a lot better.

Wow I am starting to sound like a grumpy old man!

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

My biggest problem with the score (upon my first listen) is the action music. It's completely lacking in suspense and would be more at home in something like Pixar's Dinosaurs. Even the most xylophone-y Williams cues have more weight than this.

[publicist 4,643]

It's on Spotify.

 

 

First scan:

- it's too darn long;

- the main Giacchino theme is good and should have appeared more often

- There are lots of harmonically varied and actually laudable silver age gestures ranging from Williams to Broughton to Shire et al.

- selected moments are dead ringers for Williams pre 1995-action style, like the tail-end of track 9 and the start of track 14. I don't consider that the highest possible praise like some others here do, though.

- there is actual orchestration in this score - you even get a woodwind section with a job to do

- The inclusions of the Williams themes are dreary fanboy service.

- The length means also lots of idle running

- some irritating bits (the choral shouts in the second half of 16)

- the bonus tracks tend to be more interesting than some of the never-ending action material.

[A. A. Ron 1,742]

It's on Spotify.

First scan:

- it's too darn long;

- the main Giacchino theme is good and should have appeared more often

- There are lots of harmonically varied and actually laudable silver age gestures ranging from Williams to Broughton to Shire et al.

- selected moments are dead ringers for Williams pre 1995-action style, like the tail-end of track 9 and the start of track 14. I don't consider that the highest possible praise like some others here do, though.

- there is actual orchestration in this score - you even get a woodwind section with a job to do

- The inclusions of the Williams themes are dreary fanboy service.

- The length means also lots of idle running

- some irritating bits (the choral shouts in the second half of 16)

- the bonus tracks tend to be more interesting than some of the never-ending action material.

I agree with pretty much all of this. The score is better than the samples and sneak peaks indicated. I quite like the suite and some of the bonus tracks, but the score will definitely get a trimming for my mp3 player.

[Incanus 5,715]

Where is the genuine excitement? Where is the vibrancy, energy, sense of danger and pulsing drive? I honestly can't hear much of this in this workman-like entry. I wonder if Giacchino was burned out from all these scores he did this year.

Hey I just remembered a small section of one of the themes! The childlike "exploring theme" which appears twice or thrice in the score. I guess it is something!

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

I honestly can't hear much of this in this workman-like entry. I wonder if Giacchino was burned out from all these scores he did this year.

John Williams would have phoned it in way better.

[Incanus 5,715]

What used to be a highlight of any film score, the lengthy end credits suite where the composer has a chance to write a free form piece which allows the themes to breathe, but Gia noodles away for 12 minutes with his themes without much impact! Oh the humanity!

[King Mark 3,631]

true, I don't like the suite so much

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

He seems to be stagnating a bit, or not reaching the greatness we expected

Did you really expect greatness?

[King Mark 3,631]

I'm expecting better than what I'm hearing in 2015 though

I like his old videogame music better than the scores he writes now

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

What used to be a highlight of any film score, the lengthy end credits suite where the composer has a chance to write a free form piece which allows the themes to breathe, but Gia noodles away for 12 minutes with his themes without much impact! Oh the humanity!

Old fartness is consuming you!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Videogames are probably much easier to write for and don't require the same dramatic talent as film scoring on the level of JW, Goldsmith, Horner etc.

[Incanus 5,715]

What used to be a highlight of any film score, the lengthy end credits suite where the composer has a chance to write a free form piece which allows the themes to breathe, but Gia noodles away for 12 minutes with his themes without much impact! Oh the humanity!

Old fartness is consuming you!

I know! Isn't it awful! I didn't have any huge expectations for this score and it still underwhelmed. It is nice enough I guess but that just doesn't cut it.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

Not a fan of Gia's video game scores either. His Pixar work is pretty good though.

[Incanus 5,715]

Not a fan of Gia's video game scores either. His Pixar work is pretty good though.

Gia's Medal of Honour scores are some of his best (if at times derivative) material. He has rarely written as catchy action pieces as in those scores, very much in the vein of JWs balletic creations for Spielberg films. His Pixar scores are also rather good I must admit.

[publicist 4,643]

Side note: there are much worse/uninteresting scores that get huge raves and long-standing admiration here (say certain Marvel stuff) so....it's no music for the ages, but really, what is these days?

[MedigoScan 324]

I suppose this is what you get when you write a gajillion music scores in one season

edit: of course I fully expect some of the better tracks to be left of the OST as per usual with his movie scores

[leeallen01 2,136]

I was unsure about his new main theme, but now that I've heard its variations, especially in 'Clearly his first Rodeo,' I'm much happier with it. Some nice variations for sure. Also liking the other 3 themes I've counted so far (im only 20 mins in). The theme for the I-Rex is well explored and the two others which not sure if they're for Pratt's character and for the kids, or for Bryce's character and the family etc. But nice stuff so far.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

Wow I am starting to sound like a grumpy old man!

"Starting"?

[Incanus 5,715]

Wow I am starting to sound like a grumpy old man!

"Starting"?

Ridiculous! Preposterous! Utter rot! Harrrumph! Harrumph! Balderdash! Poppycock! Humbug!

[leeallen01 2,136]

I do like the well-roundedness of the love theme, and its resolution in 'nine to survival job.'

[crocodile 8,017]

Side note: there are much worse/uninteresting scores that get huge raves and long-standing admiration here (say certain Marvel stuff) so....it's no music for the ages, but really, what is these days?

It's the same Giacchino as always, structure is similar. Just dressed up more nicely (read: orchestrated slightly differently). Some nice moments here and there but I'm not fan. The best theme in this is the one he uses the least.

Going back to Inside Out.

Karol

[Arpy 4,145]

I enjoyed this score, and I agree with TheGreyPilgrim in that it certainly sounds like Gia put some attention into crafting this score. It's still a little distant for me to like so much now, but like with Tomorrowland, I'm sure I'll warm to it after seeing the film.

I have to congratulate Giacchino for consistently creating unique scores for the shit-tonne he had to work through this year. Here's hoping Inside Out sounds as good as the material we've heard so far!

[A. A. Ron 1,742]

What used to be a highlight of any film score, the lengthy end credits suite where the composer has a chance to write a free form piece which allows the themes to breathe, but Gia noodles away for 12 minutes with his themes without much impact! Oh the humanity!

Are we sure the suite was written for the End Credits? Like the suites for Star Trek Into Darkness, this suite strikes me more as something he wrote early on and then used as a basis for the actual film cues. Granted, I don't know that's what he did on Star Trek...

I actually really like Giacchino's version of Williams' opening for the original film too!

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Arpy 4,145]

For now, aside from 2009, Giacchino has never had four scores back to back.

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

Well guys those comments ruined my day

I'm waiting to listen to the OST after i see the film. (i prefer to listen this in context, since i0m sure many williams renditions will be omited from the OST, like it has happened on other Williams derivative sequels)

I may listen to the suite.

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

I'm really really *really* missing the Raptor glissando trombones. Davis did a masterful job with that Williams idea I think, I especially adore this little passage of the Raptor call at 0:08

It's such a fantastic idea Williams had in the first score and Davis really had fun with it! In retrospect I'm really enjoying a lot what Davis did for JPIII.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

So basically only Pub and I like this Giacchino score without any serious reservation? Huh....

[KK 3,307]

Haven't heard it yet. But from the samples, it sounded more promising than Tomorrowland.

[scallenger 483]

I guess a JP fan like me needs to at least say how he feels about it.

Having heard this score a few times now, I think I know how I feel about it. On my first listen, I was a little underwhelmed. I think because it has been 14 years since a Jurassic Park score, I (and many others) had very specific ideas by this point as to how it should sound. On top of that, after such a long wait, I desired certain references that did not come to pass. In this aspect though, it is still hard to really say how to feel about that, since according to that radio interview, there are at least 30 minutes of score not on this CD that was recorded. I think everyone on JWFAN knows just how many highlights could be in 30 minutes of unreleased music. And Williams references. I'm pretty certain more was recorded that just isn't on the CD. I guess when I see the film we'll have a better idea if this is true. But I think that was my problem when listening to this the first time. I was looking for a straight up Jurassic Park score. But in the end, there are only hints of that Jurassic Park sound apart from the literal theme quotes. Otherwise, this really is a Giacchino score through and through. And when he does try to make his sound be more like Williams, he isn't always going for the Jurassic Park style. Parts of this score echo styles Williams used in scores like Artificial Intelligence, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and perhaps other older works. Even one track feels a little bit like the kind of whimsical nature of Hook. Can you all spot which tracks I am talking about sound like these?

I guess it just wasn't what I expected. And it threw me off. Very much like how I first listened to the Williams Lost World score. Unless one knew about the making of that score in advance, did anyone see that stylistic change coming? I sure didn't. It's funny in a way how the JP scores alternate. We got the first score, which stands on its own obviously as the main source of the franchise of scores. The Lost World changes things up almost completely in tone and style, with just a few sprinkles of the JP score for good measure. Jurassic Park 3 oddly feels more like a true sequel score, using many of JP's themes and motifs over and over again in a variety of references and quotes. And now Jurassic World seems to be taking The Lost World approach again by changing the general sound and style (in it's own style), while again just sprinkling in the JP references.

But, honestly, after getting over this, and listening to it again: I really enjoy this score. I think the first half or so of the album is really sublime all the way to the Indominus Wrecks track. A track I didn't expect to like so much within that is "Clearly His First Rodeo", which starts out as minor action/tense underscore, but then turns into this gorgeous rendition of one of the themes. It felt like something out of his Super 8 score. "As Jurassic World Turns" really does prove to still be a highlight for me, and not even because of the JP Island theme quote. I just really like the "journey" that track takes musically. The middle of the album is where the score gets a bit murky with the unfortunately common "Giacchino underscoring" that occurs with almost all of his scores; meaning that nothing too interesting musically is happening. But once the "Dimorphodon Shuffle" appears, I think the score picks up really well again for many tracks. "Love In The Time Of Pterosauria" is a really fun track that gets quite creepy and even dramatic in its sound compared to many of the other tracks. And maybe it is just me, but for this track, does Giacchino mimic the Don Davis sound for the Pteranodon music from Jurassic Park 3? Just in a few moments of the track, mind you. If so, I really love that he did that, even if it isn't a direct quote of any of it. "Raptor Your Heart Out" seems to almost reference the JP carnivore motif, fittingly, and at the very least goes for that same sort of brass scare within the track. Of course, as already noted, this track also references Giacchino's own Lost World playstation video game music briefly, which I think he chose to do in a very fun way. That whole track is a lot of fun as far as the action music goes in this score, and is one of my favorite tracks on the album. While there are some great tracks after this one, I feel the album loses momentum by the end because it is lacking a serious "finale" action track. Sure, we get the choir-filled "My Rex Is Bigger Than Yours" track, which definitely stands out (especially with it's brief Williams Lost World reference), but it's over far too quickly with the resolution happening almost immediately afterward. It felt like the album was all buildup to almost nothing in the end. However, this could be due to music not present on the CD, so I'm still hoping among that music is extra climax material.

As for the suite, it is a very odd track. How could it be called the Jurassic World suite when it doesn't even have Giacchino's Jurassic World theme even in it? And not any of the Williams JP themes either, for that matter. It should have been instead called the Indominus Suite, since a good half of it seems to focus on that dinosaur's motif/theme more than anything. Sure, it does explore some more of the score's action material within it, and the almost randomly brief quote of, I guess, the "family" theme, but it is definitely not a proper suite imo. Having said that, it is one of my favorite tracks. I thought it had by far the most fun use of the Indominus motif for an wonderfully extended runtime (even though it wasn't the entire track). The other theme performances were also done really well.

The tracks after the suite, which are clearly park attraction cues (some people still seem confused by this somehow), are oddly a highlight of the score. They're quite fun, if very un-JP for the most part. The best one is definitely the final one, "Sunrise O'er Jurassic World". It sounds like a Goldsmith track, honestly, but with the added flair of percussion and jungle-type music that would feel more at home in the Lost World score. I'm so glad he included this track and the others, since originally it was not part of the album (if you saw the original album tracklist from Screen Archives). Perhaps he decided to include if only to have the track "Sunrise O'er Jurassic World" because the back cover states it was actually composed by his son, Mick. I hope he does more! I do hope that replacing the original 3 tracks in the main score with these on the album didn't mean losing out on some tracks that would have made me enjoy the album a lot more from my qualms above.

So overall, I think it is a really good score and fits in with the others well. But it is different. Which is both a good and a odd thing all at once. But I think over time I won't hold it as much against it, just like with Lost World. It is currently least favorite JP score, but it is still really good despite this. I'm sure it'll work even better in the film, and can't wait to hear more music from it when I do.

EDIT: For those of you who have not read/seen the soundtrack booklet, it contains a lengthy note from both director Colin Trevorrrow and Michael Giacchino. Giacchino mentions how Spielberg got him the gig on the Lost World playstation video game score that helped paved his way to his career and is clearly still grateful for it. No wonder he felt like he had to reference that score in at least one track. And Colin's note shows that, at the very least, he is a director that understands the importance of music score in a film. That's very promising, considering whatever he does next. If he really does end up becoming another big-time director, I'm glad it's a trait of his. Hell, the fact he even put a note on the score album shows that he clearly cares about music in films. You don't get that from all directors at all anymore, clearly.

[crocodile 8,017]

So basically only Pub and I like this Giacchino score without any serious reservation? Huh....

I find it really funny.

Karol

[Incanus 5,715]

So basically only Pub and I like this Giacchino score without any serious reservation? Huh....

I find it really funny.

Karol

I find it baffling.

[Bilbo 3,709]

I'm... enjoying this score. I'm not at the point of loving it just yet but I think I'll like it more after hearing it in context, especially if the film is good.

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

The suite sounds like medal of honor era music for me...

Not bad.

[King Mark 3,631]

, especially if the film is good.

I expect a 35% Tomato rating

[peter.anschutz 43]

Once it downloaded last night (I pre-ordered on iTunes), I tried listening to the whole thing in bed, but I fell asleep about halfway through. I've tried getting through it twice today but each time I turned it off and did something else. I'm currently on my third attempt. Also, I usually find it difficult to concentrate on other things, such as reading, while listening to music because I focus all my attention on the music itself. That hasn't been the case with this soundtrack album; I find myself easily tuning it out (like right now as I write this). I'll force myself to give it a serious listen later on tonight through my surround sound system. I'll reserve an overall judgement until I've actually seen the film.

[Jay 37,368]

I'm hoping to like it more after I see the film as well. Right now, its just not that memorable.