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Hans Zimmer's DROP ZONE (1994) - NEW 2021 Quartet Expanded


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DROP-ZONE.jpg

 

Drop Zone
Hans Zimmer
16,95€
Ref: QR442
Limited edition: 1500 units.

 

Quartet Records and Paramount Pictures present an expanded, remastered edition of the powerful, muscular, non-stop action score composed by Hans Zimmer (THE LION KING, BLACK RAIN, DAYS OF THUNDER, INTERSTELLAR) for the 1994 John Badham testosterone-fueled action vehicle DROP ZONE.

 

Wesley Snipes plays U.S. marshal Pete Nessip, who loses his brother/partner (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) when a crew of skydiving cyber terrorists led by Ty Moncrief (Gary Busey) hijacks their plane. Nessip goes undercover in Moncrief’s gang, learns to skydive, and after an escalating series of high-flying stunts, he thwarts their effort to hack the DEA and saves the day.

 

Zimmer’s music for DROP ZONE continues in the same vein the composer explored in his two previous films with Badham, BIRD ON A WIRE and POINT OF NO RETURN. It’s frantically dynamic, immersing the story in a labyrinth of chaos and tension, a balls-out action score full of blood-pumping rhythmic motors, guitar riffs, and orchestral tour-de-force.

 

This album includes virtually all the music composed by Hans Zimmer for the film, as well as additional music written by Nick Glennie-Smith and John Van Togeren. Produced by Dan Goldwasser, mastered by Doug Schwartz and supervised by the composer, the package contains in-depth liner notes by film music writer Tim Greiving, including exclusive interviews with Mr. Zimmer and Mr. Glennie-Smith.


1. Drop Zone (1:55)
2. Bring the Cats* / Hi Jack* (7:28)
3. Terry’s Dropped Out (1:01)
4. Florida Keys* / Jagger* (2:29)
5. Falling Out of the Sky* (1:31)
6. Leedy Jumps* (1:20)
7. Ty Computes* (0:32)
8. Flashbacks & Fries (4:23)
9. Miami Jump (5:14)
10. Find Swoop* / Ex. Chute* / Foul Play* (3:07)
11. Helicopter* (1:52)
12. Gift Wrap* (2:16)
13. Cut the Cord* (1:12)
14. Too Many Notes (Not Enough Rests) (11:09)
15. After the Dub** (13:39)
16. Swoop Swoops Down on Leedy* (1:20)

 

Bonus Tracks:
17. Helicopter (Alternate)* (1:57)
18. Hi Jack (Album Version) (4:32)
19 .Hyphopera (Instrumental)* (0:55)

 

*previously unreleased / **contains previously unreleased material

 

https://quartetrecords.com/product/drop-zone/

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I haven’t yet listened to the ost all the way through. But I dig earlier 90s Zimmer thriller scores. I do know they used pieces of this in trailers a lot back in the day (Mask if Zorro, PotC etc) Should be fun! 

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Just one of those early 90's adrenaline flicks like Terminal Velocity etc. Not particularly good, but fast and breezy. Entertaining Zimmer, too, with a lot of his typical licks but not sounding processed to death.

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I remember the film as mildly amusing, but not much more. Never really been a fan of the score, but this announcement has inspired me to revisit my ol' OST. In a related vein, I just rewatched PASSENGER 57 some 3-4 days ago - another fond Wesley Snipes memory from the 90s - and although it was hokier than I had remembered, it also has some great setpieces. The Stanley Clarke score is fantastic.

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So I went to my digital collection to relisten to the OST after the announcement of the expanded version, only to find it wasn't there anymore. Must have deleted it years ago. So I went to Spotify, and quickly understood WHY I had deleted it. A bunch of swishes, swooshes, bangs and whizzes without going anywhere. So I don't really want to reacquire the OST, much less the expanded version.

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Yeah, can't say I was particularly impressed with this one when I gave the OST a listen. It's too messy for me to really get behind, especially with how improperly any thematic material is used. The only bit I do remember is of course the one portion in Too Many Notes (Not Enough Rests) that got recycled for the Pirates movies.

In a lot of ways, scores like this one and other of his earlier efforts kind of help make the case for Zimmer being so reliant on the same few tricks he keeps using. Namely in how he can still manage to make things feel very distinct in spite of technically using some of the same building blocks. Black Rain and Batman Begins might share that one moment, but the actual scores couldn't be any more different. So I get more amused than annoyed in the cases like the Pirates example I mentioned above.

I kind of do want to buy this release, since I realize I don't actually own any Zimmer CDs in my collection. But given my rather middling reception to the music thus far, I might have to give the previous boot a spin to see if I'm any more receptive to it.

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1 hour ago, Koray Savas said:

Drop Zone is a fun score, but definitely not my favorite amongst that 90s era sound. I much prefer Broken Arrow, Crimson Tide, and The Rock. 

Agree, The Rock is the best among all of them. Maybe after Broken Arrow, The Peacemaker and Drop Zone it will be the next expansion of his 90's scores...

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This was an easy buy for me. (Finally threw in The Long Goodbye, too.) The film is pretty silly, from what I remember, and I couldn't fault a fellow Williams fan for disliking the score. But I picked up the OST after hearing the most iconic bit in the Pirates trailer, and I've enjoyed it ever since, in all its synthy glory. It'll be nice to have a more complete presentation, especially because the OST ends in an extremely sudden and unsatisfying way. I've never really enjoyed the song, either, so I won't miss that.

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Wow - that was my first time ordering directly from Quartet, and boy, were they fast!

 

I'm ripping the CD and seeing track-by-track composer credits in the iTunes database...but I can't find anything in the liner notes or back cover that lists who did what. (Other than the last track, of course.) Am I missing something? Anyone know where this info would have come from?

 

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The HZ.com listing of the complete has the full credits, so someone must've submitted that to iTunes when they got their copy.

EDIT: Also, two tracks on the original OST are highlighted as not being done by Zimmer (Hyphopera and Flashback & Fries)

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Perhaps, yeah.

 

I took a first listen to the Quartet release today. Interesting to note that there are a few spots with overlays that weren't on the OST. And I think I actually prefer the OST versions in those cases, so I may end up making some sort of frankenstein edit for myself. I might play with the levels a bit, too...there are some passages and even whole tracks that feel a little too loud or quiet. Still a worthwhile purchase, though.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I listened to this new album this morning - it's great!  I liked the OST, and I like this too.  It's really just more of the stuff you already like, not a revelatory type expansion where previously unheard ideas emerge.  But it's well put together and flows great.


One thing I really liked is that the final 3 tracks - marked as bonus tracks - don't feel like superfluous fluff or barely different versions  at all, they act as a cool actual ending to the whole album and bring in some new ideas not in the main program.  So the whole album is worth listening to as-is, this isn't one of those cases where the main program is the highlight and the bonus tracks are just there for occasionally listens; The whole thing is good!

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  • 9 months later...

I opened up my physical copy the other week and listened to it on a commute to and from work - a dangerous proposition considering my commute is all backroads and this music makes you want to drive fast!

 

I noticed that the CD is mastered with CD-TEXT; My car told me who the separate composer was of each track, so that could be where the above info comes from!  It's not in the booklet.


Speaking of the booklet, I read through that - and it was fascinating!  It tells a whole story about how after the success of The Lion King, he wanted to build his own, unique sample library, all fresh recordings of great musicians playing all the various permutations of their instruments - so that's what he did!  And this score was the first to use it, with only a small amount of live overdubs.

 

So great release all around - well produced album of a good score, and great liner notes.  Very cool!

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