John Powell's PAYCHECK (2003) - 2021 2CD Varese Deluxe Edition

[Anthony 572]

Let's hope Williams contributes a theme for a Bond movie. Maybe that will entice Powell to join in! 

[MrJosh 892]

Just finished this. I can definitely echo @Jay's earlier comments; I can't believe this is the first time I've given this score a listen of any kind!

 

It's a ton of fun and indeed I really like the action music. There's some really fun grove going in some of the tracks. Hot Seat, Twenty Items, the Hog Chase cues, Bio Lab Bash....all super fun, and the softer cues all have something interesting to enjoy as well. I enjoy the piano throughout the score. 

 

The drum programming and electronics are mixed well with the orchestra and a few times I did get the feeling that John Powell could most definitely do great things with a Bond score. Actually, as much as I love the Arnold Bond scores, I think Paycheck is an example of a better mix between electronics and orchestra. I don't dislike the electornics in TWINE or DAD, but there are times I kind of wish I could hear the orchestra more OR that there had been 'orchestra only' alternates included on the expansions. 

 

Anyway, really great listen and I like that it's not taken too seriously, and that there's room for a lot of fun, intricate writing. 

[Jay 37,284]

That orchestra-only, then synth-only, bonus track of TWINE's Gunbarrel cue is so great, I'd love to get more of that kind of stuff

 

 

As for Paycheck, yea - as cool as the action music is, I find myself loving the piano parts in between just as much.  What a cool score.

And I haven't even heard the Deluxe Edition yet! USPS tracking says it won't be here until Tuesday...

[Anthony 572]

12 hours ago, Jay said:

That orchestra only then synth only bonus track of TWINE's Gunbarrel cue is so great, I'd love to get more of that kind of stuff

 

Yes! I did express some disappointment the DAD expanded score didn't contain this for major cues - in the film, some cues had their electronics removed entirely. But apparently they couldn't find these versions when assembling the album. A shame.

[BryonDavis 172]

On 6/23/2021 at 12:06 PM, Jay said:

I am seriously impressed with the action music in this score.  I can't believe I never knew this score before this announcement!

One of my faves. I pushed Cary for over a year to do this one. When we met with JP he was interested in doing it so glad it all worked out.

[Jay 37,284]

Did he bring that big fluffy dog of his to the meeting? 

[BryonDavis 172]

On 7/2/2021 at 4:08 AM, Jay said:

Did he bring that big fluffy dog of his to the meeting? 

 

Yep. 

[blondheim 1,157]

We know who his muse is.

[Jurassic Shark 12,025]

On 6/29/2021 at 10:32 PM, Anthony said:

Let's hope Williams contributes a theme for a Bond movie. Maybe that will entice Powell to join in! 

 

Perhaps Monty Norman could be persuaded to write one.

[Jay 37,284]

7 hours ago, BryonDavis said:

 

Yep. 

Amazing 

[Jay 37,284]

My copy arrived in the mail yesterday!  Can't wait to finally hear it!

[Jay 37,284]

I took the shrinkwrap off this morning, and listened to the first 40 minutes or so on my way to work.  What a fun ride that was!

 

I REALLY like the mixing of this album; The electronics sound spectacular (the thumping bass in particular) and blend in so well with the orchestra.  It's very pleasing to listen to.

 

My car displays CD-Text, and I noticed that they put the reel/part numbers into that!  So just like HTTYD and Solo, I guess that is information Powell likes including.  Though it's funny in this case it's not on the back cover or in the booklet anywhere - it's only in the CD-Text.

[Smaug The Iron 510]

[Jay 37,284]

Now available digitally in any country where it's already Friday

 

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/paycheck-original-motion-picture-soundtrack-deluxe/1583870458

[Anthony 572]

If my 2004 self saw this...

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,429]

And it's already on youtube too:

 

[publicist 4,643]

 

[iamleyeti 114]

What a score. It's......... perfect. I love it so much <3

[Jay 37,284]

I REALLY like this score!

 

I really like the flow of the album.  The way it opens strong, then builds and builds and builds ands builds to the great Hog Chase, then settles down again before building back for for the finale is terrific.

 

What I enjoyed most beyond the writing is the mixing; This album is incredibly satisfyingly mixed, where the orchestral parts and electronic parts each sound so terrific, and especially sound good when both are doing something at the same time.  Nothing is ever struggling to be heard, it all sounds so great!  I loved the way the deep notes thwomped through my car's speakers.

 

The liner notes by Brian Satterwhite were..... ok.  For a while, I thought I was accidentally reading a booklet on Face/Off, he spends SOOO much time talking about that film and score.  I guess it kinda makes sense since that was the first Powell/Woo collaboration, but eventually I had to wonder if Satterwhite just liked that score more and figured he'd never have another chance to talk about it or something.

 

Overall, just a great release, and a fun new discovery by Powell for me.  I've still never heard the OST album, so I had no notions in my head at all about what's "new" and what's already released or anything, so can truly say the new album flows very well.  No dull moments, all good Powell!

[Jay 37,284]

This weekend the wife and I watched this movie.  Man, it's goofy.  It's actually a really great premise, but something about the execution fairly quick turns what could have been an intriguing sci-fi drama into a goofy action and chase fest.  This is a movie where if a car hits something it explodes into a ball of fire for no reason.

 

We realized this was Affleck coming straight off of Daredevil and Uma coming straight off of Kill Bill, so they probably picky-bagged off all that training they went through and wrote in more fights and stuff for them to do, like Affleck doing a workout with a sparring pole for no real reason.

 

Anyways, it was very helpful to get the context for the score.  The score is actually mixed well in the film, and the fun electronic elements are very noticeable at times.  I look forward to listening to the Deluxe Edition again now that I have seen the film (well, I saw it when it came out in theaters, but had forgotten any details about it in the almost 20 years since).

 

Oh yea, and at the end of the movie, the final cue flows right into the end credits, which is a score suite that runs for its entire length.  Has anyone examined that credit roll to see if all pieces from it are taken exactly from film cues, and no unique mixes or takes or anything?  Has anybody re-created it?

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I miss these kinda techno thrillers that were so in vogue in the 90s and 00s.

[Jay 37,284]

Oh and another funny moment for me, was watching the film and realizing the "Hog Chase" cue was about a motorcycle chase, and had nothing to do with the farm animal  

[Anthony 572]

40 minutes ago, Jay said:

Oh yea, and at the end of the movie, the final cue flows right into the end credits, which is a score suite that runs for its entire length.  Has anyone examined that credit roll to see if all pieces from it are taken exactly from film cues, and no unique mixes or takes or anything?  Has anybody re-created it?

 

The end credits consists of Hog Chase (Part 1) with edits, then into an unreleased piano and guitar version of the love theme (didn’t occur to me this was missing from the DE until now - it’s not significant though), then into the Main Titles, also with edits, ending with one of the drum loops which is in several score cues.

 

5 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

I miss these kinda techno thrillers that were so in vogue in the 90s and 00s.

 

I put Source Code and Escape Plan into the same bucket as Paycheck. What others do you know of?

 

4 minutes ago, Jay said:

Oh and another funny moment for me, was watching the film and realizing the "Hog Chase" cue was about a motorcycle chase, and had nothing to do with the farm animal  

 

I, too, assumed pigs were involved until I saw the movie.

[Jay 37,284]

22 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

I miss these kinda techno thrillers that were so in vogue in the 90s and 00s.

 

15 minutes ago, Anthony said:

I put Source Code and Escape Plan into the same bucket as Paycheck. What others do you know of?

 

He's talking about films like:

 

92 - Lawnmower Man, Sneakers

95 - Johnny Mnemonic, Virtuosity, Congo, The Net, Hackers

96 - Chain Reaction

97 - The Jackal, The Saint

98 - Mercury Rising, Enemy of the State

99 - The Thirteenth Floor

01 - Swordfish

02 - Minority Report

03 - Paycheck, Timeline

04 - I Robot

05 - Stealth, The Island

06 - Deja Vu

09 - Surrogates

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I'd also add The Island to that list

 

And it's not sci-fi, but even to a certain extent something like Enemy of the State is mining similar territory.

[Jay 37,284]

15 minutes ago, Anthony said:

The end credits consists of Hog Chase (Part 1) with edits, then into an unreleased piano and guitar version of the love theme (didn’t occur to me this was missing from the DE until now - it’s not significant though), then into the Main Titles, also with edits, ending with one of the drum loops which is in several score cues.

 

Interesting!  I'd love to have this to add to my playlist if anyone wants to re-create it with the DE audio (I'd even take a straight rip)

 

15 minutes ago, Anthony said:

I, too, assumed pigs were involved until I saw the movie.

 

Glad I'm not alone there

 

 

1 minute ago, Disco Stu said:

I'd also add The Island to that list

 

And it's not sci-fi, but even to a certain extent something like Enemy of the State is mining similar territory.

 

The Island for sure!  Man, I always forget about tha tmovie

 

Enemy of the State totally counts too!

[Anthony 572]

Are you guys talking about certain styles of film or score?

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Film.

[Jay 37,284]

Film, of course

[Edmilson 7,385]

I watched some of these early 2000s thrillers as a child and I really liked them. Minority Report, I Robot and A.I. left a big impression in me, the latter two probably are the reason I love the "machines uprising against humans" subgenre. 

 

Then there was also the trashier ones, like the Schwarzenegger film The Sixth Day (very bad, but still pretty funny) and that film where Jet Li fights an evil version of himself from a parallel universe - even as a child I know this one was crap.

 

Weirdly I never watched Paycheck in those days. Guess I didn't rent its DVD or something.

[Jay 37,284]

It wasn't really a big hit

[Anthony 572]

Do you know of any other score like Paycheck (and Source Code/Escape Plan)? There's a very specific style to them which I dig - they are never too overbearing, they contain woodwinds for a touch of lightness, and the electronics are crisp and clean.

[Jay 37,284]

Hmmm, that's a great question.  I'll have to think about it

 

BTW, if no one's heard Source Code before, check out the JNH-esque main titles:

 

 

[Jay 37,284]

OH! I just remembered something else!

During the end credits of the film, I noticed THREE additional composers were listed - T.J. Lindgren, James McKee Smith, and John Ashton Thomas.  I just checked my CD edition and they are credited on the back cover, but I don't think they are mentioned in the Deluxe liner notes otherwise?

 

GEMA tells us which cues they contributed to:

 

T.J. Lindgren - Bio Lab Bash, End Credits Pt. 1
James McKee Smith - Hot Seat, Memory Wipe, Return to Allcom
John Ashton Thomas - A Second Chance, Injection, Lucky Number, Reservations

 

In all cases, Powell is listed as a composer too, so it seems they only wrote PORTIONS of those cues and not the whole thing.   Still, it's more cues than I was expecting, especially this early in his career.

If you look them up on IMDB, they all have a ton of "additional composer" credits, for Powell and other composers!

 

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1177793/

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0808596/

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1288730/

 

I wonder why none of these guys ever got their own big project like Batu Sener did?

[LSH 968]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

Hmmm, that's a great question.  I'll have to think about it

 

BTW, if no one's heard Source Code before, check out the JNH-esque main titles:

 

 

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one to notice this. It's great, isn't it!

 

I quite liked the film too and was happy that the score is quite prominent in the mix.

[Jay 37,284]

Yup loved it from the moment I saw the film.  It works well with the visuals

[Richard Penna 3,669]

I remember seeing (and really enjoying the film) and yep, that main title cue works so well. Sort of a crossover between JNH and Herrmann.

 

Most of the rest of it doesn't really set my world alight, except for Frozen Moment which scores the final scene.

[thestat 342]

Finally, is something going on with the site?

 

You have not lived if you have not listened to this Powell cue (I am not overextrapolating when I say it is one of the top 10 cues in film music history):

 

 

I love Hog Chase 1 but to me, 2 encapsulates Powell going full Barry on an emotional note, the orchestrations and percussion are truly state of the art. But for reference, Hog Chase 1 (which is also brilliant, more COOL, where 2 is very emotional)

 

[Anthony 572]

11 hours ago, Jay said:

During the end credits of the film, I noticed THREE additional composers were listed - T.J. Lindgren, James McKee Smith, and John Ashton Thomas.  I just checked my CD edition and they are credited on the back cover, but I don't think they are mentioned in the Deluxe liner notes otherwise?

 

I wonder why none of these guys ever got their own big project like Batu Sener did?

 

John Ashton Thomas (RIP) and James McKee Smith are two names I've always associated with John Powell. He's worked with additional composers for years now - nothing new.

 

Perhaps they didn't work as closely together, considering they were hired as additional composers and orchestrators, whereas Batu has done all of this too PLUS has been Powell's right-hand-man for several years?

[Jay 37,284]

I listened to the Deluxe Edition in the car this week.  Now that I no longer have a car with a CD player in it, I had to use Spotify!  Which was fine.

 

Surprisingly, seeing the movie didn't increase my appreciation for the score, which typically is what happens after I see a film whose score I've already heard.  I still like the score just fine, but didn't really connect the music I was hearing to any scenes I remembered much.  I guess it isn't a score that has distinctive feels for different places or situations, it's fairly uniform.  Which is fine.

I also think what holds this score back from being really great, is a lack of a big strong main theme, and a big developed arrangement of the love theme.  I know "Uma's Tune" is supposed to be that, but it almost feels like an afterthought when it comes on at the end of the DE.  I wonder if it would work better for me being the first track of the presentation, and have the end credits appear at the end?

 

Regardless, I still like the score a lot, but it will never be one of my all time favorites like, say How To Train Your Dragon, which has a similar excellent and pleasing mix and use of orchestra, but consists of many strong, catchy, memorable themes.

[Roger 21]

On 01/03/2022 at 12:58 PM, Anthony said:

Do you know of any other score like Paycheck (and Source Code/Escape Plan)? There's a very specific style to them which I dig - they are never too overbearing, they contain woodwinds for a touch of lightness, and the electronics are crisp and clean.

Try this track: https://www.dropbox.com/s/c32nehyfhc5bqyw/02.wav?dl=0

[bruce marshall 1,314]

After scoring PAYBACK, PAYCHECK, when can we expect PAYPAL?

😝

[Edmilson 7,385]

[Anthony 572]

8 hours ago, Roger said:

Try this track: https://www.dropbox.com/s/c32nehyfhc5bqyw/02.wav?dl=0

 

I wouldn't put it in the same bucket, but I liked it!

[Jurassic Shark 12,025]

7 hours ago, bruce marshall said:

After scoring PAYBACK, PAYCHECK, when can we expect PAYPAL?

😝

 

SWIFT: The Motion Picture

[Tom Guernsey 2,280]

3 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

SWIFT: The Motion Picture

And the low budget British remake. BACS.

[GerateWohl 4,328]

Murder on the American Express

[Tom Guernsey 2,280]

1 hour ago, GerateWohl said:

Murder on the American Express

Murder on the National Express (when your life's in a mess, it'll make you smile).

[Disco Stu 15,495]

A murder mystery set on a bus actually sounds like a great idea.  Take the claustrophobia of a train and turn it up to 11!

[Tom Guernsey 2,280]

1 minute ago, Disco Stu said:

A murder mystery set on a bus actually sounds like a great idea.  Take the claustrophobia of a train and turn it up to 11!

The sequel is on a double decker... the third on a triple decker (like the Knight Bus from Harry Potter). The disappointing fourth instalment on a bendy bus.