The Wings of a Film: The Music of Hans Zimmer (Compilation)

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

When you hear that Hans Zimmer will perform a live concert just 14 kilometers of your house, you simply feel yourself lucky to be a film music fan in the first place. The Flanders International Film Festival offered a unique opportunity to Hans Zimmer, he could perform his own music live, he would get one of the best classical renowned orchestras at his disposal and simply a moment where he could have fun. Questions to solve and things to adjust. With the music of Zimmer you encounter the extra use of electronics to spice the performance with more then a note and Zimmer didn't actually compose concert arrangements on his scores. But the performance became a tremendous experience for most people and they soon forgot the so called synthetic adjustment, and for those who were concerned, Driving Miss Daisy, Thelma and Louise, Mission: Impossible 2 and Rain Man received their adjusted concert arrangements, and without realizing they became the best parts of the concert. The concert didn't start with Gladiator's 'Now we Are Free' but it nonetheless opens the soundtrack release of The Wings of a Film. This is one piece that can not add the extra mixed performance of Lisa Gerrard's singing but this nonetheless offers a stunning and perfect solo performance, backed up by Tamara Teirbrood, a Belgian (I thought waitress), she simply performed one song when Hans and his colleagues were sitting there, waiting for their food. I can not blame Hans for picking her because her voice is stunning, trust me.

The next Gladiator piece 'Am I not Merciful' is good but misses some depth. Driving Miss Daisy and The Thin Red Line offers amazingly good performances and especially the latter surprised me, really. Still the piece that stole the entire room was Thelma and Louise, it received an extremely longer performance and it became blessed with Pete Haycock's perfect guitar solos. Truly the biggest asset of the score. The second part offered more swing and rhythm with the three African performances, the two pieces aren't from The Lion King but from it's sequel The Rhythm of the Pride Lands, though 'Lea Halalela' uses Hans Zimmer's theme of Simba as its repeating backbone. Nine Months receives an excellent performance and portrays Hans as a mellow composer, offering his love theme he wrote for his wife. And Rain Man and True Romance open new doors for basic action fanatics with brighter, more emotional musical language. 'Busa' ends the show on pure African style. Still, I'm forgetting one major part of the success, Heitor Pereira received his own prime time moment when during 'Nyah and Ethan' of Mission: Impossible 2 the orchestra suddenly stops and Heitor begins to improvise, offering one immense solo that sends shivers up your spine.

When you go home that evening you remember the good parts, when I listened to this release months later I realized that the concert was the good part, offering the pieces with more style then I thought, with more fun that it looked that evening. Every one fixates on how it would sound that you ignored the main musical material, Hans Zimmer & company brought a live performance that maintains a good memory, and the orchestra (Het Vlaams Radio Orkest) responded with style and didn't disappoint. They can never bring what renowned orchestras of London and America usually perform but nonetheless offered music that deserves to be heard in any live performance. The Wings of a Film may not reach as far as the concert performances of Goldsmith or Williams but the music offers personality, playability and pure entertainment. It becomes a relaxing and enjoyable performance, "live" it remains an experience I will never forget.

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Tracks

Single Disc

Gladiator

1. Now We Are Free (5.13) Excellent Track

Gladiator

2. Am I Not Merciful (6.46)

Driving Miss Daisy

3. Driving (5.40) Excellent Track

Thelma & Louise

4. Thunderbird (7.46) Excellent Track

The Thin Red Line

5. Journey To The Line (9.53) Excellent Track

Mission: Impossible 2

6. Nyah And Ethan (6.47)

The Lion King

7. Lea Halalela (5.59)

Power of One

8. Mother Africa (5.45)

Nine Months

9. Suite (5.13)

Rain Man

10. Main Theme (5.05) Excellent Track

True Romance

11. Main Theme (3.31)

The Lion King

12. Busa (3.59)

Total Length: 71.45

The use of artwork or photos is posted for non profitable reasons

=== Link to Composer Site: Hans Zimmer ===