Eraser

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Surprisingly, the movie was successive but more accepted by crowd and critic. It was such a Cliffhanger type that offered just enough thrill and intelligence to accept them both ways and of course this is an easy meal for Schwarzenegger to digest at. The movie also needed a lot more thrill and the music is the key for that. So, Charles Russell requested Alan Silvestri and Silvestri in almost Drop Zone circumstances delivered a fitting score. Yet what troubles me is that simply not everything is that satisfying. It feels in my perspective as a smaller brother of Volcano and just not containing the spoof Alan Silvestri worthy. It does however spice up good near the end and just by then, it offers something to enjoy. Eraser is really a brother because it leans musically and stylistically very close to Volcano and at other times it inserts Powder sound effects (bending the spoon moment), Drop Zone esque tones (such as the electrical guitar riff) and just on other occasions The Long Kiss Goodnight suspension. So, I'm afraid that regular purchasers will not discover a lot of new ideas, and perhaps explains the random lack of pleasure when listening to Eraser.

The music starts quietly with a very subdued statement of the main theme but enters suspension mood within track 2, '"She's In"' than also offers a lot more interesting sounds. Or not, because from track 3, the music starts to sound extremely close to Volcano and the typical Silvestri sound, even repeated a bit too much to really enjoy it both ways. After track 8, it does start to improve musically speaking with a lot more pace and a whole lot more fun. Silvestri perhaps overall missed some originality or even more inspiration because it doesn't sound really truly innovative. What one track does deliver is pure fun, for at least 30 seconds. My favorite moment is found in the track 'Dock Fight', which by the way is the best track. When we hit (1.00), it is pure Silvestri vintage with an exploding, fast paced, thrilling statement of the main theme. It truly makes the end five times better and perhaps will be remembered more at the end than for instance 'Union Trouble', which consists almost totally of sound effects and god knows what else.

The last militaristic statement is the best, and the track '"The Eraser"' was used in the trailer of Starship Troopers. All in all, Eraser isn't really special. The material itself is heralded perhaps too much for my liking and in itself, the themes or sound isn't that inspired to begin with. Just moments of score really shine and that isn't enough to really recommend this score. Eraser is an adequate collective score that mainstream buyers will not find as interesting, especially if they already have for instance Volcano and other action efforts. Nonetheless, its always a purchase worthy for the Silvestri knacks and fans of the movie. But still, Eraser is a score that I don't listen to much, not because it is bad but mainly because it lacks this special ingredient that makes it interesting from the others. So this makes the score somewhat of a minor disappointment. But important to know, I keep returning a lot to those special 30 seconds of the track 'Dock Fight' and perhaps small or not, it somewhat erases a load of disappointing thoughts, making the score of Silvestri proud of its name.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Eraser Original Main Title (2.37)

2. "She's In" (6.11)

3. Kruger's Story (1.55)

4. Cabin Raid (4.41)

5. Kruger Escapes (4.23)

6. "Your Luggage" (3.18)

7. "When I Have Proof" (3.15)

8. Cyrez Break In (6.52)

9. Union Trouble (3.21)

10. Dock Fight (3.12)

11. Reunion (1.39)

12. "The Eraser" (1.45)

Total Length: 43.31

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

=== Link to Composer Site: Alan Silvestri ===