Predator 2

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

After the success of a hit like Predator, naturally sequels came and luckily for it, only one was made (and not even a TV movie of what we receive occasionally). I don't count Aliens vs. Predator as a sequel. Not to get weird, but you can guess the directors like this and Stephen Hopkins (one of those action specialists) came with the idea of bringing the Predator to the real jungle, namely LA. The good fortunate Danny Glover came to act in one of his solo action moves and even the good Bill Paxton as Gary Busy got to star against the mean machine of the jungle. For Alan Silvestri it was a return for him to acquainted material, because Predator was long due a bootleg of enormous potential and a well sought after CD but now its here, and it somewhat makes the second Predator 2 a bit obsolete, or not? What has Predator 2 more then for instance the classic Predator? Well not much but its loaded with the typical Silvestri style and therefore is always welcome for a change. You can hear samples of The Abyss, Predator naturally but also Judge Dredd and Who Framed Roger Rabbit but also basically some good ideas of Silvestri all the same. It starts with 'Main Title' which is basically percussion and wailing sounds, before the threatening tones pick up where Predator left off. 'First Carnage' is eerie moody music and could come out of Who Framed Roger Rabbit like that. 'Tunnel Chase' by then could swap with Predator and captures the main theme of the first movie wonderfully well. The real treat of Predator 2 and the difference with the first is the wonderful choral march heard in 'Truly Dead' and in 'End Title' and works really well, with the typical Silvestri trademarks of course.

The track 'Danny Gets It' with its eerie strings is the exact opening of Predator (movie as score) and also here The Abyss moves in to be heard. And what of the lonesome trumpet hymn which is the same as the one heard in the first album, here displayed in 'Rest in Pieces', the weird vocals and crashes in the second part work well to the mood of the score. 'This is History' uses the basic music like Predator and after 4.30 moves with the bells and the strings to typical final music heard in that score. 'Dem Bones' also has the choral piece but as said 'End Title' is the great compilation piece that covers the main theme, action music as the choral piece in a wonderful suite and listens better the more you hear it. Together, perhaps before the special CD club release of Varèse, Predator 2 could have functioned better since it listened partly as Predator the first. The ideas and occasionally the statements were fine for the fans who cried out for the first release, but now it somewhat listens as good but no more special music. But the flair which only Silvestri could create is all over the place and the ideas alone are match perfect for the genre that made Predator a hit. And by then the choral march listens wonderfully and the album rounds out about 45 minutes of simply good music. As said, today I would chose without doubt Predator over this score, and perhaps catch the end credits on the special Voyages album, but its good to know that Varèse Sarabande gave it the honor to release both the Predator albums, since it is with Back to the Future a genre which only Alan Silvestri created with his sound, and that you can not terminate with a create like this alone.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Main Title (2.46)

2. First Carnage (2.36)

3. Tunnel Chase (4.53)

4. Truly Dead (4.57) Excellent Track

5. Danny Gets It (3.19)

6. Rest In Pieces (1.34)

7. El Scorpio (2.42)

8. This Is History (6.25)

9. Swinging Rude Boys (2.37)

10. Dem Bones (4.29)

11. End Title (8.46) Excellent Track

Total Length: 45.19

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

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