Peter Jackson's King Kong (Video Game Score)

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

With King Kong, the game composer Chance Thomas finally saw his name getting attention to a celebrated game of big allures. And big is the word! Of course King Kong as it stands nowadays is the presentation the King of the apes couldn't present back in the 1930', because visually what can not be achieved today? Speaking of games, now the games realistically lure you into action and adventure where nobody dreamed they would go, at least not so fast. And when games grow in style, so does the music. Chance Thomas was the man for the job, after working on various other successful games in the past. And he needed to bring a score that would make the movie itself proud, so to speak at least. And what we got, well it could be movie music like in tone, in fact its movie music, performed by a large sounding orchestra and choir and thumping all the right notes that can make movie music so appealing, that's why I'm reviewing it also. There are 2 versions, the promo which is 50 minutes and more long, and the sampled pieces which can be downloaded from the King Kong site which run up to about 40 minutes, bringing more then needed to get a taste of things. What I did was simply put them in a spin, mixed them and created a free flowing experience with a beginning, middle and end. I hope you like it too. Anyway, to the music at hand. For King Kong, Chance Thomas has written some themes, a more tragic yet powerful main theme for Kong, a lovely intimate theme for Ann and a more dangerous tune for one of its largest predators and enemies namely the T-Rex. All together they combine a good majority of thematic material to start with, and this mixed in pleasing orchestral delights surrounding it. It begins (at least my copy) with 'The Island Tombs' opening with the Kong theme partly on flute, moving forward to moody strings and drums. In 'Skull Island' the strings return for the theme but a choir and drums set up a rhythm that nicely represents the island. 'Between 2 Worlds / Vision of Ann' is the first track where Ann's theme appears, with solemn vocal it sounds eerie and somewhat mysterious.

'Nest of Raptors / Panic' is the first sing of more unsettling strings and brass, exploding in a brass rhythmic T-Rex piece. In 'Ann Lost in the Jungle / T-Rex Cometh' we get back the themes of Ann and the T-Rex, the brass fanfare is especially noteworthy near the end. 'Relentless / Kong Dispatches the Tyrant' is a nice track I put together, with the rhythmic delights of brass it pumps up the action until a wonderful choral Kong theme intertwines the heroic part of the rescue, and how it fits together, it makes me even jealous I did it so well haha! Enough crazy talk, with 'Ann's Theme' we receive a jazzy piano version of the theme which is enchanting especially on flute while 'Valley From the Brontosaurus / Vampires of the Sky' represents first a wonderful majestic fanfare for the creatures while the dissonant following has brass attacks which really thrill the listener. 'Raptor Attack / Death of a Friend' is a rhythmic attack on the senses with brass and percussion, a thriller which reaches a tragic ending with solo vocal. The strings guide the Kong theme in 'Leaving Skull Island' while that same theme gets real powerful versions in 'Fury & Heroics / Kong, A Tragic Hero', first in wonderful epic choral wonder until a more concert arrangement is heard, constantly repeating the theme but growing each time a step to the climatic finish which is wonderful to behold. 'Highlight Reel' which in fact opens the promo ends here my disc and signals most of the thematic heard material, sadly its not nicely mixed together but still performs well because the themes are great to hear and the finish of its 5 minutes thrilling, the only new part of this suite shows Ann's theme reaching a final galore. Together 40 minutes feels enough, it brings a nice doses of action / dissonance, epic fury and intimate sweetness and this seems enough for my part. Thomas' score feels and breaths movie music standards so people who wanted a different King Kong of Newton Howard might feel more at home with this King of Kongs. As for me, the movie version felt fine too, I'm glad the game didn't limp behind. On the contrary, it pounds.

\ЕЕЕ1/2/

Tracks

Single Disc

1. The Island Tombs (1.53)

2. Skull Island (1.32)

3. Between 2 Worlds / Vision Of Ann (1.31)

4. Nest Of Raptors / Panic (4.31)

5. Ann Lost In The Jungle / T-Rex Cometh (3.46)

6. Relentless / Kong Dispatches The Tyrant (3.32) Excellent Track

7. Ann's Theme (1.58)

8. Valley From The Brontosaurus / Vampires Of The Sky (3.47)

9. Sting Of The Giant Scorpion (2.08)

10. Raptor Attack / Death Of A Friend (4.08)

11. Leaving Skull Island (1.06)

12. Fury & Heroics / Kong, A Tragic Hero (5.47) Excellent Track

13. Highlight Reel (5.49) Excellent Track

Total Length: 41.19

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