Plunkett & Macleane

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Considering the status Scottish composer Craig Armstrong has secured over the last year with his famous contribution to the successful movie Moulin Rouge, it is obvious we are having the pleasure to hear him in full force now. Yet I always was intrigued by his use of choir, whether it knocked me away in films or in trailers. You see, I heard his brilliant choral writing always the first time in trailers and both his Romeo + Juliet's use in countless trailers and his Plunkett & Macleane's one in The Patriot and The Musketeer amongst others simply gave me chills. Right then I started checking out The Bone Collector, Romeo + Juliet and others but only I was really drawn close to the choral sound he attached in those scores. Yet it is easy to say, if he brought the same class as some of the orchestral and electronic pieces he employed in Plunkett & Macleane, this score would have been a knockout of 2000. Now, it is a score that easily grows but just doesn't bring the ultimate impression like every choral moment brings, like some of the orchestral and synthesized rhythms deliver. Yet, fair to say is that Craig Armstrong has a distinct style that listens different yet oh so intriguing that I easily recommend Plunkett & Macleane for its difference, brilliance and perseverance. Even if you will hear more then its fair share of noises and bangs you will absolutely hate.

Overall Plunkett & Macleane is Craig Armstrong in a nutshell. He masters the choral writing like some of the best in the world and he delivers it in full force during some absolute standout moments. Secondly he has a very intriguing way in handling the writing of the strings like he showed in Romeo + Juliet and now once more in Plunkett & Macleane, during 'Business: Part 1' he brings great building rhythms due to the strings and easily listens like Romeo + Juliet. However 'Business: Part 2 / Part 3' that follows behind it is not that intriguing even if a beat is all it carries. The beat is also a thing I like about him. 'Unseen' starts the score practically with it, carrying the choral main theme through all the ruckus and 'Ruby' is no different, with its church choral display that reaches astonishing emotion through its ever growing choir. 'Rochester' is a bit different in a more serious comical way so to speak and 'Ball' is the best example of a beat that stimulates the listening experience in a very loud way. It is even so that the score overall is very loudly mixed but this also enhances the power behind Armstrong's score. The beat can drive you a bit up the wall but makes you boogie still while at it. The more string like passages that bring dark emotion to the screen are more moving and the choral strokes of genius are without a word breathless. 'Hanging' becomes the slow moving part of the main theme with the choir bringing all its got in four minutes of tremendous beauty and 'Escape' is the trailer part used in Romeo Must Die, The Patriot and The Musketeer in full glory. It is short but brilliant to listen to every time.

What else can I say about Plunkett & Macleane. Well, apart from the famous trailer use of 'Escape', the first moving choral part of 'Hymn' that resembles Silvestri's The Abyss was used frequently in the teaser of DareDevil and even this score has its bad moments all through the glory of the music. This makes Plunkett & Macleane not getting any higher quotation, even if I want to. Tracks like 8, the second part of 9, 15 and 18 are harder to appreciate and even if I grow into them, they still are a long way of the brilliance of the rest of the score. This also is a reason that Plunkett & Macleane isn't as known today like Moulin Rouge. Craig Armstrong is easily a composer with a fantastic potential inside him and only his contemporary mix of beats and choir is brilliant. It makes Plunkett & Macleane the intriguing listen it is today. But if he brought the bad parts to its knees and replaced them with the really good parts, it would indeed be the best of its kind. It is however a piece that holds everything in motion, a worthless song at the end, a choir and vocal display that lightens any sky, an orchestra that listens strong and dark, a beat that at times is making you swing and a very contemporary feel all make Plunkett & Macleane worth it. Only for the pieces that truly make Armstrong the man of choral magnificence.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Hymn (1.53)

2. Unseen (4.35)

3. Ruby (2.45)

4. Rebecca (2.38)

5. Rochester (1.41)

6. Robbery (3.37)

7. Ball (3.56)

8. Chance (2.17)

9. Business: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 (4.06)

10. Chances Men (0.44)

11. Revelations (2.53)

12. Trouble (0.20)

13. Duel (1.49)

14. Love Declared (1.11)

15. Disaster (2.06)

16. Hanging (4.17) Excellent Track

17. Escape (1.15) Excellent Track

18. Resolutions (2.37)

19. Houses In Motion: Helen White & Parker Lewis * (4.04)

20. Childhood (1.49)

* Written by David Byrne & Brian Eno

Total Length: 50.47

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=== Link to Composer Site: Craig Armstrong ===