Sphere

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Does the phrase "terror under water" mean something to you? Well, I'll bet it will spring to mind the next time after listening to Elliot Goldenthal's Sphere for the first time. As people already know, he is the kind of composer that doesn't stick with the mainstream sound and he will do anything to make sure you will remember why. The reason is simple, the movies he scores are usually dark, needing a bit more edge and a daring approach and all that is delivered by a composer that beyond anything else brings music that will be remembered, only for its mass of sound. But musically it is the thing that doesn't work and as a soundtrack it simply doesn't function neither. Loathing action music for becoming too loud or noisy is fine by me but draw the line because some said that the dissonance of Goldenthal's scores make the point inside the movie, create the texture and volume but that is the exact same case with action music, bringing the drive and energy one requires of it. Sphere in many ways does it for horror scores, and doing it effectively but unsatisfying on disc.

It all starts with an average mass of music, the first 6 tracks aren't ugly at all but neither stick in the mind for long. 'Main Titles' (a quit theme), 'Event Entry 6-21-42' (with its powerful fanfares) and 'The Gift' (with the main theme) are noticed and mainly for the fourth track this is an understatement, the theme is gorgeously performed on solo trumpet while the orchestra gives it a sense of wonder. Do not muck around with this moment, as usual Goldenthal is capable of giving a movie the theme it needs and deserves. While the atmospheric textural music during 'Visit to the Wreckage' does nothing, it is the continuing combination of dissonance and unsatisfying moments of music that make Sphere harder to listen to. 'Water Snake' is still in the limits of the approachable because it gives the scene a feel of threatening doom, feeling the danger but not seeing it coming. But as further as the score develops, tracks like 'Terror Adagio', 'Fear Retrieval', 'Manifest Fire' and the cream of the crop 'Manifest³' make this album a painful experience. At the end it is simply too much to handle, sad for the opening minutes that sounded pretty decent.

I'm simply letting the person know that Sphere loses its touch near the end. I will present the ultimate example of this fact, the track 'Wave' is a constant dreamy string moment that sadly doesn't go anywhere, I mean this hardly becomes better nor worse and the score in the end starts to irritate the hell out of you. The last seconds of the score are so quiet that you have to look at your CD-player to see if its still going, making the experience only more disappointing. Sphere in the end has a very good theme but sadly they never inserted the track when the submarine passes the immense long tower of the spaceship, then the music of Goldenthal truly works but only its brief version is heard during the fourth track. Goldenthal diggers and admirers will surely see it as another masterpiece (which frankly it is) but one that listens so hard it will irritate you more then the impressing virtue that follows. Sphere is easily another tale of wisdom in the movie but making it work outside of it is something I haven't found out yet, a truly atmoSPHEREc score to say the least.

\ľ1/2/

Tracks

Single Disc

1. Pandora's Fanfare (1.16)

2. Main Titles (2.49)

3. Event Entry 6-21-43 (0.54)

4. The Gift (1.41)

5. Sphere Discovery (2.08)

6. Visit To A Wreckage (1.59)

7. Water Snake (2.36)

8. Terror Adagio (3.25)

9. Wave (3.18)

10. Fear Retrieval (3.49)

11. Andante (2.20)

12. Manifest Fire (3.49)

13. Manifest³ (3.48)

14. Their Beast Within (1.44)

Total Length: 35.38

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=== Link to Composer Site: Elliot Goldenthal ===