Arthur and the Invisibles

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Eric Serra was condemned never to write again after fans and people heard his Goldeneye in person. He destroyed ultimately what Bond stood for and from then on nobody gave him a second chance. Good thing we aren't the ones who make the final decisions around here, because then we would never have heard this. Arthur And the Invisibles (or known in native France as Arthur et les Minimoys) is Luc Besson's last work as director and its perhaps a strange one at that (considering he ends with a fairytale of puppets and not with a piece as Leon) yet it must have been a dream of him to create something this personal. That Serra, his long trustworthy follower and composer is there to sign of the Besson era is only proper, but that Serra reacted in a professional manner by creating his most thematic work is nonetheless wonderful. Because it surely shows a different Serra at work here, because a large orchestra and choir surely sounds so much more enticing in tonal wonder than atonal droning cues. And the wondrous result is this CD, the music may start with the songs but the score starts with 'The Minimoys Overture' and the Minimoys stand for the invisibles of course. The cooing choir supports a light version of the main theme while a blossoming wonder enlightens 'Nice Town' and many would have sweared that Serra couldn't write something as this, but he just did. 'Arthur and the Aqueduct' is the same with a rising string alteration on his theme. The piano, guitar and cooing choir adds some emotion to 'The Phonecall and the Waxcake' which is really lovely while the mischievous 'Davido and the Watertank' is just the opposite. The cooing choir in 'Small as A Tooth' ads some life into the main theme before 'The Cloth Ladder' is more on the tone of adventure with some piano. 'Bogo Matassalai' is the second longest track and its a darker one at that, full of male ominous choirs and its ominous string theme with it. 'Try to be Convincing' has the drama theme soft and sweet and what about 'Third Ring for the Soul', a sweet Arthur theme and a truly explosive percussion led finale enlightens you up once again. 'Land of the Minimoys' has the main theme yet again sweet and tinkling with choir, and it in these relaxing oases that Serra isn't far from a John Debney sound, what's more ingenious is the fact the love theme of Goldeneye gets a small breathing time in this track. The first real sign of any action suspense is in 'Central Gate' and 'The Blueberry Catapult' and the whirling strings and strong brass sure feels powerful and cool.

Yet its 'Lovebirds' that surprises you with a phenomenal adventure stroke, only aided by that equally brassy feast in 'Feeding Time' only capturing more sinister flutes around it. Its actually amazing that all this comes from Serra because the good tracks just don't stop, 'The Sword of Power' is another sign where Serra brings us amazement in a bottle and here alone by a choral fanfare that blows your socks off. 'Arthur the Hero' captures more of those heroics yet only on the first minute. Some breathing time with micky mousing is noticed in 'Patchimole' and 'Cosmonut' (covering a brief but great main theme) before its back with goodies in 'Nutboat and Laces', not a promising title per se but covering a heroic jump of delights. Piano in 'A Ballad for Granny', some relaxing choral breeze of the main theme 'In Bed with Selenia' and some guitar and flute for 'Red Poppy Night' is what makes the mood gentler again before 'Evil Straws' brings back the evil theme in bad form. 'Koolo' lets Arthur's theme rise from a twinkling version to a stunning climax and 'Malthazar' doesn't give us much hope with 4 minutes of sinister play and theme. 'No Kiss but Tradition' has that Goldeneye moment of love once again and a dose of humoristic variation until the gong brings 'Showtime in Necropolis' in motion, and this is the start of Serra's end battle. Its a darker begin this one all right with a marching evil theme and a dramatic end fanfare but its 'Solid Gate' with its returning brass rising from 17 and 18 that thunders back the powerplay, until all's well in 'Eternally Grateful' and here Serra delivers his most powerful main theme version of all, with additional climatic choir. That this is not the end is strange yet we keep moving on with 'A Beautiful Sunday' and the return of this theme in form. 'Destruction of the Seides' is the answer to all you Serra haters that he sure can whip a great climax to an action piece of severe potential, the marching evil theme is reused here in a more climatic march and when the last minute choir is added, you hear a Serra at hand that mixes atonal and tonal brutality together in one mean piece of work. The main theme is heard in the last tracks, especially in 'The Minimoys Finale', covering the final versions heard in majestic proportions. Yes, its true, this is Eric Serra we're reviewing here and I sure was astound to hear something this good. So hate Serra all you will, but Arthur and the Invisibles is nothing like his other works and shows us a composer transformation ala Howard Shore only proved us wrong. Give him the genre and the chance and you'll hear magic in a bottle.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Quest For Love: Jewel (3.18)

2. Go Girl: Snoop Dogg (3.36)

3. It's A Beautiful Day: Elijah (3.23)

4. The Minimoys Overture (2.20)

5. Nice Town (1.25) Excellent Track

6. Arthur And The Aqueduct (1.22)

7. The Phonecall And The Waxcake (2.44)

8. Davido And The Watertank (0.40)

9. Small As A Tooth (1.23)

10. Stolen Kiss (1.09)

11. Grandpa's Mission (1.07)

12. The Cloth Ladder (1.13)

13. Bogo Matassalai (4.02)

14. Try To Be Convicing (1.53)

15. Third Ring For The Soul (1.29) Excellent Track

16. The Land Of The Minimoys (3.26)

17. Central Gate (1.18)

18. The Blueberry Catapult (1.15) Excellent Track

19. Lovebirds (1.18)

20. Feeding Time (1.20)

21. The Sword Of Power (1.52) Excellent Track

22. Arthur The Hero (2.08)

23. Patchimole (1.34)

24. Cosmonut (2.18)

25. Nutboat And Laces (1.07) Excellent Track

26. Ballad For Granny (1.06)

27. In Bed With Selenia (1.53)

28. Red Poppy Night (0.58)

29. Dragonfly Eggs (0.45)

30. Evil Straws (1.02)

31. Koolo (1.32)

32. Malthazar (4.15)

33. No Kiss But Tradition (1.04)

34. Showtime In Necropolis (3.18)

35. Timeballs (1.16)

36. Solid Gate (0.55)

37. Eternally Grateful (1.15) Excellent Track

38. A Beautiful Sunday (1.30)

39. Destruction Of The Seides (2.41) Excellent Track

40. A Bowl Of Rubies (1.16)

41. Greed And Loneliness (1.20)

42. The Minimoys Finale (3.07) Excellent Track

Total Length: 77.52

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