Red Planet

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

If I had to give an award to the most original score for one particular genre of this year, Red Planet would have to receive it, and this thanks to it's unexpected score by Graeme Revell. It seemed that Revell was scoring some science fiction movies and he just didn't want to make them sound all the same. With Red Planet he inserted women's vocal singing during some tracks and the result is simply stunning in every way possible. But the entire album features things that could be found as odd, because songs and score are mixed through each other. First a word about the three tracks that will make an impression on everyone, you will probably be disappointed to see that Graeme Revell has just scored three tracks but this is deceiving, the tracks that feature Emma Shapplin are actually also written by Revell, the same with 'Dante's Eternal Flame' written by Revell and performed by Melissa Kaplan. So you get 7 tracks of score by Revell. Those three tracks 'The Inferno', 'The Fifth Heaven' and 'Canto XXX' are beautiful pieces where a pop beating underscore is supported through the stunning voice of French singer Emma Shapplin singing in Italian. I wondered this with the first listen: "How would they use these pieces during the movie?". It looks like that Revell didn't have space to compose such cues, so he developed these tracks just for the sake of trying something new and daring, so these tracks will not feature during the picture or only in small pieces. Still they took me by surprise and are absolute highlights compared with the rest of the score, especially 'The Fifth Heaven' and 'Canto XXX' are my favorites. The track that offers another vocalist, 'Dante's Eternal Flame' is a bit lesser than the others, because it features a different attempt of creating the atmosphere. The tracks 'Mars Red Planet' and 'Alone' are tracks of Revell which feature no vocal singing, though a choir supports the begin and end of 'Mars Red Planet'.

If there is one track that takes away that fourth star it is 'Crash Landing', it is nothing but drumming synthesizer tones combined with anything to make it sound loud and hard. You don't have to say that it will be effective, probably you will hear nothing of it during the movie with all the sound editing. This is in comparison with some tracks of Hans Zimmer's Mission: Impossible 2. You can't hear it during the movie because of all the noise but it is there to support the rumbling action. The songs by the way are not bad, they fit with the idea but I find them strange. Peter Gabriel's song has some moments that interest me but the way it starts the album is something else, Sting's song is not that bad but I find nothing of interest in 'Montok Point' or 'When the World is Running Down (You Can't go Wrong)'. Especially the last simply doesn't fit with the movie, the rest has a different approach and can be categorized with the album's interesting appeal. I was blown away by the sheer originality of Revell's score, he tried something daring and new and it worked very well. It makes Red Planet something that will not sound like other science fiction scores, in a way what a contrast with Ennio Morricone's Mission to Mars, which I only have heard during the movie. Revell will likely surprise movie goers with this concept but in some way will normal fans enjoy the effort. Red Planet is for me a nice surprise and it offers moments that will lure me to listen to it very often. This doesn't mean that I am a big Revell fan now or that I will love every score of him. This is my first and I find it a nice score to start with. Red Planet has moments of intriguing originality and any person that enjoys something different will like what this score has to offer.

Score: ***1/2
Songs: **

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. The Tower That Ate People: Peter Gabriel (4.05)

2. The Inferno * (4.31)

3. A Thousand Years: Sting (5.57)

4. Mars Red Planet (3.25)

5. The Fifth Heaven * (4.53) Excellent Track

6. Montok Point: Strange Cargo (7.13)

7. Canto XXX * (5.11) Excellent Track

8. Alone (2.12)

9. Dante's Eternal Flame + (3.40)

10. Crash Landing (5.12)

11. The Tower That Ate People (Remix): Peter Gabriel (6.26)

12. When The World Is Running Down: Different Gear vs. The Police - (3.34)

* Performed by Emma Shapplin, written by Graeme Revell

+ Performed by Melissa Kaplan & Graeme Revell, written by Graeme Revell & Melissa Kaplan

- Contains solo dialogue

Total Length: 56.28

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

=== Link to Composer Site: Graeme Revell ===