Antz

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Never mind the saying or phrase: "He's one of the Media Ventures school, he apes the sound of Hans Zimmer and all they can deliver is action music that isn't even good!". Surely all those people have ignored what entered the music industry in the year 1998. Zimmer brought us the magical The Prince of Egypt and the inspirational The Thin Red Line, Mark Mancina opened the eyes with Return to Paradise, Nick Glennie - Smith surprised the fans with The Man in the Iron Mask and Armageddon of Trevor Rabin got praise for its excellent use of choral and electronic bombast. And I forget to mention that Antz, the co collaboration and work of John Powell and Harry Gregson - Williams astounded the people because it offered just the kind of thing fans wanted to hear. Now, who you take for granted is your choice but I'm sure people started to consider the fact already when they read this. While the animated pictures Antz (Dreamworks) and A Bug's Life (Disney / Pixar) were fighting to receive the funniest entertainment price of the year, I considered that while Newman's Oscar nominated score did do wonderful things for the movie, Gregson - Williams and Powell opened our eyes and delivered this unique sound and fun palette of themes.

It is the success of Antz that this score simply brings the one surprise after the other. Each theme, motif, moment or sound is responsible for an injection shot of fun. It remains stunning to hear this after all that time, Antz surely belongs as the most satisfying listen of the year. It all begins with a solid but gentle theme for Z, the main character of the movie (Woody Allen), before all the drums and powers start to unravel themselves with 'The Colony', a track that keeps blowing you away. And you immediately experience the versatility in theme and mood, 'General Mandible' and 'Mandible and Cutter Plot' are militaristic marches while a soft flute theme introduces us to 'Princess Bala'. To dissect this score it would take a lot of time but I'm up to the task with first the band interpretations 'The Bar' and 'The Antz Marching Band', these don't sound dull as they might look. And don't forget the first boring version in '"Guantanamera" / "6:15 Time to Dance"' before Z and Bala start doing their Pulp Fiction act. Romance and sexy seduce acts in 'Weaver and Azteca Flirt' and keeps bringing diversity while 'The Picnic Table' offers us the sultry theme for the two wasps.

And then I'm forgetting the solely hymn in 'The Death of Barbados' and the riveting, know known action pieces of Media Ventures in 'The Antz go Marching to War', 'The Magnifying Glass', 'The Big Shoe' and 'Z to the Rescue'. All these tracks are stunning in sound and force, no doubt on my mind that Gregson - Williams and Powell can bring some of the biggest entertaining cues of all the film music community. And then I forget the lounge music in the second part of 'Z's Alive' while the first brings the finale every one loves. There is no denying it, everyone that wants simply fun scores to listen to will do fine with Antz, and along with them the other collaborative efforts of these two gentlemen. I am simply stunned why above anything else, this score brings the one surprise after the other. It is the change in tone and mood that keeps making this score so fresh. This is one of the few soundtracks that will never become boring and only this, with all the different genres is the fullest signal of why people should have this score in their possession. In the end Antz deserved that nomination more then Randy Newman's A Bug's Life. But above all it offers us just a glimpse of what Media Ventures in general produces. Don't deny it, simply accept the way of life. One of the biggest and best listens of the year, perhaps even of its century.

\도도1/2/

Tracks

Single Disc

1. Opening Titles / Z's Theme (2.00)

2. The Colony (1.56) Excellent Track

3. General Mandible (2.21)

4. Princess Bala (0.56)

5. The Bar * (1.28)

6. "There Is A Better Place ..." (1.20)

7. "Guantanamera" ** / "6:15 Time To Dance" (3.17)

8. The Antz Go Marching To War (3.48) Excellent Track

9. Weaver And Azteca Flirt (1.53)

10. The Death Of Barbados (2.05)

11. The Antz Marching Band *** (1.15)

12. The Magnifying Glass (1.58)

13. Ant Revolution (1.47) Excellent Track

14. Mandible And Cutter Plot (2.05)

15. The Picnic Table (2.43)

16. The Big Shoe (2.08) Excellent Track

17. Romance In Insectopia (2.29)

18. Back To The Colony **** (2.26)

19. Z To The Rescue (7.42) Excellent Track

20. Z's Alive! (3.28) Excellent Track

* Composed by Harry Gregson - Williams, John Powell & Geoff Zanelli

** Composed by Pete Seeger, Julian Orbon, Jose Fernandez & Jose Marti

*** Composed by Steve Jablonsky

**** Composed by Harry Gregson - Williams, John Powell & Gavin Greenaway

Total Length: 49.46

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

=== Link to Composer Sites: Harry Gregson - Williams & John Powell ===