The 13th Warrior

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Adventure Goldsmith returns with high anticipation and delivers the energetic The Mummy and the stylish The 13th Warrior to let fans know that he is still at the top of his possibilities. Both scores deliver the same feeling at occasions and this exemplifies the western adventurous mood of both movies. You can do no harm with The 13th Warrior because it listens pure Jerry Goldsmith, but if I prefer one soundtrack it has to be The Mummy. It shows something different then we have gotten used to, and upon hearing this score it is simply such an effort that bares all the trademarks of a typical Goldsmith composition. Meaning the good adventurous feel but he tried it somewhere and we've heard it before, at least it feels that way. Still, this score doesn't destroy the ultimate end result and the fans will gladly accept the available material. The main theme isn't the biggest winner but acceptable and still the missing piece that binds the entire concept together. It gets its best treatment during the begin track 'Old Bagdad'. This opening piece receives a rather impressive feeling when the dark choir supports it lightly, and the choir itself gets its finest moment during 'Semantics', short but impressive to say the least.

The main action and adventure music misses the driving energetic tempo I loved so much in The Mummy but contains the typical stylish note that we can find back in many Goldsmith scores today. This makes The 13th Warrior still the attractive listen, meaning that melodically it brings the usual standard of Goldsmith action music. The best moments of the action music are the longest ones that Goldsmith throws at us, 'The Fire Dragon' and portions of 'Valhalla / Viking Victory' contains enough spirit to entertain you. The 10 minute piece contains a rather First Knight approach at the end by the way. Still, it isn't the biggest action adventure score of Goldsmith that strikes up lately, it misses the energy of The Mummy and the pure pleasure of Mulan. It's the second choice when choosing your latest adventure effort of Goldsmith. The 13th Warrior remains on the other hand still the attractive listen, consisting of much more spirit then what other composers would have come up with. Film music fans can rest assured because Goldsmith isn't the washed out composer that brings a flat and boring result, and as long as he receives some decent projects then there will be acceptable scores to accompany them in the first place. I place this one behind some better adventure soundtracks, but it offers the exact Goldsmith fun we have gotten used to the last couple of years. My final impression? The 13th Warrior is a solid attractive adventure score and it will amuse a lot of fans from start to finish.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Old Bagdad (2.01) Excellent Track

2. Exiled (3.41)

3. Semantics (2.38) Excellent Track

4. The Great Hall (5.20)

5. Eaters Of The Dead (3.32)

6. Viking Heads (1.29)

7. The Sword Maker (2.06)

8. The Horns Of Hell (3.24)

9. The Fire Dragon (4.53) Excellent Track

10. Honey (2.36)

11. The Cave Of Death (3.00)

12. Swing Across (1.49)

13. Mother Wendol's Cave (4.11)

14. Underwater Escape (1.36)

15. Valhalla / Viking Victory (10.35) Excellent Track

16. A Useful Servant (1.18)

Total Length: 55.06

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=== Link to Composer Site: Jerry Goldsmith ===