Mulan

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Goldsmith's touch of extra fun has arrived in this highly enjoyable album. The only problem is due to commercial releases, the promo version was not released at the same time. And so score fans cried out for the expanded version of Goldsmith's fantastic soundtrack. Later, it did arrive and it knocked this album from the shelves, because the extra expanded Mulan version is much better then this one, with more then 30 minutes of music and with highlights and benefits that are explained in the other review. But this review also shows the perks of this score, and that's also enough in my book. The album contains 3 elements, almost found on every animated score album. The pop songs, who have to attract the sales, the songs from the film itself and the actual score. First the pop songs, with Stevie Wonder and new talent Christina Aguilera we get high quality songs, but the song 'Reflection' performed by Aguilera is far more enjoyable then the first one by Wonder.

Secondly, the normal songs: they beat other Disney efforts of the past few years but some standards are missing. The best ones are 'Reflection', a different musical version but also impressive and 'I'll Make a Man out of You', which is pure fun. The others have a nice melody but the voices are more concentrated on the humor and animation then on the actual quality of the song, like that Harvey Fierstein who can't sing, due to his low voice. But they are okay though. The actual impressive piece on this album is the score of Goldsmith himself. Beginning with the short but great electronic sounding 'Haircut'. The next track isn't found on the promo version, which is a darn shame because it's immensely enjoyable. The suite is filled with the high quality themes of the movie. The other tracks are all great fun, they fit with the movie and they are filled with Goldsmith's known styles but when you hear the promo version, some tracks are better mixed and containing some better material, then we are given here. Still this score has a lot to offer but for those who are searching for the ultimate experience in Goldsmith's animated career, then check out the promo version of Mulan. Everything on this album is great, but it misses the sheer brilliance in packs that the promo version is containing. So both Mulan's are different in quality as style, so be careful what you purchase.

Mulan "Promo"

When it came down to creativity, Goldsmith was one of the best of '98. Ok, Deep Rising didn't suit everybody and U.S.Marshals and Insurrection were less then average results but both Small Soldiers and Mulan offered the cream de la cream of movie music. Both received a release that didn't really do the music justice and both are in demand when it comes down to an expended bootleg or promo. Small Soldiers exists in a rather messy form on bootleg and Mulan did have the promotional Oscar release, meaning search and thee will find. The score itself feels more as a bootleg then a promo because 35 tracks are offered at a pace unimaginable. We are talking about Goldsmith here and the minute he starts to energize the pace, hold on to your heads. This is the only complaint I have, the listening experience isn't really good, I mean the first 15 tracks of score do have several highlights but minimum ten of them run for a minute, interrupting abruptly the thematic content and basically these could have easily been skipped. And due to the misfortune that the excellent suite is missing it makes this even harder. It is nice to have most of the material but delete 7 or 8 that summarize the same length of the suite and place that suite instead on the promo and you have got the best possible presentation of score material at your disposal.

But of course, what we have got here is warm up (begin) and explode (end) with majesty. We will start from the begin: the songs aren't new and basically they are the kiddie songs that work better during the movie. Of course 'Make a Man out of You' is good as 'Reflection' but the rest does fairly average on score. From Goldsmith we immediately discover that some tracks are mixed better and presented with more variation in some occasions. The electronic sounding 'Haircut' is presented better in 'Short Hair' and doesn't abruptly explode on CD like it did on the original. But from track 10 to 20 we have these short moments of score that don't really achieve anything except stopping when it was supposed to start. It somewhat nags I'm afraid. Track 20 to 22 is the turning point where Goldsmith starts to pump up his energetic pace with multiple different mixes of the themes, 'Save the Cannons', 'The Huns Attack' and 'Avalanche' thunder like never seen before from speaker to speaker. But then people, be ready for Goldsmith at his best; 'A Lucky Bug' begins to show some truly inspirational stuff with new thematic material a la First Knight and Small Soldiers before the choir takes it all to higher ground in 'Gratitude' and 'The Pendant'. Perhaps equally short as the other ones but this time Goldsmith doesn't wait, he delivers the magic right away in your face. Brilliant.

The question is now: is it better then the original one and how good is it really? First of all: I liked the main release but it offered not enough of score material, and basically the highlights of the end were sadly missing. But if you then look at the listening experience, it is the original one that succeeds better, presenting longer tracks and hardly the selection of uninteresting material. Again place instead of those 10 tracks the suite and you've got the best possible representation of Mulan. The Goldsmith fans shouldn't listen to me babbling here because in their face it is bullshit, which is the truth. The true fan simply adores every second of it and if lucky should directly pick it up. And even the casual listener will enjoy it, because after all Goldsmith at this tempo is the best thing you can find. Mulan is one of the last great scores of Goldsmith, as listening experience I've heard perhaps better scores but the standout tracks erase that question with delivering an unseen load of musical excellence.

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

Mulan: ****
Mulan "Promo": *****

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. True To Your Heart: Stevie Wonder (4.16)

2. Reflection (3.37)

3. Honor To Us Al (3.02)

4. Reflection (2.26) Excellent Track

5. I'll Make A Man Out Of You (3.21) Excellent Track

6. A Girl Worth Fighting For (2.25)

7. Haircut * (1.17) Excellent Track

8. Suite From Mulan * (7.04) Excellent Track

9. Attack At The Wall * (4.57)

10. Mulan's Decision * (3.21)

11. Blossoms * (6.26)

12. The Huns Attack * (4.27) Excellent Track

13. The Burned - Out Village * (5.51)

14. Reflection: Christina Aguilera (3.35) Excellent Track

* Soundtrack composed by Jerry Goldsmith

Total Length: 56.27

Mulan "Promo"

1. Honor To Us All (3.05)
2. Reflection (2.10)    Excellent Track
3. Man Out Of You (3.21)    Excellent Track
4. A Girl Worth Fighting For (2.26)
5. True To Your Heart: Stevie Wonder (3.12)
6. Attack On The Wall * (2.15)
7. Preparation * (2.55)
8. The Matchmaker * (1.54)
9. Short Hair * (3.16)    Excellent Track
10. One Chance * (1.22)
11. The Master Plan * (1.07)
12. Shan Yu * (0.54)
13. Blossoms * (3.05)
14. Shoulders Back * (1.56)
15. Ping * (0.56)
16. The Real Work * (1.51)
17. Morning Assembly * (1.10)
18. Deserted Village * (1.04)
19. Bogus Letter * (0.57)
20. Letter Delivered * (0.38)
21. The Doll Survives * (3.16)
22. Save The Cannons * (1.20)
23. The Huns Attack * (1.53)    Excellent Track
24. Avalanche * (2.37)    Excellent Track
25. What's Wrong With Ping * (2.44)
26. Truth All Around * (3.23)    Excellent Track
27. Imperial Palace * (1.33)
28. The Imperial Palace * (0.44)
29. Sword Snatcher * (0.43)
30. Boo * (2.31)    Excellent Track
31. A Lucky Bug * (2.40)    Excellent Track
32. Gratitude * (1.16)    Excellent Track
33. The Pendant * (0.44)    Excellent Track
34. The Sword * (1.16)
35. Reflection: Christina Aguilera (3.39)    Excellent Track
* Soundtrack composed by Jerry Goldsmith

Total Length: 70.17

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