Rambo III

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

3 years after the successful release of Rambo: First Blood Part II, Jerry Goldsmith had the task to compose the last part of the Rambo action saga, with Sylvester Stallone bringing for the last time his muscular presence to the big screen of John Rambo. Goldsmith was one of the best composers of that time and could compose a masterpiece, no matter how the movie looked or felt. Rambo III takes things not so action serious as the previous one but offers his punch when it needs to, and the soundtrack offers the perfect stylish action music accustomed to Goldsmith's standard of that time. There is a lot that differentiates the third from the second and at the other end a lot that equals and compares, combining the right doses and fun, bound to please any fan of music. Rambo III doesn't offer a lot of pure action at the begin. The first real action piece is discovered in the 10th track. The begin offers soft but gorgeous music, both the First Blood theme aka the main Rambo theme and the theme for "Afghanistan", they bring a sense of calmness and listen extremely relaxing.

The performance of the main theme here on the third album is the best, brought to life by the string section in the first track 'Another Time' and the last 'I'll Stay', the best dramatic pieces of the score. But Goldsmith doesn't stay calm and offers more pace with 'The Game' and the continuing 'Flaming Village', still neither add the power of Rambo: First Blood Part II, that is witnessed in 'Night Fight' for the first time. This big action piece is using a large amount of the best track of the second album. This is of course the cream of the crop and always an excellent action moment. This extremely generous release of Intrada, packing more then 76 minutes of music never bores, and this is probably because Goldsmith adds so much variety, at least with all the variations of the themes and its delivery of action and subdued background music continuing to be heard after another. Still, the main action and hide and seek music is found at the end, offering the growls of the electronics accustomed to Rambo's character, this is when the fun starts picking the pace.

The last tracks offer the pure excitement and the obligatory recapitulation of all the themes of the movie, together they form the best 13 minutes of the entire score. Rambo III offers what any good Goldsmith score should posses, the right mix and the perfect music. Any fan that loved the second will discover new hidden themes inside Rambo III and will treasure the main action feast. In a way you can see this release only as positive, because Intrada released I think all the material and left it unharmed in the order of the film. So that you experience what Goldsmith does best, he mixes and delivers 76 minutes of music that never becomes boring or too much, and for music that resembles and repeats the main material of the first two it can only be described as a hell of a success.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Another Time (3.55) Excellent Track

2. Preparations (6.20)

3. The Money (0.50)

4. I'm Used To It (0.58)

5. Peshawar (1.11)

6. Afghanistan (2.36)

7. Questions (3.35)

8. Then I'll Die (3.33)

9. The Game (2.24) Excellent Track

10. Flaming Village (4.07) Excellent Track

11. The Aftermath (2.42)

12. Night Entry (3.56)

13. Under And Over (2.54)

14. Night Fight (6.48) Excellent Track

15. First Aid (2.45)

16. The Long Climb (3.24)

17. Going Down (1.51)

18. The Cave (3.30)

19. The Boot (1.52)

20. You Did It John (1.07)

21. The Show Down (1.24)

22. Final Battle (4.49) Excellent Track

23. I'll Stay (9.00) Excellent Track

Total Length: 76.02

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

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