Spy Kids

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

At the time Spy Kids was made by El Mariachi director Robert Rodriguez, it soon would turn out to become a labor of love, just like Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico the franchise Spy Kids would get 2 sequels. While the third was scored by Rodriguez alone and the second with the help of John Debney, Spy Kids the first had a stunning set of 8 composers to guide the music to proper heights. And for some inexplicable reason it did, meaning that one or a dozen composers doesn't mean a thing if you simply guide them in the right direction. Its not that the sound is so different, just the small characteristics that set each track into a different light so to speak off. And not knowing the standards of the third, but Spy Kids is surely more acceptable and enjoyable then Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams. There is more cohesion and not much of the less then thematic action scoring. Everything has a theme or a melody to keep itself at, and above all a beat, a rhythm and a spy flavor to disguise itself well behind all the 8 various composers. To tell which composer composed which track is work that would take too long, but several stick in the mind longer then expected. 'My Parents are Spies' has a neat little idea in that a tango waltz underscores the action while guitars lead the spy sound in genres like Cats & Dogs, trumpets defy the Spanish flair and Elfman throws in a bit of Men in Black, all for good measure. The actual highlight of the score is the collaboration between Robert Rodriguez and his brother Marcel, while Los Lobos adds more twist to the making in combining rhythm, a choir and a Mexican flavor to dance nicely in 'Spy Wedding'. Trust me, its all in good fun.

Apart from track 3, there are other highlights and these surprisingly contain themselves around the action music. With the second not containing not enough melody to sustain interest, tracks like 'Parents on Mission', 'Pod Chase' and 'Buddy Pack Escape' are all enjoyable and groovy, the guitars add the spy sound while occasional brass blasts with fun but short action grooves spice the tone of the music good. 'Kids Escape House' has more the guitar work of Heitor Pereira reminding us of the work he did for The Road to El Dorado while 'Floop's Castle' is surprisingly not from Elfman, Boardman uses actually the light choral touch to almost Elfman effect. 'Final Family Theme' is a nice finisher with soft guitar solos over a short growing fanfare with additional soft choir and shows Gregson - Williams' style well. The two songs (12 is in the same style like The Nightmare before Christmas) and the final one is fun for 2 minutes, mixed with unobtrusive snippets of dialogue in it. Truth, for all the composers working behind the music of the score, Spy Kids could have failed but it didn't, making the listen short but actually a cohesive and fun whole. Occasionally you hear the style of the various composers in it and sometimes you don't, knowing that this is what makes the flawless transition from composer to composer work. Spy Kids is a better to listen to album then the second one and even if its short, its a fun creation which literally mixes high volume with groovy tones, on the finesse of Rodriguez Mexican flair.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Cortez Family (1.37)

2. My Parents Are Spies (2.07)

3. Spy Wedding (2.08)

4. Spy Kids Demonstration (1.03)

5. Parents On Mission (1.15)

6. Kids Escape House (3.11)

7. Pod Chase (1.36)

8. The Safehouse (0.44)

9. The Third Brain (0.58)

10. Buddy Pack Escape (1.37)

11. Oye Como Spy * (2.57)

12. Floop's Song (Cruel World) ** (0.57)

13. Spy Go Round (2.09)

14. Minion (1.01)

15. Sneaking Around Machetes (0.33)

16. The Spy Plane (1.26)

17. Floop's Castle (1.27)

18. Final Family Theme (1.40)

Bonus Track

19. Spy Kids (Save The World) *** (2.20)

* Written by R. Rodriguez, David Garza & Tito Puente, performed by Los Lobos

** Words and music by Danny Elfman, performed by Alan Cumming

*** Written by David Newton, David Klotz & Emily Cook, performed by Fonda

Total Length: 31.35

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

=== Link to Composer Sites: Danny Elfman, John Debney, Harry Gregson - Williams ===