Gridiron Gang

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

With Coach Carter, Glory Road and Gridiron Gang Trevor Rabin returned to the genre he was so successfully accustomed to, mostly due to the inspiring success he achieved with his great score for Remember the Titans. Namely the sports genre! Like Jerry Goldsmith and Mark Isham, there is something about Trevor Rabin that makes his music achieve this winning attitude that can drive and inspire the movie that it should be underscoring. The feeling when he starts to give his main theme a whirl is like Remember the Titans exactly what sport is all about, thrilling. Now Gridiron Gang the drama / sport movie starring the Rock opposed a challenge. It has to create this winning attitude but don't make it too epic, because its still a gloomy experience these kids are facing. And yet Rabin made sure he could build from the sad emotional counterpart to the exciting and thrilling sport victories the team is facing on screen. And I might add that Rabin found perhaps the one mix but also the right mix. Its a solo theme score and his main theme is repeated to the brink of insanity. But exactly that change of hearing it in emotional counterpart and thrilling action through each other makes it bearable, more downright enjoyable. Don't forget its still Rabin at his most recognizable but it just works for the genre. His thrilling rise of going from soft to fast paced kicks is what this genre demanded, and Rabin delivers it in his known yet enjoyable style. With 'Camp Kilpatrick' the festivities start rather soft, and the piano alone in the middle reminds us Rabin is doing his Thomas Newman move again, from here on the main theme is heard first softly and then the gun ho Rabin starts to build upon that. It doesn't explode briefly until 'Sorry, Football is Over' where it moves from a singular trumpet to the real deal. That Rabin's style is all over the place is evident in 'We're Better than This', giving a hint of American Outlaws and such. And yet you have to admire him going from scratch to again thrilling (if brief) excitement in 'A Baddington Game' like its no trouble at all.

The first sign of real emotion is discovered in 'Training Day' where the theme makes it way through some emotional contexts. More nice softer moments are held for 'Rap Up' and 'Flowers' where the main theme makes more notes happen, rising from emotional feelings to feelings that mean something. The inspiring horn and feel of 'Letter Writing Montage' shows more what this score has to offer. And yet that isn't the biggest part which makes it good. That's left for the absolute thrill rides 'We're Better than This (Part 2)' and 'Part 3', here Rabin just delivers the riveting aspect of sport from the first second and his theme here comes truly alive. Its too much to tell basically what's going on but its fast, heroism is flying high and the goal to win is clearly evident in it all, with other words the main theme is shining and makes the score live up to its expectations. In between all this we find 'Calvin gets Shot' where the heroism suddenly drops to soft strings and piano. 'Forgiveness' after that doesn't change with the main theme softly on piano, but what's keen to discover is the additional flute and solo vocal added to it to make it even more real. With the nice 'Junior Returns' and the final thrills of 'Mustang Challenge' Rabin's happy hour comes at an end. That Trevor Rabin has done it before in Remember the Titans is not of the essence now, because as good as that one was (and unreleased I might add with it), its how good this one is in sports terms as well. Trevor Rabin is in this genre a winner and that's reflected in the movie and music. Gridiron Gang will please the Rabin fans because it gives what we love of him in the first place. That the counterpart of emotional music works too is perhaps a sign we underestimate him just a tad too much. However it might not make for true sport brilliance as Rudy or Hoosiers, its darn effective nonetheless and Rabin makes us all winners during the ride of the Gridiron Gang to victory.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Camp Kilpatrick (5.29)

2. We're Better Than This (1.27)

3. Sorry, Football Is Over (3.40)

4. Roger's Dead (1.37)

5. A Baddington Game (2.07)

6. Training Day (3.07)

7. Rap Up (3.25)

8. Flowers (2.42)

9. Letter Writing Montage (1.19)

10. Good Job (0.44)

11. Junior (1.37)

12. Celebration Epilogue (3.49)

13. We're Better Than This (Part 2) (5.28) Excellent Track

14. Calvin Gets Shot (3.23)

15. We're Better Than This (Part 3) (6.15) Excellent Track

16. Forgiveness (3.13)

17. Junior Returns (2.25)

18. Mustang Challenge (3.26)

Total Length: 55.19

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

=== Link to Composer Site: Trevor Rabin ===