Danny Elfman - 1990 - Edward Scissorhands OST [TQMP]

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| Danny Elfman - 1990 - Edward Scissorhands OST |::
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| Ripped w/EAC v1.0b2 @ Secure : Encoded w/FLAC v1.2.1 @ Comp. 8 |::
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| No. of Files / Size _____ 32 files / 244.29MB (256,160,245 bytes) |
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| Type / Quantity _________ CD (Compact Disc) (* 1) |
| Date Released ___________ 11th of December, 1990 |
| User Rating _____________ 09/10 |
| Genre(s) ________________ Soundtrack / Classical |
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+------+ Review +--------------------------------------------------------------+
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| The times for Tim Burton would never be better, with the immense success |
| of Batman proving his financial viability and a sequel on the way to |
| continue building upon that reputation. It would be the satirical |
| tragedies of Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas that |
| would earn the director his most ardent fans, however. The social |
| commentary of Edward Scissorhands speaks to the heart of any outcast, |
| offering a stark glimpse of Vincent Price's final, suffering creation of |
| horror thrust upon a "perfect" vision of 1950's suburbia. The fairy tale |
| genre would serve both Burton and collaborating composer Danny Elfman |
| well, with the storytelling structure of both Edward Scissorhands and |
| The Nightmare Before Christmas allowing for extremely tight parameters |
| that help the scores for both films tell the stories by themselves. For |
| Elfman specifically, Edward Scissorhands further heightened expectations |
| for the young, classically untrained composer. The score remains a |
| powerful juggernaut in album sales charts two decades later, though its |
| success remains slightly bittersweet in that time would unfortunately |
| reveal that the successive triumphs of Batman and Edward Scissorhands |
| would not be equaled by the composer in any of those following years. |
| Incidentally, both would feature the orchestration work of Steve Bartek |
| and the conducting of Shirley Walker, though the latter score would be |
| recorded in Los Angeles rather than London. While Batman appeals |
| appropriately to the classically oriented mainstream action collectors, |
| Edward Scissorhands reaches towards fans of Elfman's very specific early |
| styles of unconventional rhythms and unashamed harmony. The score is |
| somewhat of an enigma, combining those two key elements of Elfman's |
| early styles and packaging them into one very serviceable score and |
| album. Edward Scissorhands is one of Elfman's few scores (if not the |
| only completely effective one) that balances the best of both the zany |
| quirkiness of his early scores and the thematic enchantment of those |
| that would follow. |
| |
| The most remarkable aspect of the Edward Scissorhands score is its |
| ability to tell Burton's story without the visuals. The album takes you |
| on the journey of this fable with masterful precision, embodying the |
| heart-wrenching emotions of Edward's discovery and downfall with |
| thematic and choral elements never restrained. In terms of the |
| orchestral ensemble, not much is different from Elfman's previous |
| scores, though a significant role is given to the celesta and other |
| high-ranging struck percussion. The celesta specifically offers dual |
| representation of both the innocence of the main character and the |
| wintry setting, lending a music-box style to the score that accentuates |
| the bedtime storytelling ambience. The piano, while an integral role of |
| other Elfman scores at the time, is largely displaced by the celesta, |
| though a few notable piano solos are registered. The harp returns from |
| Batman, leaving behind its grand flourishes for deliberate plucking |
| that, along with the strings, helps the celesta set the score's delicate |
| rhythms. Rowdy rhythms for brass and bass woodwinds explode in "The |
| Cookie Factory," serving as the score's only true direct reminder of the |
| sharp wackiness of Pee Wee and Beetlejuice. Few brass solos have an |
| impact on the score, though the longing trumpet performance at the end |
| of the title theme performance in "The End" (among other instrumental |
| techniques heard in that cue) would largely foreshadow the upcoming |
| spirit of The Nightmare Before Christmas. The true heart of Edward |
| Scissorhands, though, is provided by the boy's chorus that brilliantly |
| carries the imaginative elements of story and is rarely absent for |
| longer than a minute or two in the score. It was not unusual for Elfman |
| to employ a boy's chorus in his scores of the time, but the performances |
| by the Paulist Choristers of California for Edward Scissorhands are |
| incorporated with skill not heard elsewhere in any score of the 1990's |
| (by Elfman or otherwise). Elfman layers the group, allowing portions to |
| serve as counterpoint to itself in an effort to maximize the harmonic |
| resonance of the combined voices. An adult choir is also worked into the |
| score at times, though the boys' performances clearly define the work. |
| |
| Elfman uses the combination of the chorus, celesta, and strings to |
| explore two primary themes in Edward Scissorhands. The first is the |
| obvious title theme provided in the credits. An overarching idea for |
| Edward's journey, this light waltz swings with elegance over celesta and |
| plucked strings as the chorus provides the primary wordless statements |
| of fantasy (bracketing a woodwind interlude that would serve as a sub- |
| theme later in the score). This cue would be fully reprised with the |
| same instrumentation in "Etiquette Lesson" and "The End," with |
| continuing, fragmented references in between. Despite the appeal of this |
| theme, however, it takes a back seat to the score's unofficial love |
| theme, which creates the undeniable tragedy in the score. It is this |
| theme that graces the score's two famous tracks, "Ice Dance" and "The |
| Grand Finale," and presents the chorus in its most beautiful, yearning |
| performances. Elfman teases you with this theme in "Storytime" and "Home |
| Sweet Home," and he never allows the theme to come to a natural |
| conclusion outside of the slowly fading departure in "The Grand Finale." |
| In the aforementioned early cues, as well as "Ice Dance" and "The End," |
| Elfman always ends the theme (and cue) on a longing note, never |
| returning to its grounding key and thus drawing out the score's tragic |
| intent even further. The climactic choral majesty of "The Grand Finale" |
| is a dazzling, magical experience, and stands among the most powerful |
| single cues of the digital era of film music. The score's darker side, |
| dominating its second half, strikes the culture clash at the heart of |
| the film's dark edge. Elfman utilizes medium drums and lighter "la-la" |
| vocals to underline the pleasantly sickening nature of the somewhat |
| timeless 1950's suburbia setting. The world of the "Castle on the Hill," |
| in opposition to the silliness of suburbia, is the menacing and |
| ultimately tragically frustrating core of Edward's upbringing and |
| seclusion. Several of the more horrifying moments of the tale, heard in |
| "Death!" and "The Tide Turns," recall troublesome ideas established by |
| Elfman in the just previous Nightbreed. These cues are hardly weak, but |
| in contrast to the surrounding beauty, they merit far less attention. |
| |
| Like many of Elfman's earlier works, Edward Scissorhands has a few |
| stand-out tracks of sheer wizardry or bizarre deviation that deserve |
| specific mention. You can always tell when Elfman gets in a mood for |
| ambitious fun when he pulls out the tubas for a wild rhythm; that |
| rhythm, along with the harshly muted brass of "The Cookie Factory," |
| would yield to a few playful performances by woodwinds in that cue that |
| would also foreshadow The Nightmare Before Christmas. The piano-led |
| rhythm in "Ballet de Suburbia" allows the sax to lead a motif that, once |
| the percussion lets rip later in the cue, would mirror much of the |
| spirit of Elfman's famous theme for The Simpsons. A solo accordion in |
| "Esmeralda" is a bizarre but short deviation. The most colorful cue is |
| "Edwardo the Barber," and for those who grow tired of the score's |
| overbearing choral performances of the two primary themes, this cue is a |
| constant pleasure. A mock-tango rhythm with castenets underscores |
| Edward's hairstyling talents, mutating the suburbia motif for perhaps |
| the score's most relaxed moment. In the middle of this cue, however, is |
| a hoedown style explosion for about a minute that actively underscores |
| Edward's most frenetic styling sequence. During this minute, plucked |
| strings and accordion establish an increasingly frantic pacing over |
| which a solo violin works wonders with its precise western-style |
| slurring. If the comically melodramatic conclusion to this sudden burst |
| of energy can't invigorate you, then you're not a true Elfman fan. The |
| Tom Jones song is an unfortunately downside to the album; his voice and |
| the style of the song may have been an attempt to mimic the 50's |
| atmosphere of the film, but its tinny recording sound is quite |
| irritating. Burton and Elfman would have been better served by having a |
| sensitive vocalist provide a song version of Elfman's love theme. The |
| balance of the mix between chorus and orchestra in Edward Scissorhands |
| emphasizes the chorus far more than Batman did, without losing any of |
| the orchestral elements in the process. This masterful mixing would be |
| lost by the time Batman Returns would yield a flat result. Overall, many |
| collectors believe that Danny Elfman, despite a productive career |
| hereafter, has never really captured Edward Scissorhands's essence of |
| magic ever again. Whether he does or not, this score will forever be |
| noted as a grand highlight of both his career and film music of the |
| 1990's. |
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+------+ Track List +----------------------------------------------------------+
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| No. | Title | Duration |
| ----+--------------------------------------------------------+---------- |
| 001 | Introduction (Titles) ................................ | 00h03m37s |
| 002 | Storytime ............................................ | 00h03m35s |
| 003 | Castle on the Hill ................................... | 00h06m24s |
| 004 | Beautiful New World , Home Sweet Home ................ | 00h02m05s |
| 005 | The Cookie Factory ................................... | 00h02m15s |
| 006 | Ballet De Suburbia (Suite) ........................... | 00h01m17s |
| 007 | Ice Dance ............................................ | 00h02m45s |
| 008 | Etiquette Lesson ..................................... | 00h02m37s |
| 009 | Edwardo the Barber ................................... | 00h03m19s |
| 010 | Esmeralda ............................................ | 00h00m26s |
| 011 | Death ................................................ | 00h04m30s |
| 012 | The Tide Turns (Suite) ............................... | 00h06m31s |
| 013 | The Final Confrontation .............................. | 00h02m17s |
| 014 | Farewell ............................................. | 00h03m45s |
| 015 | The Grand Finale ..................................... | 00h03m26s |
| 016 | The End .............................................. | 00h05m47s |
| 017 | Tom Jones - With These Hands ......................... | 00h03m42s |
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| Total Length ____________ 00h49m18s |
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| Ripped with _____________ EAC v1.0b2 [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de] |
| Encoded with ____________ FLAC v1.2.1 [http://flac.sourceforge.net] |
| Encoding Stats __________ 1411kbps / 44.1kHz / CBR / 16-bit / Stereo |
| Tag(s) __________________ Vorbis |
| Includes Artwork? _______ Yes |
| Includes Rip .LOG? ______ Yes |
| Includes Rip .CUE? ______ Yes |
| Includes Playlist? ______ Yes |
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