Review of On Stranger Tides Soundtrack Album by Pirates Of The Caribbean
Trying to follow Johnny Depp and his companions who were (never thought I'd say this about Johnny) definitely too close to me, as my head and eyes were unbelievably hurt from sitting in the second row, right in front of the cinema screen, I was wondering if the Pirates Of The Caribbean series would ever end.
But then not expecting it at all I actually quite enjoyed the 4th, and probably not the last, part of The Pirates franchise. All this made me wonder how this adventurous but predictable movie managed to keep me on the edge of the seat for more than 2 hours? Then I realised that not the storyline, not the special effects and not even Johnny Depp as a pirate himself were the reasons of my excitement, but in this case the key role was made by the soundtrack of the film. Music on films is quite easy to forget about and sometimes it's all too easy to only credit actors and visual aspects of a film for its success.
Digging a bit deeper into the making of the music, I wasn't really surprised to learn that Hans Zimmer was in charge of creating it. After composing soundtracks for the three preceding films in the series, and after their huge commercial success, it's hardly surprising he was hired again. Creating music for such box-office hits such as the Batman movies, Gladiator or The Last Samurai, Zimmer proved to be unbeatable again, with his music taking us into an extraordinary World of mystery, treasure and adventure.
What I didn't expect was the involvement of Rodrigo y Gabriela. My feelings were mixed at first, as I could never imagine this renowned, Mexican duo taking part in such a 'commercial' enterprise as The Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. However, respect for the duo was regained when I heard their first song from the soundtrack. Not only have they remained faithful to their characteristic style, but it seemed that they too have drifted away to a whole new world, a world full of pirates, treasures, mermaids and magic fountains that made their music even more exciting.
With Zimmer composing the standard, adventurous 'pirate' pieces and Rodrigo y Gabriela playing their specific guitar riffs for the needs of the film, there are also really good electronic remixes that make the sound fresher and more dynamic. In the end, to keep the Pirates of the Caribbean series exciting and watchable the combination as well as innovation of artists and sounds seems like a good place to start, as in the long run, Johnny Depp might not be enough.
Paulina Spodniewska
