I'm Annoyed All Over Again

Recently I listened to a CD I haven't listened to for quite a while. And you know what? It inspires in me the same feelings it had when I first heard it years ago in 2001.

And they weren't good feelings...

Planet of the Apes. Most of us have (happily) forgotten that there was a sort of remake of the 1968 classic a few years back. When you say "Planet of the Apes" (assuming you ever say "Planet of the Apes") you don't have to clarify which film you're talking about. No one (more or less) remembers the newer one.

So here I am, kicking a dead horse. But I've got to tell you, this soundtrack REALLY bugs me, even after all these years.

There is no getting around it; one simply has to compare the new movie with the old movie and the new soundtrack with the old one... and the new does not fair well!

I think most of us are disappointed in Tim Burton for not getting Jerry Goldsmith (who composed the classic score for the original film) and working instead with his default composer, a fine composer, Danny Elfman,

Elfman, who did a good score for Tim Burton's Batman and some lesser scores for Burton's lesser movies, had some mighty big shoes to fill when he took on the composing duties of the new Apes flick. Unfortunately for Elfman and Burton, Goldsmith was size 19 and Elman is a size 5.

The 2001 soundtrack isn't bad. Let me say that again. It isn't bad. It's obviously done by a professional, but it is a terribly middle-of-the-road-don't-take-any-chances kind of score. There's a lot of repetition in it and no discernible development. The orchestration is uninspired and bourgeois, relying on percussion and synth' splashes for excitement instead of thoughtful, composerly musical solutions. You know, things like development and contrast.

I expect more from SONY Classical. The CD package itself does not live up to the best standards. There are no liner notes, for one (but then again, what could there possibly be to say about this music?), and for another (and I'll admit this is a frivolous, cheap shot), the pictures in the booklet aren't very good. Instead of liner notes (which might be of some interest to an adult audience), we're given an excerpt from a comic book about the movie!

Jeez!

There is nothing comic about this moody score. Nothing. Then again there is nothing exciting about it, either. There's little feeling to most of the CD. Little feeling, that is, except for the last track, a "Rule the Planet Remix" by Paul Oakenfold (as far as I can tell, a sort of has-been club "composer"). This does finally illicit an emotion...annoyance.