Music Composed by Brian Tyler
Rating: *** 1/2

It really does seem like just the other day, the film score community was reading interview after interview with Brian Tyler concerning his work for Stalone’s then-upcoming Rambo. Yes, he confirmed, he would be using Goldsmith’s theme, and yes, he was a great fan of Goldsmith’s work on the franchise. So of course, fan expectations went through the roof, and also of course, fan indignation went further through the roof when the score hit the shelves and, lo and behold, it didn’t sound like a Jerry Goldsmith score. In fact, it sounded like a Brian Tyler score. The nerve.

But as my less-than-subtle tone may imply, I think much of the disappointment that certain people have been voicing has less to do with Tyler’s score and more to do with the desperate wish fulfillment that film music fans engage in. We all know that Jerry Goldsmith is gone, but some small part of us still hopes that somehow, if a new composer uses Goldsmith’s themes, follows Goldsmith’s score sheets, and understands Goldsmith’s voice well enough to imitate it, then magically, Jerry Goldsmith could come back. Maybe only for one score, maybe only in simulated form, and maybe with another composer’s name, but back nevertheless. Or close enough to being back, at least, that we might be able to pretend that the film music environment hasn’t changed so drastically in the past 20 years, and that it is still possible for a brazenly ambitious and progressive action score like First Blood to make it into a contemporary film. But things have changed, and it’s nearly impossible for a mainstream action film to get a score like First Blood in a post-Media Ventures world. Jerry Goldsmith himself couldn’t write an action score like First Blood in a post-Media Ventures world – the environment simply wouldn’t allow for it anymore. But you can get a Brian Tyler score in a post-Media Ventures world, and that has its own merits. If you can approach the score as such, you’ll have perfectly entertaining modern action score to enjoy.

Brian Tyler

This isn’t to say that Tyler doesn’t pay his tribute to Goldsmith’s at all in this score. He uses Goldsmith’s “It’s a Long Road” theme to bookend the story, which actually feels just about right. It grows from Goldsmith’s theme, but clearly comes from Brian Tyler’s more contemporary harmonic language. If the bridge from “It’s a Long Road” somehow melted into Tyler’s love theme from Partition, you’d have the new theme Tyler wrote for the movie, which is a very good thing for me. Some might argue that we’ve heard this chord progression from Tyler so many times that it’s lost its impact, but I’m still not tired of it. The theme still gives the music a real human dimension every time it appears, and follows the emotional thread that Goldsmith started. The end result is a musical environment that’s primarily Tyler, but one that’s informed just enough by Goldsmith to make the transition meaningful.

But of course, the thrills are the reason people come to a score like this. There’s action music a-plenty, though it’s much lighter and more streamlined than Tyler’s usual bag of tricks. Most of the excitement comes from the rhythm, with Tyler’s insane mixed meters carrying the adrenaline over sequences that frequently run for seven minutes without pause (see “No Rules of Engagement”). Orchestration-wise, however, Tyler’s much thinner and less bombastic than he usually is in movies like this. He eschews those huge muscular dissonances in favor of lighter and clearer motifs that stab in and out of the percussive frenzy. This perhaps takes away from the complexity that we’re accustomed to from Tyler’s action music, but it also makes it easier to listen to this music for prolonged stretches without getting a headache.

But then, part of the reason you can listen to this action score without getting a headache is that the action cues and the softer cues are intelligently staggered throughout the CD. A number of Tyler’s score albums have had problems with top-heaviness, but this isn’t one of them; it’s a surprisingly even and consistent listen. Granted, quite a few people have complained that the album is extremely overlong, and I will allow that some gentle pruning of the most restrained cues would make the listening experience even stronger. But while I can’t say that I’m 100% engaged with every cue on the album, the warm thematic material and frantic action cues come frequently enough that I never tire of the CD or want to turn it off (which sounds like damning with faint praise, but I can’t say the same for very many scores anymore). And when the score finally moves from Tyler’s gorgeous closing rendition of his own theme (“Battle Adagio”) back into Goldsmith’s “Long Road” theme, you really do feel like the music has taken you on a journey, moving you full-circle (though granted, the circle would be even more powerful if we moved right from “Battle Adagio” into “Rambo End Title,” without “Rambo Main Title” puzzlingly sandwiched in between).

At any rate, Rambo is a perfectly enjoyable modern action score, less demanding than Tyler’s best work, but sometimes a less demanding score isn’t the worst thing in the world. It’s no First Blood, but it pays its respect to Goldsmith, and it’s heartfelt and exciting in all the right places. Sometimes that’s all you need.

Music Composed and Conducted by Brian Tyler; Orchestrations: Jeff Toyne, Brian Tyler; Recorded and Mixed by Joel Iwataki; Contains Themes Composed by Jerry Goldsmith; Label: Lionsgate, (20014); Availability: In-print; U.S. Release Date: February 5, 2008.

01. Rambo Theme (3:36)
02. No Rules of Engagement (7:11)
03. Conscription (2:57)
04. The Rescue (4:06)
05. Aftermath (2:35)
06. Searching for Missionaries (7:08)
07. Hunting Mercenaries (2:45)
08. Crossing into Burma (7:01)
09. The Village (1:45)
10. Rambo Returns (2:45)
11. When You Are Pushed (2:25)
12. The Call to War (2:53)
13. Atrocities (1:41)
14. Prison Camp (4:43)
15. Attack on the Village (3:03)
16. Rambo Takes Charge (2:24)
17. The Compound (7:50)
18. Battle Adagio (3:12)
19. Rambo Main Title (3:12)
20. Rambo End Title (3:00)

Total Playing Time: 76:31