Band Of Brothers Music From

To me, this is Kamen's most intelligent and beautiful score to date. Mostly known for his music to McTiernan films and Metallica's "Symphony & Metal" concert, Kamen is a man of osmosis and influence. Never shying back for utilizing other people's music to better his own, he is both loathed and loved.
He should be loved for this album. In this score, little is not his. As the series is inspired by the film Saving Private Ryan, the music to the series is inspired by John William's score for named movie. Luckily, Kamen extends no further in this than 'the feel'. He brings out his full symphonic talents to create the fluxating sensations of melancholy and dreariness, where the typical military march influences sound like pounding Roman galley drums rather than proud propaganda.
The other influence besides Williams, is Beethoven's "String Quartet in C-Sharp Minor (OPUS 131)". In the series it plays over the event of 'discovering the camp' - yet it fits in with the other music like the piece of a puzzle. Again, it is not copying themes and instrumentations that Kamen applies, it is mood and key.

We can hope Kamen will stay on this path of enhancing and deepening his symphonic capacities. That is not to say his other musical scores are flat for using pop and rock influences, but to me at least, it is this orchestral music that truly touches a snare. I was, at the least, blissfully surprised by Michael Kamen's mindful music for "Band Of Brothers". Set aside any possible reservations at buying another Kamen album: this one is definitely worthy of praise.

This one gets four stars.

Bram Janssen,
The Netherlands

As I said before, the main theme is very beautiful and very touching. Next you get to listen to the two suites (tracks 2 and 3), and Kamen portrays the heroism of the soldiers on this T.V. show. They might sound a little like "Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves", but they have a different identity, a more militaristic mood. The suites are kinda formulaic for dramatic purposes that they are quite difficult to appreciate. However, I really enjoy 'Bull's Theme' which, I think, conveys a tragic moment in the story -I haven't seen the miniseries yet -and 'Plaisir D'amour' which has a female voice that sounds enchanting, yet dark.

Maybe the suites are heavy, but the themes for "Band Of Brothers" are fantastic. I think Michael Kamen has done a very good job in here.

When I finally saw the first episodes of "Band of Brothers" on the History Channel a few weeks ago and heard the strains of the "Main Theme" (Track 1), the credits had not finished rolling, and because the style was similar to John Williams' music for Saving Private Ryan, I said to myself, "Oh, what a beautiful Williams contribution!" Instead of being an overtly "warrior music" theme with heavy use of brass and snare drums (think of almost every pre-1970s war movie or TV-show military show, or even today's "Theme from JAG"), the Main Theme features a more melancholic approach, featuring a full orchestra (London Metropolitan Orchestra) and voices, very much in the same vein as "Hymn For the Fallen" from Saving Private Ryan. Pure Williams, I thought, and certainly not without precedent; the composer has long teamed with Spielberg, working with the director/producer in all but one of his major movies. Williams has also written quite a few TV themes, including Land of the Giants, Amazing Stories, and the NBC Nightly News theme "The Mission."

Imagine my astonishment when I saw the credit "Music by Michael Kamen."

Well, maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised, because before his recent death, Michael Kamen was one of the most sought-after composers in Hollywood, having written scores for such for such films as Creepshow, Die Hard, Die Hard 2, and Die Hard with a Vengeance. He is able to convey the emotional context of diverse films by melding all sorts of musical references and styles (note how he works Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and bits of "Singin' in the Rain" into the score of Die Hard, for instance).

The album, obviously, is not a comprehensive recording with the complete score for a 10-hour miniseries. Rather it is a nicely conceived 20-track sampler with music from each episode (conveniently, each track is labeled with the cue name and episode title.)

Key tracks include:
1. Main Theme
2. Band of Brothers Suite One
3. Band of Brothers Suite Two
4. Part One -- CURAHEE: "The Mission Begins"
10. Part Four -- REPLACEMENTS: "Bull's Theme"
12: Part Six -- BASTOGNE: "Headscarf"
16. Part Nine -- WHY WE FIGHT: "String Quartet in C-Sharp Minor" (Op. 131) by L.v. Beethoven
20. Part Ten: POINTS: "Band of Brothers Requiem"

Kamen, who dedicated his score to his father's twin brother, Captain Paul Kamen (who was killed in Germany three days before the end of the European campaign), composed the music for "Band of Brothers" as a requiem, so even though there are hints of militaristic music, it's all infused with solemnity and sadness, reflecting the proud achievements of E Company's surviving members while remembering the ones the veterans consider to be the real heroes, "those who did not come back."