Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [Soundtrack]

The score to "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is a worthy entry into the series' pantheon of film music.

Notable Tracks: The "Raiders March" is as inspiring and rousing a piece of film music ever composed. "The Call of the Crystal" introduces one of the film's new motifs, a three-note string repetition that builds with a tenuous flute progression. This is an understated and atmospheric piece, obviously meant to build tension and suggest a great mystery. Is it a piece you will hum? No. But it has structure and a presence that is actually pretty diverse (when it shows up in later tracks) given its simplicity. Other notable pieces: "The Adventures of Mutt", "The Snake Pit" and "A Whirl Through Academe" are whimsical pieces reminiscent of the motorcycle music from "The Last Crusade." "Irinia's Theme" is a string-heavy romantic piece, with a down-tone to suggest evil! "The Spell of the Skull" repeats the "Map Room" theme from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (which raises an eyebrow and wonders if there is a direct connection to the Lost Ark of the Covenant happening in this new movie). One of the bigger surprises is "The Journey to Akator" which midway thru breaks into an indigenous arrangement of South American music (full-on tropical dance stuff). "Return" is a repeat of the "Crystal Skull" theme, this time sounding more cohesive and focused. The film's more traditional creepy-crawlies action music blends together mostly, sounding more incidental and less like concert music (these selections include "Grave Robbers", "Secret Doors and Scorpions" and "Ants!"). "The Jungle Chase" is structured almost identically to pieces from past Indiana Jones scores, and its quite rousing. "Hidden Treasure and The City of Gold" is another satisfying piece, suggesting a great discovery takes place by the track's end. "Temple Ruins and The Secret Revealed" has an excellent version of the Crystal Skull motif. At this point in the score, the Crystal Skull motif has evolved from a delicate suggestion into a big, classic Hollywood-style theme (a la Bernard Herrmann's work on Hitchcock's films). And then there's the "Finale" which starts with "Marion's Theme" from the "Raiders" score and then moves to the classic "Raider's March" to other motifs (Mutt's theme, Irinia's theme) and closing on the traditional Indy ending (with a little pop at the end).

In the end, this is a very enjoyable score. There's enough nostalgia to satisfy our memories of 20-plus years ago, and the new music blends in perfectly as well. It's really difficult to "rate" scores by John Williams as he does operate on a different level from other composers. And usually, people will rank his work against himself, which may be unfair. Bottom line: if you enjoy this type of music, get this score.

I listened intently when I saw the movie the other day for anything original that stood out like in the other 3 movies (i.e. the Marion love theme from Raiders; the slave mining theme and Indian village themes and Willie Scott love theme from Temple of Doom; the grail theme, father/son theme, etc.) but there was nothing that I heard specifically that stayed with me. I did hear a lot of familar music cues from the other movies (Marion theme and the grail theme--surprising used extensively towards the end of the movie). Just like the movie, I felt the score was rushed and Williams basically phoned this in. Of all his scores, this one was really lacking.

..then you are probably better off, as Concord Records is releasing this score as well as the (newly expanded) scores from the first three Indiana Jones films in a Five Disk Box Set. However, if you have no intention of purchasing the Box Set (I would reconsider if I were you), or if you do not mind purchasing the same album twice, then you cannot really go wrong with this album. As I stated above, there are many who do not like this score ( as well as the film it accompanies), but it really is not bad, not bad at all (though it may take a number of listens for you to fully appreciate the album).

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