German composer Hans Zimmer has in recent times been closely associated with Geek flicks – superhero (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Man of Steel & Batman vs Superman) and scifi (Inception & Interstellar).
This compilation of new arrangements of Zimmer’s movie themes performed by renowned artists including Lang Lang, Lindsey Stirling, Leona Lewis, 2CELLOS, Maxim Vengerov, The Piano Guys and more, is a seriously hit and miss affair.
The epic sweep of his music is evident in tracks like “Flight (From Man of Steel) feat. Lang Lang and Maxim Vengerov” – which captures a darker interpretation of Superman brilliantly, “Main Theme (From Pirates of the Caribbean) feat. The Piano Guys” and “Battle Scene (From Gladiator) feat. Khatia Buniatishvili” – the movie is referenced THREE times in this collection.
But there are more nuanced works at play here, for instance, “Time (From Inception)feat. Tina Guo”, “This Land (From Lion King) feat. Amy Dickson” and “Gladiator Rhapsody (From Gladiator) feat. Lang Lang” which all capture the significant emotional resonances raised in the visuals.
To be honest, there is much to quibble about the song choices although the performances are top notch. Still, if you want to savour Zimmer in his original glory then go for the original soundtrack albums!
Classics is an excellent sampler nonetheless. Enjoy!
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… still there’s more …