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Author	Topic: Jablonsky: the next Gregson-Williams/Powell or the next Badelt?

nuts_score Standard Userer	This has been something that has been irking me every since I got a hold of "Steamboy" and wasn't yet registered to talk on these boards; but after some thorough listeings of "The Island" (on my new Bose at that!) I have a simple question. What do you guys think of Steve Jablonsky, in terms of ex-MV proteges? Do you think he will become the next Harry Gregson-Williams/John Powell and rarely disappoint with his new contributions? Or do you thing that he will go the way of Klaus Badelt and become somewhat disliked by a select few of us because everything he does sounds like noise that Zimmer already created? I have to admit myself that "Steamboy" is really good, and I'm not much of a fan of anime music. "The Island" seemed to lack in places, but it was an overall great listen that I can see myself revisiting from time to time. In my eyes, Powell has a great history; I've greatly enjoyed everything he has done, from "Face/Off" to "Robots" (sadly, I haven't picked up "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" but I have a feeling it might be on my next Amazon order). In some ways, Gregson-Williams could be better. "Spy Game" is one of my all-time favorites; "The Replacement Killers" is weak IMO; "Veronica Guerin" is suitable for some time but it wears out after time (as does "Phone Booth"; "Man on Fire" had some really good cues but a lot of the run time is wasted on trodding underscore; and "Kingdom of Heaven", while good, could have used a bit more polish around the end. Then it comes to Badelt, who I honestly can't stand and have given him enough tries. I thought that "PotC" might have been an awkward project because it was so large, so I gave him another chance with "Ned Kelly" and it was a disc I honestly haven't put back in my player. Afterwards I picked up "The Recruit" thinking that it might be a good one, but, again, was disappointed. So - four movies and three discs to his name - do you think Steve has it?
posted 08-24-2005 10:17 PM PT (US)

TimT Standard Userer	Its too bad he can't be the next young original and inspiring composer. It kinda sucks living under someone elses shadow.
posted 08-24-2005 11:48 PM PT (US)

BMikeJ Standard Userer	I think Steve Jablonsky is a great composer with a bright future ahead of him. I'm a little depressed to see you comparing him to composers such as these two who have had careers that I don't think have exceeded the 10 year mark yet. Makes me feel old...
posted 08-25-2005 12:19 AM PT (US)

scoreguy16 Standard Userer	I see Harry Gregson-Williams making it huge. As for John Powell... He started out major league strong, but as of lately he hasn't impressed me much. With the exception Robots, but that still wasn't all that great. As for Steve Jablonsky, I hope he makes it ginormously huge. Steamboy was an all around better score than The Island. But! The Island had some amazing orchestral/choral/heavy percussion parts that really stand out. Clayton
posted 08-25-2005 12:44 AM PT (US)

scoreguy16 Standard Userer	I forgot to mention my thoughts on Badelt... Badelt is a mixed bag for me. I loved The Time Machine, K-19 was a very emotional score, but then when it sounded like Gladiator it annoyed me. Then Pirates of the Caribbean was great fun, but it is just like a Zimmer score. And The Recruit had one really good track (The last one) but the rest sounded like an unorganized Trevor Rabin score if that makes sense. Haven't heard Ned Kelly but I saw part of the movie and thought the score sounded pretty good. Clayton NP>The Island (Tracks 1, 2, 3, 6, 10, 11 and 14 are the best... so like half of the score)
posted 08-25-2005 12:49 AM PT (US)

Demetris Christodoulides Standard Userer	scoreguy16, Make sure you check some of his lesser known but (imo) more quality works like the beautiful NED KELLY, sweeping and orchestral INVINCIBLE (with Hans Zimmer) and the dark/moody the PLEDGE (with Hans Zimmer. Also, If you can find the score promo, also EQUILIBRIUM. [Message edited by Demetris Christodoulides on 08-25-2005]
posted 08-25-2005 01:44 AM PT (US)

nuts_score Standard Userer	I've heard good things about Badelt's work in "The Pledge", do you think it might be the one that convinces me he is worth it a bit? As much as I loved "Equlibrium", I don't think the score stood out too much; seemed like a lot of MV underscore. I wanted to get "The Time Machine" but after "PotC", "Ned Kelly", and "The Recruit" I couldn't bring myself to buy it; is it worth it too? Clayton, you mean to tell me that you didn't like track 7, "Mass Vehicular Carnage" on "The Island" ;-) In all seriousness, that track has sorta grown on me; not that great, but fun.
posted 08-25-2005 02:57 AM PT (US)

sean Standard Userer	nuts_score, go pick up The Pledge, it's a great score! I'm not that much of a fan of Klaus Badelt, and the only score (other than the above mentioned) that I truly did enjoy with a contribution from him was Pirates of the Carribean, even though it lacks any originality whatsoever. On the other hand, The Pledge is a really great and refreshing listen and one of Hans Zimmer's best efforts in years ... I highly recommend that score. As for picking up The Time Machine, I wouldn't bother. Much of the first half of the CD is a rehash of Jerry Goldsmith's music for The Edge and the "tribal" sound established later in the score sounds like those British Airways TV commercials. It's dissapointing and certainly suffers from the director's / editor's temp score. Like many others here, I found Steamboy to be better than The Island. The heavily sustained and skillful action cue "The Chase" is fun and pretty impressive, as are the themes in the score (especially for Ray). The Island has the advantage or disadvantage of being produced by Hans Zimmer; a lot of the score certainly sounds like Zimmer, especially in tracks 1, 3, 11, and 14. That's fine for me, but it's not really a progression for Steve Jablonsky. IMO, Jablosnky is the best of the bunch to emerge from Hans Zimmer's band of composers. John Powell is good and sometimes incredible, yet too many of his efforts sound like they're still in DreamWorks animation mood (The Italian Job and Paycheck both have a cartoon sound to them, and even if Ben Affliction and Marky Mark are goofs, you think he could approach these films with a little more serious a sound). Also, I find that his "band" type approach to many of his scores wears thin after a while. NP: Gladiator (Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard) ***/***
posted 08-25-2005 09:41 AM PT (US)

nuts_score Standard Userer	quote: Like many others here, I found Steamboy to be better than The Island. The heavily sustained and skillful action cue "The Chase" is fun and pretty impressive, as are the themes in the score (especially for Ray). The Island has the advantage or disadvantage of being produced by Hans Zimmer; a lot of the score certainly sounds like Zimmer, especially in tracks 1, 3, 11, and 14. That's fine for me, but it's not really a progression for Steve Jablonsky. IMO, Jablosnky is the best of the bunch to emerge from Hans Zimmer's band of composers. Sean, that remark seems to really hit the nail on the head in regards to "Steamboy" and "The Island". The former has some really great, inspired tracks; and the latter suffers from too much Zimmer influence, but is still worth while. I think that the motif heard in "Injection" ("M:I-2") was much improved upon in "The Isalnd" but definitely feels like it was already charted territory; as did a lot of the action cues that seemed to be lifted from Rabin's "Bad Boys 2". Nonetheless, it still is a good score with some great, unexpected depth. I think the Zimmer producing is also something that greatly affected Powell's first gig on "Face/Off", a lot of it sounds too much like Zimmer; same goes with Badelt's "PotC".
posted 08-25-2005 10:23 AM PT (US)

scoreguy16 Standard Userer	Actually the stuff that sounds like Rabin's score to Bad Boys II was probably just the stuff that Jablonsky wrote for Bad Boys II. Also, I should mention that I do have Invincible. I really enjoyed that score. As fro The Time Machine sounding like The Edge... I never noticed any simularities at all... Clayton NP>Batman Begins
posted 08-25-2005 12:18 PM PT (US)

Demetris Christodoulides Standard Userer	scoreguy16, I am glad you liked the INVINCIBLE. A real, small gem if you ask me. About THE PLEDGE, here's a small review i wrote about it some years ago. --> http://users.auth.gr/~dichrist/ --> Short Reviews and Comments II --> page 4, in the bottom. [Message edited by Demetris Christodoulides on 08-25-2005]
posted 08-25-2005 04:16 PM PT (US)

sean Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by scoreguy16: As for The Time Machine sounding like The Edge... I never noticed any simularities at all... Clayton NP>Batman Begins Check out track 6 "I Don't Belong Here" at 00:54 ... sounds like Edge influence to me. NP: The Time Machine (Klaus Badelt) */***
posted 08-25-2005 06:49 PM PT (US)

sean Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by nuts_score: Sean, that remark seems to really hit the nail on the head in regards to "Steamboy" and "The Island". The former has some really great, inspired tracks; and the latter suffers from too much Zimmer influence, but is still worth while. I think that the motif heard in "Injection" ("M:I-2") was much improved upon in "The Isalnd" but definitely feels like it was already charted territory; as did a lot of the action cues that seemed to be lifted from Rabin's "Bad Boys 2". Nonetheless, it still is a good score with some great, unexpected depth. I think the Zimmer producing is also something that greatly affected Powell's first gig on "Face/Off", a lot of it sounds too much like Zimmer; same goes with Badelt's "PotC". The guitar motif that begins The Island is certainly an improvement and doesn't sound like the direct rip from Dave Matthews Band that Hans Zimmer took with M:I 2. The action from Bad Boys 2 was probably done by Steve Jablonsky as he co-composed the score with Trevor Rabin. There's also a heavy M:I 2 / The Island guitar theme in that score (which I'm guessing is by Jablonsky). I still wished Mark Mancina had scored this film, his original theme is bad ass. For Pirates of the Carribean, I kind of enjoy Zimmer's credit of being the "Overproducer" on that score, because it's certainly self-evident (and that man does have a good sense of humour). I think it's a fun score, even if it all rehash.
posted 08-25-2005 06:56 PM PT (US)

nuts_score Standard Userer	quote: The guitar motif that begins The Island is certainly an improvement and doesn't sound like the direct rip from Dave Matthews Band that Hans Zimmer took with M:I 2. What Dave Matthew's song is that motif from? I'd really like to hear it in its originality. I like DMB, but I don't think I've heard enough of their music to call myself a fan. I enjoy greatly "When the World Ends" and their take on "All Along the Watchtower"; also everything else that gets regular air play. Other than that, I don't own any of their albums.
posted 08-25-2005 10:06 PM PT (US)

scoreguy16 Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by sean: For Pirates of the Carribean, I kind of enjoy Zimmer's credit of being the "Overproducer" on that score, because it's certainly self-evident (and that man does have a good sense of humour). I think it's a fun score, even if it all rehash. Agreed. AS for the Time Machine, I never really thought about it, but it does sound like The Edge. But only in part. There's still a lot of other good tracks on there. Clayton NP>Matchstick Men (Still want the Thin Red Line-ish track)
posted 08-26-2005 02:15 AM PT (US)

Marselus Standard Userer	I really hope Steve Jablonsky to become the new uprising composer from MV, as were John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams. But by now I think he is far away from Gregson-Williams and far far far away from John Powell. Steamboy is the way to follow, and even his Amityville and Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2004 have some good stuff (at least both of them fitted perfectly with the movie and helped creating the mood of the picture). And his collaborations on Pearl Harbor, POTC, BB2, Spirit, etc are remarkable also. John Powell has a style (can�t wait to hear a Bond movie scored by him); he has shown us what he is capable of with the orchestra (his use of the string section is simply amazing) and the synthesizer... I think Jablonsky is still looking for a style, although you hear "sound similarities" in his efforts. Let�s be patient, Jablonsky has just began in this world of film music, is soon to especulate about his future. Even the great maestros composed awful things in his beginnings. I don�t know why, but we tend to criticise too much the newcomers, and if they come from Media Ventures, the criticism is double. NP Robots
posted 08-26-2005 07:40 AM PT (US)

nuts_score Standard Userer	quote: John Powell has a style (can�t wait to hear a Bond movie scored by him) Holy crap Marselus, Powell would be a dream come true for a Bond film. I noticed a lot of John Barry-like cues in "Paycheck" and "Robots" but I never really thought much of it. I wonder if his participation in the Bourne movies would make him shy away from a project like James Bond. As much as I enjoy a lot of David Arnold's stuff, his music for Bond seems to draw farther and farther away with each new film. "Tomorrow Never Dies" will always be a highlight for me (the complete score, baby!) but "Die Another Day" had about two memorable tracks that got lost in way too much thumping techno. As much as Powell uses the synths and techno-like beats, he would ultimately be better than Arnold for a job like this. Even if he wouldn't do it they could fall back on . . . Steve Jablonsky.
posted 08-26-2005 11:43 AM PT (US)

Marselus Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by nuts_score: <BLOCKQUOTE><font size=1 face=arial>quote:</font><HR size=1>John Powell has a style (can�t wait to hear a Bond movie scored by him)<HR size=1></BLOCKQUOTE> Holy crap Marselus, Powell would be a dream come true for a Bond film. I noticed a lot of John Barry-like cues in "Paycheck" and "Robots" but I never really thought much of it. I wonder if his participation in the Bourne movies would make him shy away from a project like James Bond. As much as I enjoy a lot of David Arnold's stuff, his music for Bond seems to draw farther and farther away with each new film. "Tomorrow Never Dies" will always be a highlight for me (the complete score, baby!) but "Die Another Day" had about two memorable tracks that got lost in way too much thumping techno. As much as Powell uses the synths and techno-like beats, he would ultimately be better than Arnold for a job like this. Even if he wouldn't do it they could fall back on . . . Steve Jablonsky. Sure, David Arnold has done great scores for the Bond films, but I think he has nothing more to say in that franchise. Powell would be fresh air, and his biggest challenge to date. I�m sure he wouldn�t disappoint the producers / director /fans. As for Jablonsky, well, maybe in the future
posted 08-26-2005 01:01 PM PT (US)

scoreguy16 Standard Userer	Yeah, Die Another Day wasn't all that good. I did think it was pretty unique in some parts though. And there was one really cool moment in the score I believe it was in track 11... But I haven't listened to that in ages. I think I like The World Is Not Enough the best though just cuz of the cool action parts. But in terms of themes, Tomorrow Never Dies blows them all away. As for Powell scoring a James Bond film... I would absolutely love to hear that. Clayton NP>The Return of the King DVD
posted 08-27-2005 02:05 PM PT (US)

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