A Delicate Score Filled With Curiosity & Longing, This Is Ru
Kaya Savas | North Hollywood, CA | 12/25/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Rupert Gregson-Williams is usually a name associated mainly with Adam Sandler comedies and some Dreamworks Animation films. Oh yeah, and he's the little brother of one of the best composers working today. Fortunately I don't have to make an effort in writing to state how much of a singular voice he is. His writing thus far in his career hasn't been anything stellar, it's true. He has had some good scores but finally we have something that makes us sit up and take notice.
The Prisoner was a miniseries on AMC and Rupert got assigned scoring duties. The score is fantastic. The score is a very subtle one, but it's one of constantly ascending emotions. Utilizing electronics in a way that his brother does he is able to weave a blanket of intrigue and curiosity. There is also a sense of emptiness and longing within the soundscape of the score. I was surprised at how powerful this quiet and somewhat unthematic score turned out to be. The main reoccurring theme is a seemingly out of place waltz that pops in and out.
If I had to describe this score in one word I would say "delicate". It's a delicate weaving of sounds that form an atmospheric blanket. It's not hard to dub this as Rupert's most mature and complete work to date."
A critical part of AMC's 2009 remake of TV's Prisoner
PristineAngie_dot_com | NYC | 03/05/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Aided with electronics, filtered synths, a reverse-tape effect (think Hendrix's reverse guitar in Are You Experienced), a cello, a viola and a lone piano and Gregson-Williams gives us the soundtrack to AMC's reinterpreted 6- part miniseries of the beloved 1967 tv series The Prisoner. Atmospheric, ambient, and leaning towards minimal, the pieces successfully engulfs the listener in a dream state. Gregson-Williams had a tremendously difficult task at hand: he had to live up to the expectations of the original Prisoner TV series (Ron Grainer's iconic opening theme from the original intimidates at the very least), while attempting to stitch the disjointed segments of the AMC version into one cohesive quilt. As a homage to Grainer who included rousing parade music, royal trumpet calls, hokey jazz in the original, Gregson-Williams throws in Burt Bacharach moments ("Wonkers"), carnival-like waltzes ("Escape Resort" "Tour Bus") New Age ("Walk With Me"). Listen very closely to the opening theme (track 23: The Prisoner Titles) and you will hear a three-note motif from Granier's original Prisoner theme song utilized as the final climactic notes.
Overall, an omniscient haunting, reverberated piano correctly alludes to memory and goals from afar, always audible but always beyond reach. What is reality? What is memory? What is freedom? Ideas that were the yoke of this 2009 miniseries.
"Wedding Day" is especially gorgeous in it's delicate balance between accordion sample and piano. "The Ocean" captures the expanse of it's subject matter. "313" has great scoring craft, capturing the sense of melancholy and loss that permeated the entire 6 episodes. I love "Everybody knows everybody, a song that I thought about the moment they stopped airing the reruns. Even though it's a loose variation of Satie's Gymnopedies, it really captured the whimsical attitude Ian McKellen had in the movie. I look forward to future efforts from this composer. Hopefully as some time elapses between the premier and present time, cantankerous devotees of the original will come to realize that the "remake" had many positive points. The soundtrack is definitely one such highlight.
-from a devotee who had seen the original 17 episodes hundreds of times
Track Listing are as follows.
1. Explosion 1: 42
2. Everybody Knows Everybody 2:28
3. The Ocean 5:03
4. Two 5:58
5. Shadows and Nightmares 3:05
6. 909 3:36
7. Tour Bus 0:57
8. Walk with me 2:25
9. 313 2:58
10. Lucy 6:17
11. Six investigates 1:29
12. Wonkers 0:59
13. The Ruins 3:02
14. Blackmail 3:28
15. Escape Resort 1:20
16. One Night Together 4:38
17. Wedding Day 3:23
18. Waking Up 2:16
19. Helen 6:36
20. In the Church 5:53
21. Suicide 2:47
22. I Am Not A Number 3:15
23. The Prisoner Titles 0:36"
Track Listings (23) - Disc #1