US Release
Label:  Hollywood
Catalogue:  HR-62099-2

  01.  Con Air Theme  (1:31)
  02.  Trisha  (1:04)
  03.  Carson City  (3:04)
  04.  Lear Crash  (4:44)
  05.  Lerner Landing  (3:28)
  06.  Romantic Chaos  (1:22)
  07.  The Takeover  (3:52)
  08.  The Discharge  (1:09)
  09.  Jailbirds  (0:59)
  10.  Cons Check Out Lerner  (1:55)
  11.  Poe Saves Cops  (2:25)
  12.  The Fight  (0:22)
  13.  Battle in the Boneyard  (7:41)
  14.  Poe Meets Larkin  (1:14)
  15.  Bedlam Larkin  (0:49)
  16.  Fire Truck Chase  (4:22)
  17.  Overture  (4:18)
  
 

In 1997 Jerry Bruckhiemer approached Mark Mancina and Trevor Rabin to score the teaser trailer for his upcoming film Con Air.  During that time Mancina and Rabin were coming up with unique sounds and musical elements to be used in their non-score album release.  So when Mr. Bruckheimer asked them to score the teaser, they decided to use some of these elements within the teaser.  Mr. Bruckiemer liked what he heard and asked them if they would like to score the film.  What would you say if Jerry Bruckheimer asked you to score a movie?  What fallowed was one of the most unique scores ever to be produced.  Also, one of the most loved and hated action scores of the 90’s.

What separates this album from others is the sheer audacity of the score.  From the exploding sounds on the first track, to the simple, but memorable theme the runs through out this album.  At first listen, a person might not realize the intricate nature of the score.  The guitar driven theme is simple, as it should be.  This represents Cameron Poe ( Nicholas Cage ) , a character who is simple, for him, getting back to his wife and daughter, and not leaving his friend behind, are simple, clear cut decisions for him.  This theme appears in a handful of different ways, from a soft romantic theme, to patriotic, to southern rock, and back to a loud driving guitar.  There are several good uses of electronics on this album.  Some of the twisted vocal sounds you hear are Trevor Rabin, who recorded himself, then went and played around with the sound of his own voice.  Not unlike what he has done in Gone In Sixty Seconds, and The Sixth Day.  Another interesting aspect of this score is the acoustic percussion.  Lou Molino III, Mancina, and Rabin perform the drums.  What makes this unique is that the drum kit is set up in a kitchen, and recorded in mono, giving it a rougher sound.  The music however does not just take popular hard rock styles and use theme here.  The composers bring something to this genre of music.  The electronic percussion is unique in the fact that it is original to this score.  Which Rabin would latter use variations of in his other films.  The aspect of this score that I like the most is the fact that it doesn’t sound like every other Media Ventures score.  Not that I don’t like the composers out of Media Ventures, but how many scores do we need to hear that have the sampled Crimson Tide choir and the same types of electronic percussion.   This album stands out as an original use of electronics.  The other action themes on this album lend themselves to the more simplistic side.  They’re along the lines of orchestral power cords.  That works in this film because of the fast pace of the visuals, and sometimes to get your point across it’s better to take a more simplistic approach.
 
There is however some aspects of this album that detract from the listening experience.
One of which is the over use of the themes.  Now, this is not the composers’ fault however.
In an interview Mancina was asked about composing music for Mr. Bruckheimer’s films, were he said that Bruckiemer likes to beat you over the head with your themes, and hit everything on the screen that you can.  It sometimes causes the music to change tempo and rhythm every few seconds.  That’s why a song like Carson City, is an overture for those groups of scenes that take place in that location.  I think that this can have an effect on sales for the negative; people just don’t want the same thing over and over in every song.  There is a guitar ballad in the film that is different from the rest that is not on the album.  Also the song Jailbirds is shorter than it is in the film.  I would have really like to have heard these to songs on the album.  

Overall this score is fun to listen too.  It takes a few listens and knowledge of electronic music to appreciate it, but once you do, you’ll find that it’s a bit addictive.  It’s a roll down your windows and turn your system up loud album.

- Casey J Porter (EyezThatCU@hotmail.com)
 

Credits

Music Composed by Mark Mancina and Trevor Rabin
Conducted by Gordon Goodwin and Nick Glennie-Smith
Orchestrations by Bruce Fowler, Mark Mancina, Trevor Rabin, Gordon Goodwin, and Nick Glennie-Smith

Orchestra leader Ralph Morrison
Drums by Lou Molino III

Purchasing Options

CDNOW  -- US pressing

Interviews & Other Relevant Links

None.

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Audio Clips 

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