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| With a sweeping epic soundtrack, and a thoroughly complex plot, the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was truly amazing. The music, which for me, was one of the best parts of the movie, can be included among the great works of Hans Zimmer, and climbs the ranks to be one of the most expressive, compelling soundtracks of all time. There is something about the soundtrack of a final installment of a trilogy. Not only does it tie the entire trilogy together, but there is always a sense of finishing, perhaps, a ‘grand finale’ as it were. This soundtrack is no exception. The Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, soundtrack had many different cultural influences, ranging from Asian sounds in the Singapore scenes, to electric guitars during a confrontation with Davy Jones. This is also amazing ‘stand alone’ music; phenomenal even if you haven’t seen the movie, which always further provokes me to buy the album. The following is my personal opinion of each individual track. I hope this lends you a hand in your purchasing experience; this is one soundtrack you won’t want to miss. Hoist the Colours: Wonderful. Haunting, chilling, suspenseful. It took me a while to realize it, but this song talks about the "Binding of Calypso", or trapping the sea-goddess into her human form. Later on in the movie, Hector Barbossa says something about binding Calypso, and even uses the line ‘bound her in her bones,’ which is used in Hoist the Colours. This makes an excellent prelude to the movie, and certainly gets you thinking from a very early point. What I liked about this pirates movie was that it was straight suspense and action from the very beginning. This song fits it very, very well. All throughout the movie, if you listen, there are actually three different verses of this song, all played during different times, sometimes to completely different melodies. Next time you watch POTC3, make sure to listen carefully! Singapore: This song starts off with Asian instruments and a very unique bass-line that distinguishes this track from the rest of the CD. An almost eerie sound emits from such instruments, which made this song haunting to say the least. Although this song is not my favorite, it is still well-worth the listen. About half-way through the song it breaks into a fast ‘pirate’ beat, much like the ‘He’s a Pirate’ theme used throughout all three movies. Full of action and full of piratey-goodness of old! At Wit's End: Personally, this is one of my favorite tracks on the entire album. Clocking in at just over eight minutes, this is a long listen, but don’t fret! It’s a positively amazing song. To begin, this track starts out with very high bells that lull you into a false sense of relaxation, only to keep building into an echoing choral section with amazing harmony that effortlessly weaves to-and-fro throughout the melody. Violins in an amazing arpeggio bring you back to reality for a moment with the feeling of being free, or flying through the air. Then, you are transported to the world of Davy Jones and hear his sad refrain which blends into a creative and faster melody at the end. Definitely all the correct elements for a thrilling song. This will be one of my favorites for years to come. Multiple Jacks: This song screams "Jack Sparrow" at you, quite literally actually. From a musician’s point of view, this song doesn’t offer much, but from a pirate-loving view, it’s probably the best track on the whole album. This is one of the few songs on the album that does not stand on its own. Starting with a quirky, warped rendition of the ‘Jack Sparrow’ suite used profusely in the second movie, and ending with some sort of a synthesized xylophone making an off-beat pattern, this is a song that you can easily remember. Woven in throughout the song is a strange instrumental pattern that reminds me of an iron door slamming shut and being bolted closed. Very interesting, hypnotic, almost like a very, very pretty trance tune. Up Is Down: This is the ‘fun’ song on the CD, much like ‘Dinner is Served’ track on Pirates 2. Whilst the latter mentioned track had a circus-like flair and depicted a flying trapeze, this song is full of lighthearted strings and wind instruments that dance along the lines of something from an old-time Disney movie, but with more modern sustenance. It’s basically backwards from the rest of the music—quite literally. The note structure is essentially the same, only played upside-down—it’s difficult to explain. Needless to say, Mr. Zimmer definitely shows his lighter side with this short, fast-paced, light-hearted track. I See Dead People In Boats: Quite a title huh? The song is beautiful… if you can sit through another seven-minute track. With a lovely version of the love theme from Pirates of the Caribbean, divvied out in a humble dose of melancholy remembrance, this song seems to be the ‘tipping point’ for the movie. Elizabeth finally goes over the edge in the movie, after seeing the living-corpse of her father and being unable to save him. This song accurately portrays a wonderful—and yet, heart-wrenching—degree of grief. It’s beautiful to play on the piano as well. The Brethren Court: Another quirky track for the listeners! However, this one actually has a melody; therefore it could be played as a stand alone track. Although I don’t enjoy listening to this particular song as much as say, At Wit’s End, it is still worth the listen. If I had to rate it, I’d give it three stars. The Brethren Court takes the typical Jack Sparrow theme, dresses it up in some quirky, warped-sounding strings, and adds this strange swagger. I don’t know—it’s sort of difficult to explain. Parlay: Suspenseful track indeed! The first fill minute just has a repetitive string of notes, kind of like the ‘Jaws’ theme, that keeps you leaning closer to the speaker, listening for more. Keith Richards, I believe, plays electric guitar on this track, and, surprisingly, instead of it having a more rock-influenced edge, has more of a western face-off hue, and brings to mind dusty lands and traveling tumbleweeds; an interesting track to say the least. Although I don’t particularly love the electric guitar in score pieces, I do love the sound in this one. Really this song would not have been possible without it—sorry Mr. Zimmer, but distorted cellos just wouldn’t have worked this time! Calypso: ‘Calypso’ is another favorite of mine. It has a distinctly haunting air, and yet, a feminine touch that is very fitting for the ‘goddess,’ Calypso, in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. The only way I know to describe this track is distinctly beautiful, riveting, and oddly enough… green. I always think of the color green when I hear this song. However, no matter how much I love this song, certain parts come dangerously close to sounding mournful—not necessarily a bad thing in this case, but certainly unexpected— one might say. A very fitting theme for Calypso, and, if you listen back to the Dead Man’s Chest album, you can hear hints of it in Tia Dalma’s theme. What Shall We Die For: Inspiring, but seems like a ‘filler’ track to me—the one of only two on the entire CD though, so I can excuse it. Has a nice, but strange rendition of ‘Hoist the Colours’ hidden in the background, sung by a male vocal ensemble, so listen carefully! Not quite a choral piece, but has a unique vocal section none the less. Very much a ‘rising to the challenge’ type of piece. My only complaint, other than the track just isn’t up to par with the rest of the album, would be that, to my ears, certain parts of the vocal section sound stoic. I don’t know, I just don’t care for it very much. I Don't Think Now Is The Best Time: Very, very long song, clocking in at over ten minutes. However, if you are an avid soundtrack fan, this is no surprise, as usually, the best tracks on a CD are the longest. It’s definitely worth ten minutes of your life, as this song covers Elizabeth Swann and William Turner's wedding, and the epic ‘maelstrom’ battle. This has got to be one of the prettiest ‘medley’ songs in the trilogy; the love theme and the action theme gives off an air of adventure, and yet… beauty. Perfect theme for Will and Elizabeth, and a perfect song for the soundtrack. I only wish they could have included the entire battle scene, but unfortunately, Mr. Zimmer had to cut fifteen minutes from the track! One Day: A filler track. Basically it’s just a strange mixture of an off-beat version of the love theme, and what I like to call the adventure theme. Kind of the Jack Sparrow theme slowed down with a larger, more sweeping string section as the highlight. Honestly, it’s difficult to tell when I Don’t Think Now is the Best Time ends, and this song begins. It’s just not very distinctive. The strange timing of the love theme later on in the song really makes me dislike it… I don’t know. It’s one of only two filler tracks on the entire album, so, I suppose it’s alright. On the bright side, it has more high string arpeggios that I adore in the Pirate’s Soundtrack! Drink up me Hearties, Yo Ho!: Wow, this is an awesome track. It’s more of a ‘sampler’ to my ears. If you ever go to a restaurant, and order the sampler platter for an appetizer, it will remind you of this song. It’s almost like pieces of every song from all the different movies in the trilogy pieced together like a patchwork quilt. Not only that, but it has a distinctive ‘Jack Sparrow’-ish air. Like all good trilogy music, Drink up me Hearties also returns to it’s roots, and echoes the ‘He’s a Pirate’ theme from the earlier two movies, reaching up a full octave higher than the original! Well folks, I was going to do this entire review in pirate-talk, but I thought you might have a headache by the time I was finished. Personally, this is one of the best soundtracks out there to buy right now. It’s a melodic soundtrack—not just a bunch of music to set the mood. This is one of those soundtracks that is so good, it nearly distracts you from the movie itself (which, in this case, is a good thing!). Thank you for reading! If you would like to leave comments on this review, you can e-mail submissions@jeccaland.com. Do you have a soundtrack or other music album you’d like to review? Another review of this album? Please send them in! So long as they are family friendly, we will post them for the reading pleasure of others. Click here to go back to the JeccaLand homepage |
