Captain America (Alan Silvestri)

Anakin McFly · **Posted:** Fri Jul 29, 2011 2:00 pm

For me, this is really the first major score of the year. Alan Silvestri has written his Superman !
His score is the quintessential superhero score everyone would have waited for, back in 1978, after the success of Superman The Movie by John Williams. But today is 2011, a very different time when heroes can't have a memorable and triumphant theme and the big epic cues have been replaced by synthetic layers and rythms (Dark Knight, Iron Man, Hulk, Green Lantern, etc)... The big paradox is that we certainly haven't seen more superheroes on the big screen than these last years.
Alan Silvestri clearly doesn't live in this time, and takes his delorean to get back to the roots of the superhero score a la Superman ! Just enjoy these glory days brought back to life !

Main theme :

http://youtu.be/LsO-lttHb8k

Lokutus · **Posted:** Fri Jul 29, 2011 2:42 pm

I wish I could be that positive about the score.
Rather disappointing actually.

Erik Woods · **Posted:** Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:49 pm

Anakin McFly · **Posted:** Sat Jul 30, 2011 12:43 am

oooh ?

I must say I'm really surprised ! What do you find so disappointing about this score ? Too old school ? (heroism, big fanfares) Too silvestrian ? (big action cues, syncopated rythms and agressive brasses)

Erik Woods · **Posted:** Sat Jul 30, 2011 8:12 am

Lokutus · **Posted:** Sat Jul 30, 2011 8:14 am

I do love Silvestri. He is one of his best of his generation.
Captain America theme is nice, but not memorable enough and the rest of the score is pretty boring while the theme just pops up here and there... like Silvestri wasn't actually interested in the movie or was given similar shit from Marvel as Patrick Doyle. Instead of big bombastic score that would develop the theme as much as it deserves and offer something more as well (see Judge Dredd, The Mummy Returns, Van Helsing, Beowulf), the rest of the score is much closer to mickeymousy-Roger Rabbit just following the action without really moving it anywhere forward.
In comparison to his previous big orchestral scores mentioned above, Captain America is a disappointment much closer to his recent scores such as G.I. Joe or The A-Team, although I do appreciate that Captain America is mostly orchestral. Maybe the expectations was just too high or short amount of time he had is to blame, but it doesn't belong to the league of his best scores and remains far behind it. At the moment 3* out of 5*.

Anakin McFly · **Posted:** Sat Jul 30, 2011 8:55 am

Thank you for your reviews.
I think it's one of these scores that grows in us with time and/or with the movie. I have listened to it several times before judging it, and maybe if I had judged it during the first listenings, I would have sounded a bit disappointed too.

I agree that the score is not well presented on the album, because it's a long album, because it's missing the march, and because the score is (probably) presented in chronological order (and all the actions cues are at the end). It's only beginning to sound like a superhero score at track 6 (the training cue is gorgeous and the theme is really taking its flight there).

But I understand Silvestri is building the superhero in the first cues. It's the story of the birth of this superhero. If you remember correctly, Superman the Movie didn't have the Superman theme fully developped before the middle of the movie. but it had instead great dramatic scenes in Krypton and Smallville, so the music had to be grand right from the beginning, and it had a terrific old school main titles sequence to present the march of the super hero.
In this Captain America, Alan is telling the story of an ordinary man born on the earth, becoming extra-ordinary. So it's pretty evident that the grand dramatic themes and the heroism won't appear before several cues.

This is where I don't agree with you, when you say that the theme is not catchy, that its variations are bland and that the rest of the score isn't heroic and musically challenging. I think that the theme is successfully incorporated throughout the score, and even in the action. It's a really great theme, probably one of the best Alan has ever written, and it has many variations.
You're making the comparison with Judge Dredd, and I clearly remember that the first time that I heard the Dredd's theme I was incapable of humming it and recognize it in the rest of the score. We're comparing the now well known theme of Dredd that we all have listened to so many times for more than 15 years, with a brand new theme that we're just discovering.
It's the same problem for the rest of the score. I'm pretty sure, you will reconsider your opinion after several listenings, and probably in a few years when you'll be comparing this score to others that will be released in the future !

This Captain America has all the qualities of a great score like Back to the Future or Judge Dredd. It's just that the album doesn't make it easy for a new listener to discover the music for the first time ! My opinion, of course !

Ty Rourke · **Posted:** Sat Jul 30, 2011 9:48 am

Just picked this up, but haven't had a chance to listen to it. This debate has really made me curious. Having said that, I was more than a bit disappointed by G.I. Joe and The A-Team.

JohnnyUtah · **Posted:** Sat Jul 30, 2011 7:10 pm

I'm with Mcfly 100% on this one. This is truly one of the best 80's style scores to come along in quite some time. It is very rare I find any modern score appealing, but two notable exceptions of come this year alone: Super 8 and Captain America. I sure hope there are more to come.

I already bought Super 8 and was all set to buy CA today but was shocked to discover the incredible theme march ISN'T included! How in the name of all that is holy is that possible?! Over in the Intrada description it mentions it can be bought elsewhere. Does anyone know where that might be?

Anakin McFly · **Posted:** Sun Jul 31, 2011 12:47 am

Like Richard Dreyfuss used to say : we are not alone ! ^^

I guess they don't want to make some advertising on the site, because they are selling the CD after all. You might find this at the Big Apple store if you see what I mean (and no you don't have to go until NY to get that march ^^), but I wouldn't recommend you to do so. Personnally I bought the CD to keep the best audio quality possible, I managed to get the march track for free and made my own CDR version of the album. I put the march track at the opening of the album, and that way it's much more entertaining right from the beginning of the album ! ^^

About Super 8, this is the next score I'm really wanting this year. Michael Giacchino is the new golden boy of film scores today !

JohnnyUtah · **Posted:** Sun Jul 31, 2011 6:34 pm

Ahh, yes indeed - I do see what you mean. Thanks!

pjwoolw · **Posted:** Mon Aug 01, 2011 10:11 pm

I haven't listened to all of it yet. But what I did hear was good classic Silvestri.

moovtune · **Joined:** Mon Mar 14, 2011 9:06 am **Posts:** 23

Glad I'm not alone at being disappointed with this score. I was looking forward to what Silvestri could do with this but it turns out to be pedals and ostinatos. Long stretches that are all constructed over a single tonality with a pedal note that you can sometimes hum throughout a +3 minute cue because it never switches tonality. I'm not blaming Silvestri because he's shown he can do better. He probably gave the filmmakers what they wanted.

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Captain America (Alan Silvestri)

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