CD: Waiting for Lightning (2012)

September 19, 2013 | By

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Rating: Weak

Label: Lakeshore Records/ Released: July 8, 2013

Tracks & Album Length: 12 tracks / (43:11)

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Special Notes: Available as an on-demand CD-R from Amazon.com.

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Composer: Nathan Furst

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Review:

Nathan Furst’s score has to both support the documentary of skateboarder Danny Way and somehow fit between source songs, which isn’t an easy chore, especially when the music must tie together career stages, and Way’s attempt to glide over the Great Wall of China.

In terms of ethnic influences, Furst merely hints at the impending leap by slowly working in Asian sounds, but they never dominate what’s essentially a low-key score dominated by beats, rhythmic textures, glassy tones akin to Cliff Martnez’ work, solo piano, and some bass grooves to boost the gravity of a sequence.

Lakeshore’s album is packed with original score cues, so Furst’s work can be enjoyed solo with no edits, but it’s relatively quite tenor means there are few cues which dynamically or thematically leap out. Tracks tend to consist of slow builds, ongoing textures, and it’s obvious the music was very much subjugated by other audio elements within the final film mix. An acoustic guitar and fiddle provide a sign the score’s moving towards a dramatic wrap-up in “Ashes to Ashes,” but like most cues which seem to be heading towards a dramatic statement, the energy dilutes and fades out, making way for the next similarly styled cue.

The best material resides in the album’s first third, mostly because there’s a need to set up characters, locations, and drop themes, whereas much of the drama in the finale sounds overly familiar, especially “Island Mega Romp” which is more than a mere echo of Ennio Morricone’s The Mission Theme (it’s in the harmonic design with synth chorals and percussion hits).

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© 2013 Mark R. Hasan

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External References:

IMDB Soundtrack AlbumComposer Filmography

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