4/5Along Came A Soundtrack.
"Spider-Man, Spider-Man! Does whatever a Spider can"! Yep, we're sticking to the script and still singing the praises of Peter Parker's new generation web-slinger played by the amazing Andrew Garfield. After the franchise changed faces by rebooting and reduxing away from the Maguire cheesy "show me the trilogy" series, this phase 2 of the spandex spider is given a supercharged sequel of superstardom. Electric charged by Jamie Foxx's formidable foe and given more accented angst of young teenage to adult life with the friendship/relationship dynamics with Garfield's co-stars Emma Stone and the new young legend on the block Dane DeHaan. This superior sequel is truly the ultimate amazing Pete Parker shot of the hero that swings between the buildings of lower Manhattan. New York's finest may offer us more than Marvel's greatest movie in what looks like their best year for this scorching hot, Summer blockbuster season that has also seen 'Captain America-The Winter Soldier' freeze over that Polar Vortex we had to battle with this Winter and is about to see the ultimate X-Men mash-up The Avengers could never have the right to do in 'Days Of Future Past' to go with the fun and fancy 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' for your enjoyable entertainment. Stan Lee's favourite son may also make for the best blockbuster of the year that see's 'Transformers', 'Planet Of The Apes' and the movie monster that is 'Godzilla' about to take the city and cineplex down to the ground. Now with great movie power comes great soundtrack responsibilty and the only thing that could match the electric charge of this movies sensational, lights out showdown in Times Square between our hero and Electro is one great score. So, with Sony taking it back to the studios they are better known for they throw down a slam-dunk of a record, dunking harder than Peter Parker did in the first film, or those guys down the road from Times Square in Madison Square Garden do.
Forget 'The Sinister Six' led by Harry Osborne's Green Goblin and the great, hero genre breaking, spin-off sequels they are about to make. Spider-Man has 'The Magnificent Six' on his side. Who are they you ask? Isn't that the question of the day! This is the future...and you're really going to want to see this. Who better to score your soundtrack than the movie legend that is Hans Zimmer? The producer and composer that has made almost every soundtrack you know from 'The Lion King' to 'Spanglish' and is just that versatile and brilliant. With a strong sound that could make John Williams' work feel like its being played on a triangle. The man that Christoper Nolan goes to for 'Inception' inspiration is best known recentely for his wonderful work and the dark depths of his sensational sound that made 'The Dark Knight' trilogy that much more epic. If you where hoping to rock out to Aerosmith's 'Spider-Man' theme or Nickleback's Chad Kroger's 'Hero' here I'm sorry but trust me you wont be disappointed. You see, the great German who really knows how to set the tone for the texture of pictures maybe known for his haunting and harrowing work (see his latest violin piercing, puncuation that is truly scary on the Oscar winning '12 Years A Slave') has been keeping his ears to the pop scene and sound from his studio dungeon and when it comes to a film that mixes Marvel's classic fun and serious super genre who better to team up with than the happiest guy alive? Pharrell Williams is basically the Zimmer of the popular music world. Producing everything from Britney Spears to Jay-Z with his out of this world, 'Star Trak' Neptunes board workers, all whilst making 'Rock Star' hits with his N.E.R.D. group and not 'Frontin'' on his own solo career. Like Hans the amount of greatest hit records this guy has had his hands on is catalogue, classic countless and if that wasn't enough he's moved into the soundtrack scene and almost won an Oscar if it wasn't for the cold front of 'Frozen'.
Still Pharrell can let that go, "leeet it goooo" because his work on the 'Despicable Me' Minion monster series (we can't wait what this guy has in store for the yellow guys solo outing) has offered him with some of his best work and sunniest success days from the theme to basically the best song out there at the moment in 'Happy'. Which beyond the Electro star cameo video, the Academy awards and the tears on Oprah is the biggest viral infectious, dance for joy, positive, upbeat single for any mood, season or genre. The cold never bothered him anyway. You can't beat it or bring it down, the only words that do it justice are it's own, "happiness is the truth". If you thought his 'Blurred Lines' with Robin Thicke and T.I. and his 'Get Lucky' moment with Daft Punk made last year his best in a career of dominant decades, than you haven't seen or heard anything yet. Williams teams up with Zimmer, the guitars of rock god and Smith's legend Johnny Marr and Incubus S.C.I.E.N.T.I.S.T Mike Einziger, and the Eurythmics of Dave Stewart to show us sweet soundtracks are made of these. The Magnificent Seven couldn't even round up the rest like this. From giving Jamie Foxx's Electro his own paranoid, spider-sense, voices in the headphones theme to his own dub-step, electric charged suite that will make those 'Man Of Steel' mockers at 'Screen Junkies' 'Honest Trailers' prepping their next youtube smash there's a peculiar but perfect sound her that works whether your watching the action or unfold or working out in the gym and looking for some epic, inspiration on your iPod's running and lifting playlist. From 'We're Best Friends' to 'So Much Anger' it's clear this sounds characterization is 'Still Crazy' like the loner turned Sparkles that is Electro and this is what makes the theme of this current thorn in Spidey's web so illuminating. The Green Goblin he gets sticky with has his own sick themes too. All short of a Green Day song for this 'Dookie' turned bad-guy Parker wants to say 'Good Riddance' to. Having the time of his life however, Spidey has his own epic-music too. Set to some 'Good Morning America' news theme, get up and go introduction for his headline worthy high-line act around the Empire State and every news helicopter in-between.
Still if your in need of an 'Empire State Of Mind' then how about New York's own Alicia Key's who gives this stunning soundtrack it's stunning first single in 'It's On Again'? It's new rap king Kendrick Lamar who steals the show in 30, fast seconds flat here however with his bold and brilliant bars of "And everybody know the story of David and Goliath/But this is bigger than triumph/This is for the warrior, this is for you and I/This is for euphoria, give me a piece of mind/God is recording this! won't you look in the sky?/Tell him you got the behavior of your neighbor/Even when stability's never in your favor/Fly with the turbulence, only last a minute/Land on your dreams, and recognize you live it/Walk through the valley of peace, with bare feet/Run through the flames, that's more passion for me" that end this film perfectly leaving you wanting more like those Marvel after credit "surprises"! It's not just this soundtrack song that adds more singles to this scintillating score. There are some beautiful ballads in Phosphorescent's 'Song For Zula' and The Neighbourhood's 'Honest' that not only match the coupling of Parker and his muse Gwen Stacey perfectly but also make for your new favourite songs whether your reveling in a relationship of nursing the wounds of a broken one. With lyrics like "Waiting, always waiting/If I gave you control would you say that we could've saved it?/I hope you find a way to be yourself someday/In weakness or in strength/Change can be amazing/So I pray for the best, I pray for the best for you" it's clear there's more to this deluxe disc than remixes that show Zimmer is the new...well Pharrell. Speaking of the impeccable 'Despicable Me' scorer that is Mr. Williams it's only right that he has his own moment to shine on this soundtrack...even if actor/singer Jamie Foxx doesn't (didn't these guys hear what he did for 'Any Given Sunday'?). Over someone elses perfect production for a change, the hardest-working man in music gives someone else and us something sounding like nothing he's done before (and this is the guy that just made us all 'Happy' remember?) in the pop ballad 'Here'. One that even best's The Neighbourhood and Phosphorescent as his versatile vocals sing "And I, I promise on all existence/If it breathes then it is our witness/We have unfinished business/You and I/And so my word is that I'll cross those bridges/With zero regret for limits". It doesn't get much better than this and as Pharrell makes this record his own with Hans Zimmer, our Spider-Man has the ultimate 'Magnificent' team to go with all those 'Sinister' enemies he has to face. As 'Artists Unite', hash-tag THAT for your world-wide-web. This is one assemble to Marvel at with all it's avengance. TIM DAVID HARVEY.
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