When it was first announced Daft Punk would be doing the score for "Tron: Legacy," anyone who has ever held the original film on a pedestal among sci-fi movies was most likely overcome with joy.
After all, Daft Punk's synthesized sound pulls a great deal from the early `80s when the original film was released. Even their helmeted costumes seem to resemble those worn in the computer world of "Tron."
However, what Daft Punk created was something much more serious than any of their studio albums. Like Christopher Nolan's new take on "Batman," "Tron: Legacy" has been described as much darker than the original film and Daft Punk's score, released ten days before the film, follows suit.
The overture introduces Daft Punk's newest adventure with quite possibly the biggest departure from their original sound to be heard on the record.
Gentle horns gradually fill the air just as a full string section takes shape. By the end of "Overture," timpani, cymbals, and a gong provide the ultimate climax, dramatically announcing Daft Punk's first full collaborative venture into cinema and the return of Tron simultaneously.
"The Grid" is the only track with any words put to the music. With Jeff Bridges providing a voiceover for the first half of the track, the song acts as an introduction for anyone who may have missed the first film.
As "The Grid" fades out and "The Son Of Flynn" opens with an arpeggiated synthesizer, listeners get their first taste of Daft Punks blend between their own unique sound and classical music. Although the majority of the tracks on "Tron: Legacy" utilize an excellent balance between the two styles, some of the tracks sway one way or the other, drastically changing the mood of the piece.
Tracks like "The Game Has Changed" offer an almost exclusively classical instrumentation while transforming the percussion section into a series of powerful electronic hits, rattling the eardrums and taking focus off of the ominous strings hidden beneath.
Although the London Philharmonic Orchestra provides all of the string arrangements, their true feature comes on "Adagio for Tron." Sounding a bit like Hans Zimmer's "Hummel Gets the Rockets" from the soundtrack for "The Rock," Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk use this track as a means of showing off their prowess with orchestration, complete with a simple, yet beautiful cello solo.
As the mood darkens, the music dives deeper into the electronic realm while still maintaining at least some aspects of a symphonic orchestra. Tracks like "End of Line" pull entirely from the electronic realm except for a sustained string part which would typically get lost in a Daft Punk mix, but because of their extraordinary presence on the rest of the album, they remain surprisingly noticeable.
Easily the song most reminiscent of Daft Punk's previous work is the club ready "Derezzed." It's almost hard to believe this track falls on the same album as "Adagio for Tron," but Daft Punk fans will make "Derezzed" the song from the movie to know. Although less than two minutes in length, "Derezzed" finds Daft Punk letting loose and presenting their trademark sound for the world to see on the big screen.
Without words to accompany the music, this album may not ring as positively for all Daft Punk fans, but it will easily add a great deal to the action captured on film. This may be Daft Punk's first venture into film soundtracks, but the duo's masterful work on "Tron: Legacy" makes it hard to believe it will be their last.
After all, Daft Punk's synthesized sound pulls a great deal from the early `80s when the original film was released. Even their helmeted costumes seem to resemble those worn in the computer world of "Tron."
However, what Daft Punk created was something much more serious than any of their studio albums. Like Christopher Nolan's new take on "Batman," "Tron: Legacy" has been described as much darker than the original film and Daft Punk's score, released ten days before the film, follows suit.
The overture introduces Daft Punk's newest adventure with quite possibly the biggest departure from their original sound to be heard on the record.
Gentle horns gradually fill the air just as a full string section takes shape. By the end of "Overture," timpani, cymbals, and a gong provide the ultimate climax, dramatically announcing Daft Punk's first full collaborative venture into cinema and the return of Tron simultaneously.
"The Grid" is the only track with any words put to the music. With Jeff Bridges providing a voiceover for the first half of the track, the song acts as an introduction for anyone who may have missed the first film.
As "The Grid" fades out and "The Son Of Flynn" opens with an arpeggiated synthesizer, listeners get their first taste of Daft Punks blend between their own unique sound and classical music. Although the majority of the tracks on "Tron: Legacy" utilize an excellent balance between the two styles, some of the tracks sway one way or the other, drastically changing the mood of the piece.
Tracks like "The Game Has Changed" offer an almost exclusively classical instrumentation while transforming the percussion section into a series of powerful electronic hits, rattling the eardrums and taking focus off of the ominous strings hidden beneath.
Although the London Philharmonic Orchestra provides all of the string arrangements, their true feature comes on "Adagio for Tron." Sounding a bit like Hans Zimmer's "Hummel Gets the Rockets" from the soundtrack for "The Rock," Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk use this track as a means of showing off their prowess with orchestration, complete with a simple, yet beautiful cello solo.
As the mood darkens, the music dives deeper into the electronic realm while still maintaining at least some aspects of a symphonic orchestra. Tracks like "End of Line" pull entirely from the electronic realm except for a sustained string part which would typically get lost in a Daft Punk mix, but because of their extraordinary presence on the rest of the album, they remain surprisingly noticeable.
Easily the song most reminiscent of Daft Punk's previous work is the club ready "Derezzed." It's almost hard to believe this track falls on the same album as "Adagio for Tron," but Daft Punk fans will make "Derezzed" the song from the movie to know. Although less than two minutes in length, "Derezzed" finds Daft Punk letting loose and presenting their trademark sound for the world to see on the big screen.
Without words to accompany the music, this album may not ring as positively for all Daft Punk fans, but it will easily add a great deal to the action captured on film. This may be Daft Punk's first venture into film soundtracks, but the duo's masterful work on "Tron: Legacy" makes it hard to believe it will be their last.
