Search - David Arnold :: The Musketeer: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

A nice addition to Arnold's library

Blastonian | De Bary, FL United States | 09/24/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a nice departure from the overly dramatic music David Arnold is known for composing. I am a big fan of his Independence Day score, and was really looking foward to this release. There are some really nice soft music, which help break up the heroic music. Also, there are a lot more tracks than some of Arnold's other albums, which is also a plus. If you liked his other work, this CD is definitely a must."

Not Bad, But Expect More From Arnold

Zachary S. Houp | Fleetwood, PA USA | 10/21/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A lot of the cinema's standby composers are now getting along in their years: John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein. When I heard David Arnold's Independence Day score, I knew this was the composer for the future. David Arnold knows how to make a big, orchestral score, and that is something that a lot of new composers often neglect by reverting to synthesizers and small band scores.Perhaps Arnold's strongest suit is his action music. What, in most other composer's repotoire often seems unlistenable and garish, David Arnold takes, polishes and makes into a very enjoyable CD. In Musketeer, Arnold does this to almost a fault, by making all alternative music boring, uninteresting, and neglectable. Musketeer is action music; don't expect anything else, cause you won't get it.While I have complete faith in Arnold's ability to write soft, more romantic love themes, he seems to cop out with the film. The main theme is a wild, swashbukling romp that is nothing more than fun, though with a B-film simplicity. While the theme--in my opinion--doesn't return often enough in the subsequent cues, it does appear from time to time and is always a delightful addition to this exciting score.That is not to say that this CD doesn't have its downsides though. While I applaud his action music and criticize everything else about this CD, Arnold can--and has in the past--provided the listener with an impecable, well-rounded listening experience unmatched often by the greats of cinema scoring. For this reason, I can't help but say that Arnold could have done better and provided the listener a far better score.For any fan of David Arnold (if you've discovered ID4, Stargate, Last of the Dogmen, Tomorrow Never Dies) you won't need Musketeer to satisfy yourself. Those others have taken Arnold's magnificent style to far greater extremes than Musketeer does."

A swashbuckling good time

Brandon Cutro | Tyler, Texas United States | 03/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to admit that I am a huge fan of action/adventure scores. David Arnold's score to The Musketeer is awesome music in the Cutthroat Island fashion. (Arnold was first signed on to score Cutthroat Island, but was replaced by John Debney). Anyway, for this score, Arnold returns to his bombastic fanfarish John Williams-like sound that he used in Stargate and Independence Day. What is unique about Arnold's music is that it has its own original voice. "Main Title" introduces the main theme, which is exactly what you would expect coming from a film like this: a loud, explosive brass fanfare with graceful strings. This theme finds itself in several of the tracks in the score, giving the music an incredible boost. Arnold utilizes a secondary theme, first heard in "I Will Find Him", which is a softer and more subtle variation of the main theme played on strings. As you would probably expect, most of the music is action filled and adventurous. "Fight Inn", "Jailhouse Ruck", "The Riot Begins", "Coach Chase", "Ladder Fight", among others contain high adrenaline, pulse pounding action music. "Fight Inn" contains incredible brass fanfares, immense string passages, and driving percussion. "Jailhouse Ruck" contains nicely played triplet patterns for the brass section. On the other side of the nonstop action is romantic music, found in "I Will Find Him", "D'Artagnan and Francesca", and "Down By The River". These 3 tracks are a nice refreshment from the bombastic music heard in the other tracks and fit in nicely. One complaint about this score, however, is the sound recording, which sounds a little bit muffled, like it wasn't recorded in the same room or something. Had the recording of been like Independence Day, this would have really blown you out of your seat. Nevertheless, a great score by Arnold and one that cannot be passed up."