Fetus Frank | Broccoli Bob's Tower of Tumors | 11/13/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I, unlike most people, like the film, even though it was a bit corny. But it was intense and fun, and nobody supports those two film themes like Trevor Rabin. Very much like Gone In Sixty Seconds, but better. The disc is full of great music, but the best tracks are obviously the ones which sport Rabin's talent for action music, like THE HYPERION JOB, TRAIN ESCAPE and JESSE'S RIDE. Rabin also manages to bring a touch a romance to the score. LIFE'S A BEACH represents this well. LONG SPRING, BETTER POSTERS is also a great track. It starts with a soft, touching guitar piece that suddenly brings about a bit of contemporary, pumping rock-western music. While hearing this, the listener who has seen the movie gets the picture of Will McCormack making a weird face after seeing his WANTED poster sketch. The traditional lack of order is strong here. The first and second track in the film are last and second to last on the album, and visa versa for the last track in the film. I believe that there is a very legitimate reason for this. The way the music functions in sequence on the disc is better than the sequence in film order. Contrary to what others say, I recommend listening to the disc before seeing the film: you will be looking for the support the music gives in the action scenes.
But who cares which you enjoy first? Both are an immense amount of fun when brought together."
A score that will satisfy all the American Outlaws
Brandon Cutro | Tyler, Texas United States | 01/04/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is a fun and exciting score to listen to. There are basically 3 parts to this score. The first is a love theme played on strings that is very similar to Rabin's theme for Armageddon. The second is an explosive fanfare for strings that sounds like it would belong in an Elmer Bernstein score. The third is southern like guitar grooves that were also used somewhat in Armageddon. The one bad thing about this score is that it is very familiar with Rabin's other works, so if you've heard those, you can pretty much guess what this will sound like. The main theme is a good one, found in "Perfect Outlaws" that is an explosive fanfare for strings. The percussion work by Ryan Rabin (some relation to Trevor) is fantastic and keeps the music driving and upbeat. A small orchestra was used for this score, but for the most part, the score is full of synthesizers and tons of percussion. The first 5 tracks are the best. "Brief Reunion" and "Farewell & Hello, Key West" contain brilliant string passages, "First Kiss" contains a great performance of the love theme, and "The Hyperion Job, I Was Famous" contains some driving and racing percussion. The worst track has to be "Acoustic Outlaws" which contains that southern guitar like material that was in the worst spots of the Armageddon score. The rest of the tracks are basically variations of these first 5 tracks. The sound quality is incredible, so you won't have to crank the volume up too loud to hear it loud and clear. An overall exciting score that kicks."
"film-composer's score is a dream come true"
J. Lovins | Missouri-USA | 10/25/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Much like his past scores ~ "Armageddon", "Deep Blue Sea", "Con Air", Enemy Of The State" and "The Glimmer Man", Trevor Rabin legendary guitarist/composer for the YES, blends a dominating theme with emphasise on emotion...Rabins score becomes another character within the story-line, his appeal is stronger than ever with this his latest release from Varese Sarabande ~ "American Outlaws". For the avid "film-score-buff", this is one not to be missed, beneficial to an ever growing soundtrack/score collection that you have gathered over the past decades...from a composer who is in constant demand in today's film music industry ~ TREVOR RABIN! Total Time: 37:38 on 18 Tracks ~ Varese Sarabande 302-066-276-2 ~ (2001)"
Doesn't work by itself.
Brandon Cutro | 10/10/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"You'd have to have seen the movie to understand the edginess of this soundtrack. The movie was not your typical Jesse James story so the soundtrack is not your typical Western themed music. There is the sound of the usual grandiose epic but there is a 21st century sound to it."