4.5 Stars - Beautiful!
05/09/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is the music composed by Klaus Badelt for the 2003 released film 'Ned Kelly'. Klaus Badelt was also responsible for the music from The Time Machine, The Recruit and K-19: The Widowmaker and has a steadily increasing catalogue of very successful solo scores under his belt now. Don't expect the usual Media Ventures synth and percussion assault (which I love to death) but do expect some of the most well written film music of the last year or so. Synths have been used through the score, but the bulk of it is performed by a real orchestra and several solo instruemtns have beenemployed as well (violin, viola, cello, trumpet, flutes and pipes)The music he has written for Ned Kelly is, in a word, beautiful. The film wasn't intended to be an action romp through the countryside of Victoria, but instead it made an attempt to reflect on Kelly's feelings, emotions and reasoning behind some of his actions, and Badelt's score suits this view perfectly. The CD contains two songs by Bernard Fanning (lead singer/songwriter from the Australian band Powderfinger) and the disc opens with his track 'Shelter For My Soul' which is used in the end credits of the film. It's a well constructed piano piece that speaks about how actions have consequences. Badelt has also lent a hand on this piece by arranging the accompanying strings. This leads us into the next two tracks 'Saving a Life' and 'Ned Kelly' which are performed together to form one nine minute piece that sets up the main themes for the rest of the disc. It is a very bittersweet theme that brings to life the mistakes Ned makes, but the guilt and sorrow he feels for what he has done and the path it has led him to. It's a very moving theme and while it isn't a bombastic orchestral assault, it is very powerfully performed. These two pieces nearly have me in tears I find them so moving :P'Destiny' is a very sombre theme that is used to set up that sense of foreboding in the film. It incorporates the use of an irish pipe which gives us a sense of the Kelly family's Irish ancestry, but the instrument isn't over used which was a sensible decision from Badelt. 'The Light' is a more upbeat piece which again uses the irish pipes in a very uplifting cue, and 'Julia' isn't the sweet feminine theme you'd usually associate with similarly titled pieces. The sense of foreboding picks up here as the orchestra builds on the theme set up in the previous piece.'Stringybark Creek' features the solo trumpet and flute amongst the orchestra for a slower interpretation of the two main themes at the beginning of the disc, while 'Back Home' features more of the irish pipe from 'Destiny' and some short violin passages before it drops to a solo trumpet passage and the first of the real action cues from the film.'Moreton Bay' is the second track offered by Bernard Fanning, and this is the only really dissapoint piece on the album. It is a reworking of a traditional Australian folk song and while the style has it's place some scenes of the film, it is totally out of context on this CD, especially in the middle of the disc. Bernard Fanning also probably wasn't the best choise either, but he is Austraian, and lends that particular quality to his viocal performance. This is where the album lost half a star for me.From this point on, the situation the Kelly Gang finds themselves in is growing darker, and the score reflects this change by turning some of the themes upside down and. There is still that bittersweet theme running through out, but it is perhaps more accuate now as Ned realises that what he has done, even if he didn't want to or was forced todo it, is going to have consequences he can't escape. 'Doomed' and 'Outlaws' nicely capture the gang on the run and trying to find a way out as the law gets closer and closer to them.'The Jerilderie Letter' is the scene in the bank where the hostage are offering up names to call the governer. It begins lightheartedly, but as Ned's speech get progressivly more serious, the tone of the music matches and the piece ends on a sharp rise. 'Father' is simply a short piece of reflection and quite before the storm of 'The Glenrowan Inn'. The piece charts the whole end scene from the gang arriving at the inn and anxiously waiting for the poilce, to the shoot out itself, and then the aftermath the next morning and Ned makes his last stand and is finally captured. Again, this piece is another watery-eyed experience for me. The album ends with 'Remembering Ned Kelly' which is a simple two minute solo from the viola. Again just a very retospective piece.This is a highlight of Badelt's career so far and it's a pity the CD isn't more readily available. It sounds so much like him, yet at the same time is something very different. This is highly recommended even if you didn't like the movie."
Badelt's most underrated effort
Seth Merlo | Australia | 11/09/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you're any kind of film score fan, then you need to pick yourself up a copy of this album - even if it is second hand. The biggest problem with this album is that it isn't so readily available in the US as it is in Australia, and that does an injustice to Klaus Badelt, who here presents us with some extremely engaging and touching music.
The score is written mainly for a fairly decent sized orchestra with a strong emphasis on the strings, with the brass acting only as an accent on the strings, as evidenced in the third track 'Ned Kelly' where we have the main theme stated in full. It sounds so cliched, but everytime I listen to this track it sends shivers up my spine. Every single time. I love it!
The album also features two songs performed by Bernard Fanning. The first 'Shelter for my Soul', opens the album and fits in quite nicely with the themes and tone of Badelt's work (Badelt wrote and arranged the strings for this piece as well). The second piece is a traditional Australian folk piece called 'Moreton Bay'. Like the review below states, because this song is right in the middle of the album, it really detracts from the experience of Badelt's work, and should have been saved for the end of the album.
Badelt has written some very bittersweet themes that are both hopeful and mournful by turns. I believe Badelt is underrated for the many electronic and synth-influenced scores he has produced, but the writing in tracks such as 'Ned Kelly', 'The Light', 'Back Home' and 'The Jerilderie Letter' only confirm that he is a very deft hand at writing for a full orchestra. His solos are beautifully placed as well - an Irish whistle is used only occassionally, but is most appropriate when it does show up, and roots the score in its Australiana setting. The score also features viola and trumpet solos that are generally featured during the more character-driven moements of the film (of which there are many) and make for a fairly intimate score at times.
If you don't expect any big, racey action writing, and are after an orchestral score with heart, then Ned Kelly comes highly recommended."
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1