Jack Reacher
(Cd) Limited Edition

When I listened to FEMME FATALES and THE WAY OF THE GUN for the first time I was reminded so much of the style of the late Jerry Goldsmith, there were just little nuances and also a style of composing and orchestration present in both scores that reminded of some of Goldsmith’s work from the late 1970,s but also the music had a more contemporary twist within it that evoked memories of Goldsmith’s later triumphs such as LA CONFIDENTIAL and BASIC INSTINCT. Like Goldsmith, Kreamer has the ability to create music that has a core theme that is shall we say not that melodic, instead it is just powerful but still sounds great and works wonderfully. I have to say right from the offset Joe Kraemer’s exciting and superb soundtrack to JACK REACHER had exactly the same effect and also evoked that same feeling within in me. The composer has created a score that is filled with strong action driven thematic material and is also overflowing with dramatic and exciting passages that underline the action and enhance the tension within the movie, the music is not overpowering yet it is highly effective, plus it also has the ability to remain entertaining away from the screen images it was intended to augment. The score contains its fair share of high octane, pulsating and blood pumping cues, which race along at break neck speed creating an urgent and anxious atmosphere that will have any listener on the edge of their seat. Then we have the more downbeat musical interludes that are brooding and menacing these linger in the background adding depth and atmospheric weight to the proceedings and become an important and integral component of the movie their presence creating an uneasy ambiance. The orchestration of the score is striking and it just works so well, tense strings are embellished by driving percussion which are both punctuated and supported by sharp and jagged sounding brass and restrained but equally as urgent sounding woods, these elements add depth, substance and at times a sense of menace to the proceedings but at other points within the work the brass acts as a more wholesome and melancholy grounding to the soundtrack, creating a firm foundation on which the remainder of the score can be constructed and added to. The cd opens with the Main Title, this begins with faraway sounding horns that are melancholy in their sound and are underlined by soothing strings that augment and enhance the brass beautifully. The mood of the cue alters fairly swiftly as strings take on a more urgent sound, not shrieking or driving at first by just gently building with brass and percussion being added as the tempo increase, the brass then overpowering slightly and briefly the string section, the cue then fades back into a more settled and calm state but still brass is heard faintly enhanced by strings which again gradually builds to a brief but effective crescendo bringing the cue to its conclusion.
Track 2, WHO IS JACK REACHER is a brooding piece; again strings and brass combine to create an atmospheric and effective composition with subdued percussion adding more power to the track. The cue moves into a more sinister sounding mode towards the end of the cue strings seem to be almost hissing creating an air of unease. Track number four BARR AND HELEN is one of my favourite cues from the score, it is a tense piece that builds slowly with almost swirling strings that can be likened to something that maybe Herrmann would have employed to create tension and mystery within a score, this ambience increases as the strings turn more sinister and are pitched higher to create a searing sound that rises fairly swiftly within the composition but fades more or less as soon as it has manifested itself. These give way to a more downbeat and unruffled atmosphere which is relayed by further use of strings, these create a calming effect that bring the cue to its end. I enjoyed this soundtrack immensely, it is a score that I am sure will be savoured by many and returned to on a number of occasions by listeners. Recommended...