Ned Kelly


Decca Records (028947399520)
Movie | Released: 2003 | Format: CD, Download
 

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# Track Artist/Composer Duration
1.Shelter For My SoulBernard Fanning 4:51
2.Saving A Life3:17
3.Ned Kelly5:37
4.Destiny4:24
5.The Light2:00
6.Julia1:21
7.Stringybark Creek3:21
8.Back Home6:23
9.Moreton BayBernard Fanning 2:50
10.Doomed5:11
11.Outlaws5:31
12.The Jerilderie Letter2:08
13.Father1:29
14.The Glenrowan Inn7:01
15.Remembering Ned Kelly1:24
 56:48
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Ned Kelly - 07/10 - Review of Tom Daish, submitted at
Ned Kelly is one of Australia's few folk heroes, although, as this film aims to point out, Kelly was more likely the victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, after suffering the prejudice of being an Irish immigrant in Australia at the end of the 19th century. It's one of those films that humanizes the characters and attempts to make it faithful to the real life events, with a few dramatic embellishments. As it's an Australian film, it's not going to be released in the USA until 2004, which seems a pointlessly long wait, but studios seem to like to keep the people waiting for no real reason. Even if the rest of the world isn't engaged by the story, it's likely to be popular due to the appeal of its stars, Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom, who's Legolas made such a splash in the Lord of the Rings films. As one of Hans Zimmer's cohorts from Media Ventures, Klaus Badelt is certainly showing promise and while the quality of his output has been a trifle uneven, it's not for any inability to tackle different genres.
Perhaps the most striking things about the score is that it's quite folksy and not a little Celtic in feel, certainly not all didgeridoos and faux Australian music. For that I'm quite grateful, even if John Barry did it very well in his sublime score to Walkabout. The album opens with Shelter for My Soul and despite searching desperately for a way to describe it, I can't think of good one. It's one of those quiet, delicately scored, slightly folksy songs, with a slow, but lovely tune, performed with slightly gravelly vocals by Bermard Fanning of the group Powderfinger. My review copy doesn't make it entirely clear who penned the song, I can only assume that Badelt wrote the tune and someone else contributed the lyrics. Moreton Bay is more upbeat and authentic sounding folk song, although whether it's traditional or new isn't clear.

One of the biggest disappointments for me is when its clear the composer has connected with the story, but that the album isn't really the sum of its parts. Ned Kelly has plenty of genuinely lovely moments, from the lilting choir of Saving a Life and the exultant titular track that follows, to the jaunty material of The Light, as well as a good number of darker, but not melodramatic passages, notably Doomed, Outlaws and The Glenrowan Inn. For the latter three, Badelt follows Bruce Broughton's example in Tombstone and orchestrated for instruments in low registers and uses deep, resonant (and acoustic) drum beats to puncture the atmosphere and suffuse certain moments with dread. However, for all these good things, not much of it sticks in the mind afterward. The thematic material is quite subtle and in trying not to be too intrusive, doesn't imprint itself on the mind to the extent it ought to.

Badelt isn't a composer with a particularly obvious style and much of Ned Kelly is similar in mood, if not actual content, to any number of Celtic sounding James Horner scores, although it's somewhat more interesting than many of Horner's recent efforts. Ned Kelly is the kind of album that you listen to, enjoy, appreciate the mixture of light hearted, dramatic, serious and heart felt, but afterward, it just feels as though it's washed over you and to recall or enjoy it again, another listen would be necessary. Perhaps I'm being overly picky, but it's perhaps my frustration that I can't bring myself to say that Ned Kelly is great score, it's really close to being one, Badelt shows restraint, his moods are beautifully etched and as underscore is almost certainly magnificent. I still feel it's worth recommending as it's the kind of score that grows on you and is well worth hearing.


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