Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #1,056
Written 7/9/03, Revised 4/25/11
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Buy it... if you itched to hear Michael Giacchino branch out from
the John Williams mould after the first "Medal of Honor" score and start
exploring his own styles with the same standard of high quality.
Avoid it... if the reason you enjoyed "Medal of Honor" was
precisely because of its close stylistic similarities to Williams'
music, for this subsequent entry rumbles into more intimate territory.
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| Giacchino |
Medal of Honor: Underground: (Michael Giacchino)
The closing days of the 1990's heralded a new age in video game music.
Traditionally classified as electronic garbage by the majority of
orchestrally minded film and television score collectors, video game
music began a slow, but sure experimentation in the orchestral realm
during this time. The budgeting of such an allotment for the talent
needed for a large-scale video game score began surfacing more often in
the first few years of the next decade. By 2003, hearing grand, sweeping
orchestral music while wasting away an afternoon on the computer or in
front of the television console and playing a first-person game wasn't
so outlandish. One of the key contributing factors to this trend in
gaming music was Michael Giacchino's successful endeavors for Electronic
Arts and Dreamworks Interactive's original "Medal of Honor" game in
1999. With an orchestral ensemble performing music that matched much of
the intensity and construction of John Williams' similarly themed
efforts in the genre for the big screen, Giacchino proved that not only
could an orchestral score for a such a concept work, but that it should
be a standard of excellence for video game production with the highest
of expectations from adult players. The fact that several of the cues in
the first "Medal of Honor" score were mirror images of Williams' style
didn't seem to matter in retrospect, given how refreshing the sound was
(especially compared to Williams' shift at the time towards more somber
tones in his own work). It was not unexpected that the young and rising
talent would return to score the sequels to "Medal of Honor," and "Medal
of Honor: Underground" was the second chapter in a string of efforts for
the genre that would eventually span more than half a dozen games,
multiple additional composers, and two production houses over the
following few years. After being re-hired as the franchise composer,
Giacchino insisted on the same performing group, the Northwest Sinfonia
of Seattle, but also a moderate chorale of 25 boys' voices to add yet
another layer of emotion to his work. Predictably, the resulting music
pleased and impressed the game's producers and players once again. The
plot of "Medal of Honor: Underground" involves the efforts of women in
the French Resistance during World War II and thus requires less of the
full-scale combat music that was evident in the first game's
score.
More subtle performances in this sequel score,
including appropriate insertions of the underpowered, though effective
choir, offer a less epic, but more thoughtful tone than its predecessor.
The performances for this recording aren't quite as accurate in the
brass section as in the previous game. The noble title theme for the
series is left by the wayside (due to the lack of the primary character
or his American forces in this entry), though the Nazi motif returns for
the sequel (including a performance in the first thirty seconds). With
fewer bold elements in "Medal of Honor: Underground," the listener is
reminded less of Williams' music, though there still exist several
stylistic references to
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, among
other 1980's works by the master. Giacchino's inclination is still to
steer close to the rhythmic patterns of Williams' layering of brass and
timpani, but it is not as readily obvious this time around. For those
who greatly enjoyed the original "Medal of Honor," this may come as a
disappointment, but then again, Giacchino does paint more of his own
emotional canvas for the sequel. To represent the French culture and
location, Giacchino introduces an accordion in the opening cue, a loving
gesture towards the romantic elements of the story's premise, though the
instrument sadly disappears thereafter, missing an opportunity to
further enhance that personality and distinctiveness of this score over
the others in the series. The subtle early cues develop into more
ambitious, recognizable action music in the latter half of the album. On
that release, a generous hour of Giacchino's music is presented,
followed by a decent, original period song performed by female voice.
The album once again offers some specialty tracks at its conclusion,
with a radio broadcast complete with sound effects and a hidden
one-minute track of dialogue and music from the game. The original, 2000
Dreamworks CD was limited in its commercial release, though it
eventually found its way to low prices on the used market. In 2011,
La-La Land Records assembled all of the existing "Medal of Honor" game
soundtracks by all of its three composers at the time and released them
in one massive, 8-CD set. That impressive collection, aside from
remastering the sound and making all of the scores available again as
part of a 2,000-copy pressing for $60, presents additional material from
the later entries. The contents for "Medal of Honor: Underground" on the
set's second CD are identical to those of the original product. Overall,
"Medal of Honor: Underground" is a refreshingly different listening
experience compared to the entries that came before and after, but it
maintains a standard of quality that outshines nearly all others in the
video game genre.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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Bias Check:
For Michael Giacchino reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.46
(in 43 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.21
(in 23,476 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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