Release : VA - War
Artist : VA
Album : War
Genre : Soundtrack
Source : CDDA
Label : Lionsgate
URL :
Date : 08-21-2007
Encoder : LAME 3.97 / -V2 --vbr-new
Quality : 197kbps 44100 kHz Joint Stereo
Tracks : 22
Time : 65:10 min
Size : 93.44 MB
1 Brian Tyler - Spyked 2:32
2 Brian Tyler - War Opening Titles 5:05
3 Brian Tyler - Confession 3:05
4 Brian Tyler - Rooftop Pursuit 1:44
5 Brian Tyler - Whips 2:14
6 Brian Tyler - Swordfight 5:16
7 Rza - Rogue Cleans Da Hizouse 2:15
8 Brian Tyler - Getting Started / Scene Of The Crime 2:51
9 Mark Batson - The Set Up / Mr. Chang Send Regards 2:36
10 Brian Tyler - Shiro Comes To Town 3:55
11 Brian Tyler - Bankok Downtown 2:18
12 Brian Tyler - This Isn't Japan 2:16
13 Brian Tyler - Cop Hunting / Face To Face 2:42
14 Mark Batson - Compliments Of Mr. Chang 0:36
15 Brian Tyler - Rogue's Revenge 1:09
16 Brian Tyler - Showdown 2:49
17 Brian Tyler - Plans For Retaliation 4:00
18 Brian Tyler - Watching The Changs 0:45
19 Brian Tyler - Shiro's Estate 2:33
20 Brian Tyler - War End Credits 5:31
21 Machines Of Loving Grace - Suicide King 4:04
22 Brian Tyler - War Opening Titles (Remix) 4:54
Brian Tyler's scores in 2007 have run the range of genres: a return to horror
with Bug, the drama Partition, and now an action film, War. Over the past ten
years, and with the most renown in the past five, Tyler has gained experience
with all three: Terror Tract and Darkness Falls in horror, The Greatest Game
Ever Played in drama, The Hunted and Timeline in action. Tyler has been very
good at mixing genres, however. The horror/drama film Frailty combines elements
for a score that is both chilling and suspenseful; the epic Children of Dune
incorporates both the power of an action score and ethnic instrumentation that
provides a background for much of the tension of the miniseries. And few of his
scores, including those listed above, adhere strictly to genre expectations.
War, however, does.
For an action score, War is definitely of a certain style. It does not have the
full orchestrations and brass fanfares of Timeline, Annapolis, and Children of
Dune; instead, it follows more closely in the vein of The Hunted and Paparazzi.
Electronic and rhythmic, it has the feel of components of Harry
Gregson-Williams' Spy Game. The second track, "War Opening Titles" begins this
way, with electronic percussion, then moves into a fast, string rhythm (the
orchestral elements were performed by the London Symphony Orchestra). The
majority of the score's orchestrations are these elements: electronics,
percussion, and strings. The next track, "Confession," slows down into a melodic
moving line, with percussion only behind it; this track stands out from the rest
because of the melodic feel. "Bangkok Downtown" has a cool Asian sound to it,
also with the electronic percussion behind it. The fast string line returns in
"This Isn't Japan" but generally the score functions more on a rhythmic level
than thematic. The second to last track (the last is a remix of the opening
titles) is a rock song called "Suicide King" by Machines of Loving Grace: it
fits the style of the score, and is the kind of song you would expect at the end
of an action film, in the background as you're leaving the theater (and I don't
mean that as an insult, that's just what it is).
As an album, this score makes for good background music for a certain, energetic
atmosphere, but for the most part lacks the musical nuance typical of Tyler's
compositions. However, looking back at Tyler's track record, I don't want to
criticize him for these stylistic choices: he wrote an appropriate score for the
movie. It's a fight scene/chase scene action film, and the energy and pacing
such a film requires behind it is exactly what this score provides.