Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Soundtrack Review Part I

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Soundtrack Review Part I

Okay, a lot of people are taking dumps on the movie. They simply hate the movie. Somehow, Zimmer is getting a lot of flack for his work, yet surprisingly it’s one his better scores he’s made recently.

For the third movie, he’s nearly moved completely away synthetic sounds he’s used in many of his scores. He’s basically using a huge orchestra with only a few synth added to score. At World’s End is a richer score than the other two pirate movies combined.

He’s added some new themes and thrown in an Asian feel to some of the tracks, which is a nice touch. Plus, He’s brought back many of the major themes from the other movies as well, but his new stuff outshines the old material.

Note: I haven’t seen the movie yet, so I’m reviewing it from the soundtrack point of view.

Let’s get started on the tracks shall we.

1. Hoist the Colours: This is a dark track, and it opens with a drum roll. A child’s voice sings followed by some men. It’s short, but works nicely.

2. Singapore: It opens with a slow classical Asian feel to it, with some of Zimmer’s famous ‘hit’ chords. I loved the way this track opens. Somehow, Zimmer fights the urge to use his Last Samurai stuff, which was a good choice. The track moves faster with some more Asian music and action cues. It slows down and plays some of the same notes that were at the beginning. The track completely changes gears and we hear the famous Pirates of the Caribbean theme ending with the Jack Sparrow theme. This is a great track with a very East meets West feel.

3. At Wit's End: This track is long, and we hear another new theme in the opening. I believe it’s the Love Theme, but I could be wrong. I can’t tell you how much I love this new theme. There’s some real Chorus work here with some creepy female voices, giving us another new theme. The music builds up until we hear the return of the Music Box from part II playing the Davy Jones theme. The Davy Jones theme mixes with the Love Theme, and Zimmer does an outstanding job mixing the two themes. The track builds up to a grand version of the Davy Jones theme. The only weak portion of this amazing track is the action junk at the end.

4. Multiple Jacks: There some horror, sort of Silent Hill, elements at the start, and then it goes into a playful Jack Sparrow theme. There are hints of some Asian tones mixed in with this strange track. This track is completely different from anything that’s come before. I’m not sure if I like it or not.

5. Up is Down: We hear one of the newer themes in a bright and up-tempo. I love how each instrument bounces around this playful theme. This is a fun track to listen to.

6. I See Dead People in Boats: Zimmer takes the theme we just heard in the last track and makes it a somber beginning here. It’s very nice to hear Zimmer have a lot of fun with this theme. We return to some dark music with some creepy female voices. The track picks up and ends on some action stuff. Not the best track, but there are some good things to listen for here.

End Part 1