1 |
Fireworks |
2 |
Professor
Umbridge |
3 |
Another
Story |
4 |
Dementors
in the Underpass |
5 |
Dumbledore's
Army |
6 |
The Hall of Prophecies |
| 7 |
Possession |
8 |
The
Room of Requirements |
9 |
The Kiss |
10 |
A
Journey to Hogwarts |
11 |
The
Sirius Deception |
12 |
Death
of Sirius |
13 |
Umbridge
Spoils a Beautiful Morning |
14 |
Darkness
Takes Over |
15 |
The
Ministry of Magic |
16 |
The
Sacking of Trelawny |
17 |
Flight
of the Order of the Phoenix |
18 |
Loved
Ones and Leaving |
SOUNDTRACK REVIEW:
We are very impressed with the opening track of the soundtrack
album to the fifth installment of the Harry Potter franchise.
Entitled “Fireworks”, the one-odd minute cue introduces
us to an uplifting world where magic and joy reigns over black
sorcery and evil. Cue the Irish jig! Bring on the thumping
percussions! Pluck the electric guitar strings!
This is
definitely one of the most enjoyably fun tracks we’ve
heard on the Harry Potter soundtracks.
However,
the energy level does not hold up for the rest of this 52-minute
disc. And rightly so, because this fifth movie is a dark one,
so a change of mood would only deem appropriate. In cues like
“Dementors in the Underpass” and “The Hall
of Prophecies”, looming danger and menace seems to be
lurking around every second.
Being a newcomer to the series, composer Nicholas Hooper (who
is a long time collaborator of director David Yates) does
deserve credit for producing an album this diverse. Fans of
the familiar “Hedwig’s Theme” need not fear,
because Hooper does introduce the tune seamlessly into tracks
like “Another Story” and “A Journey to Hogwarts”.
Elsewhere,
the most prominent theme for this soundtrack would be for
Professor Dolores Umbridge, the new b**ch in Hogwarts. Her
bossiness and irritating character is evoked well in the ditty
and playful “Professor Umbridge”, and repeated
in different arrangements in “Umbridge Spoils a Beautiful
Morning”.
Otherwise,
there is quite a bit of silent moments in this disc, without
any memorable themes or tunes to remember by. There are the
obligatory sweeping moments in soaring tracks like “Dumbledore's
Army” and “Flight of the Order of the Phoenix”,
but the true Harry Potter score fan will tell you that John
Williams does it better.
Another
odd choice is having the tracks run out of sequence. Is this
supposed to provide a more cohesive listening experience?
While we don’t think so, we are interested to see what
Hooper has in store for us in his score for the sixth movie
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
ALBUM RATING:
 
Recommended Track: (1) Fireworks
Review
by John Li
|
