The Amazing Spider-Man: Music from the Original Soundtrack (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

July 24, 2012 by Dennis Amith 

James Horner’s “The Amazing Spider-Man: Music from the Original Soundtrack” is not a soundtrack in which one track will stand out, but it is a soundtrack that is enjoyable when listened as a whole.  Beautiful music, wonderful piano playing and an emotional soundtrack worth recommending!

Image is courtesy of © 2012 Madison Gate Records, Inc.

TITLE: The Amazing Spider-Man: Music from the Original Soundtrack

LABEL: Sony Classical

DURATION: 1:16:53

RELEASE DATE: July 3, 2012

Main Title – Young Peter    1 of 20    4:55
Becoming Spider-Man    2 of 20    4:17
Playing Basketball    3 of 20    1:22
Hunting for Information    4 of 20
The Briefcase    5 of 20    3:15
The Spider Room – Rumble in the Subway    6 of 20    3:20
Secrets    7 of 20    2:30
The Equation    8 of 20    4:23
The Ganali Device    9 of 20    2:29
Ben’s Death    10 of 20    5:42
Metamorphosis    11 of 20    3:04
Rooftop Kiss    12 of 20    2:35
The Bridge    13 of 20    5:15
Peter’s Suspicions    14 of 20    3:02
Making a Silk Trap    15 of 20    2:52
Lizard at School!    16 of 20    2:58
Saving New York    17 of 20    7:52
Oscorp Tower    18 of 20    3:23
“I can’t see you anymore”    19 of 20    6:51
Promises – Spider-Man End Titles    20 of 20    4:53

While composer Danny Elfman was known for the work on the previous Spider-Man films, for “The Amazing Spider-Man”, with the reboot of the series and taking things onto a new direction.

From the look of Spider-Man, the talent, the overall feel of the superhero film but also its music.

So, what best than to feature of the most successful film composers out there to give a new musical feel for Marvel’s iconic character.

James Horner, known for his music on “Titanic”, “Avatar”, “Braveheart”, “Troy”, “The Karate Kid”, “A Beautiful Mind”, to name a few, had a pretty big task and that is to create a new style that was different from Danny Elfman’s work.

While the soundtrack was not as memorable, there are tracks that captivate you.

“Becoming Spider-Man” is an uplifting track with a good balance of orchestration and vocalists.  A song that showcases a young, naive Peter Parker.

“Playing Basketball” is another track that showcases the meek Peter Parker, with its playful use of horns.

Then you have the more haunting or emotional melodies such as “Secrets”,  the darker “Ben’s Death and the transitioning movements in “Metamorphosis”.

And then you have tracks that captivate you, such as the wonderful “The Ganali Device” which showcases James Horners piano playing,.

But you will also have the action-driven sequence  upbeat tracks such as “The Bridge”, “Lizard at School!”, “Saving New York” (which was an effective style of James Horner to use the piano in such a way).

For the most part, James Horner is a master in creating beautiful music, emotional music.  From his orchestral direction, his use of piano, voice utilization, the music for “The Amazing Spider-Man is original and manages to be different than Elfman’s “Spider-Man” compositions.

Similar to the film, the soundtrack for “The Amazing Spider-Man” is emotional and he builds upon each track that it begins to grow on you and you find yourself enjoying the soundtrack even more.

But I have to say that this is one of the most original soundtracks when it comes to how the piano is utilized.   But at the same time, aiming for beauty, aiming for emotion, there is not a score that  found that sticks out, a track that I found memorable.

If anything, “The Amazing Spider-Man: Music from the Original Soundtrack” is one of those soundtracks that you may want to listen to it as a whole, rather than listening to tracks independently.  It’s a different style of soundtrack, especially compared to other soundtracks that feature a heroic character which John Williams and Danny Elfman are both known for. In fact, it’s a bit different compared to other James Horner soundtracks as well.

In some way, I found a similarity to his older film “A Dangerous Mind” that featured beautiful music, but not one song that stood out.  And a soundtrack that I enjoyed as a whole, rather than listening to individual tracks.

But “The Amazing Spider-Man: Music from the Original Soundtrack” is a rewarding soundtrack, one that I found enjoyable to listen to.  I’m glad that James Horner was able to create a musical score different from other composers and aim for something outside of the box rather than sticking to an old formula used in superhero films.

“The Amazing Spider-Man: Music from the Original Soundtrack” is recommended!