Con Air: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Soundtrack]

con air: original motion picture soundtrack [soundtrack]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This is the film that thumbed its nose at Willis and Schwarzenegger, proving that respectable actors like John Cusack, John Malkovich, and Nicolas Cage could star in a big, dumb action McMovie, too--or was that The Rock? Whatever, this Jerry Bruckheimer (Hey, didn't he do The Rock, too?) produced thrill ride features a muscular score by former rock producer Mark Mancina and ex-Yes guitarist Trevor Rabin. Big, bad, and--dare we say it--ballsy, Mancina utilizes unusual percussive samples beneath the synth bombast while Rabin's soaring guitar lines frequently ape Jeff Beck. At least he's got good taste. --Jerry McCulley

Con Air: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack,Mark Mancina,Trevor Rabin,Hollywood Records,Pop,Soundtrack,Soundtracks & Film Scores

Con Air: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Soundtrack]

Average customer rating:

All Bombast and little else
Variations on a theme...
Exhilarating Music...Thrilling Sound....Missing the Romance
Unsuccessful
Don't con yourself into this one

Con Air: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Mark Mancina , and Trevor Rabin
Manufacturer: Hollywood Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

1990s | By Decade | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000000OGP
Release Date: 1997-06-17

Tracks:

Con Air Theme
Trisha
Carson City
Lear Crash
Lerner Landing
Romantic Chaos
The Takeover
The Discharge
Jailbirds
Cons Check Out Lerner
Poe Saves Cops
The Fight
Battle In The Boneyard
Poe Meets Larkin
Bedlam Larkin
Fire Truck Chase
Overture

Amazon.com

This is the film that thumbed its nose at Willis and Schwarzenegger, proving that respectable actors like John Cusack, John Malkovich, and Nicolas Cage could star in a big, dumb action McMovie, too--or was that The Rock? Whatever, this Jerry Bruckheimer (Hey, didn't he do The Rock, too?) produced thrill ride features a muscular score by former rock producer Mark Mancina and ex-Yes guitarist Trevor Rabin. Big, bad, and--dare we say it--ballsy, Mancina utilizes unusual percussive samples beneath the synth bombast while Rabin's soaring guitar lines frequently ape Jeff Beck. At least he's got good taste. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

All Bombast and little else.......2006-09-21

Maybe this is the sort of noise that passes for soundtrack music that we can look forward to,if we hand over scoring chores to ex-rock musicians instead of hiring ESTABLISHED,QUALIFIED,COMPETENT CLASSICLY-TRAINED COMPOSERS...Sure,Goldsmith And Elmer Bernstein are dead,But James Horner,James Newton-Howard,Howard Shore,and a dozen other GOOD composers still live...So why give unqualified ex-rockers these jobs..Jerry Bruckheimer,who produced this film,put a lot of action and noise on-screen(but at least he hired good actors,like Nick Cage & John Malkovich,rather than turning the film over to the usual neandrathals like Stallone or Willis)...Perhaps Bruckheimer wanted a"score"(if it can even be called such)that was equal to the noise and mayhem created on-screen?But there is(or should be)a vast difference between writing music and making noise...Alas,on this album noise pre-dominates

Variations on a theme..........2006-09-16

...and a good theme at that; surely what must be the reason anyone would purchase this score. The problem we run into, however, is that this score offers virtually 'nothing' beyond the theme itself, and the only reason I throw a two star rating at it is because the theme is so ridiculously pounded into the listener.

Mark Mancina and Trevor Rabin have both written some stellar music in their day (and from what I gather this is some 90% Rabin and minimal Mancina), but 'Con Air' really doesn't provide any of that. Rabin more than anything is a behemoth of a tunesmith, and his themes for later films, most notably 'Armageddon', or perhaps the unacknowledged but stunning theme for Arnold's sci-fi flop "The 6th Day", are highly enjoyable and in my opinion quite memorable. Many film music enthusiasts will lambast a composer like Rabin, for his lack of real orchestral interest and seemingly daft melodies or motifs, but what they seem to forget is that while Rabin's works aren't masterpieces of symphony, they 'are' awesomely lame, catchingly fun and downright ridiculous a good deal of the time. I myself would say that Rabin has never written one score that could truly be considered great, but I also admit to liking cheese in my music from time to time, and he has the tendency to offer up in spades. A good source of calcium, no doubt.

For those unaware, 'Con Air' was Rabin's first "big score" and therefore we get a composition that is premature from a composer that perhaps hasn't evolved past that description. So, the general sound of the work is awful -- ugly, grating synths combined with completely lifeless action cues that know not how to build to a climax or revert to anything emotionally substantial (the action highlight comes towards the end with "Fire Truck Chase"). When the theme comes to play, though -- and it does, at least ten times I'm guessing -- the score works because it's such an enticing and agreeable melody, and Rabin smartly opts to embelish it for all its worth, working in as many variations as you can possibly think of (many differing only slightly; the man doesn't have a bucket-full of ideas). The romantic "Trisha" gives way to a lovely rendition on simply a guitar (a pleasant change from the overwhelming electronic noises), while "The Discharge" puts jagged synths to good effect (for once), creating a rough, heroic ambience of glorified rubbish.

Like I said, Rabin is a phenomenal tunesmith when he wants to be, and the theme here carries itself across the finish line, even if it has to eventually crawl to get there. If you want to check out his most entertaining scores, I'd recommend "Armageddon", but after that I'm a bit blank, for most of them often follow the formula of 'Con Air' -- great theme, lesser score.

Exhilarating Music...Thrilling Sound....Missing the Romance.......2003-11-06

This review refers to "Con Air: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack".....

"Con Air" was a terrific action-packed film,filled with top notch actors, edge of your seat moments, and even a little romance. The music though, is really something special. Composed by Mark Mancina and Trevor Rabin, it really captures the tense, blood pumping,moments of the story. Even on it's own,it's an album you can listen to and feel exhilareted by any time. I enjoy putting it on in the car, it will defintely keep you awake on those long and boring drives.

All the tracks are instrumental, and if you have seen the movie, the music will have you recalling "The Con Air Theme","Lear Crash","The Takeover", "The Battle in The Boneyard" and the wonderful "Overture".(see buying info for complete track listings). The only thing that is missing from the soundtrack is the beautiful ballad,"How Can I Live". This song was a very big part of the romantic aspect of the film and should have been included.And afterall it was nominated at Oscar time for Best Song. For this reason alone I am going with 4 stars instead of 5.

The music fills the room(or the car) and is joy to listen to.The drums (Lou Molino III) are a standout. There are 17 tracks in all. They range from an all to short "The Fight" at 0.22 to a breathtaking 7.41 min of "Battle in the BoneYard", most somewhere in betweeen.

More thrilling than the film itself!(but missing the romance!)

enjoy....Laurie

Unsuccessful.......2003-09-29

"Buckle Up" was the catchline for the movie Con Air. I wonder what for, but certainly they did not mean the music. The album disappoints me as much as the film did. The only positive thing I can bring up is that they disappoint me on the same issues.

Both are shallow, both are repetitive and both are unoriginal. Mancina has received several Academy Awards for his work on Disney films, and Trevor Rabin did appraising work for movies such as Armageddon. Little of that comes to the foreground here.
There is no story to the music on the album, nor is it a compilation of suites. It never climaxes or breaks down. The themes do not evolve either, which would have done much good.

Now and again, there are moments that "could be" - " might have been if this or if that", but the album fails hopelessly. Despite being a film-music and rock-music aficionado, there is not one sequence here that I could return to afterward. That is an admirable thing...

...but one star is the best I can do.

Bram Janssen,
The Netherlands

Don't con yourself into this one.......2002-11-28

Con Air is a decent score, but a lot of the music is obnoxious noise that comes from electric guitars and synths. Mark Mancina and Trevor Rabin were members of the 80s rock group Yes before they cruised into the film scoring world and this score is perfect evidence of that. It sounds like a rock album in several places. The theme itself starts with a bunch of grinding noises and seques into a good theme played on electric guitar. "Trisha" is the only soft cue on the entire album, consisting of an acoustic guitar playing a soft, delicate theme. The rest of the music is pounding action music that can often get obnoxious and noisy. Some of it is good however, don't get me wrong. But for the most part it consists of loud, noisy synths, wailing electric guitars, pounding percussion, and an orchestra backing all of it up, which you can hardly tell there is one in parts due to the noise. "Overture" combines all of the themes into one 4 minute track to round off the score. Your best bet if you really want this score is to try to find it used like I did or unless you really, really like this kind of music, go out and get it. It does rock in some parts, but overall it didn't leave much of a positive impression on me. A decent 45 minutes listening's worth, but that's all.

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