TRON Legacy: Album Review

Ever since rumors started surfacing about a new TRON movie, there has been a background discussion about the music being done by Daft Punk.  Having never heard of Daft Punk, that's not really the kind of news that gets me excited.  Subsequent news always seemed to mention the Daft Punk soundtrack and as trailers for the movie were shared online, again, the soundtrack was pointed at.  So, even though I haven't had a chance to see the movie, I thought I would point MOG at the TRON Legacy soundtrack and see what all of the fuss is about.

Let me be blunt, this is one of the best movie soundtracks I've ever heard (BTW, I am a movie soundtrack junkie).  I was blown away by the music here.  So much so that I just did some online research to try to figure out who composed the score with these Daft Punk guys, because the orchestration and the beauty of the music is simply astounding.  Well, the Daft Punk guys did all of the music.  They worked on the score for over two years, as you can tell as you listen to the interweaving of melodies, orchestra and techno music.  This score took time.  So much so that the movie was cut to the soundtrack!  If you understand the movie score process, you know that one of the last things that happens in the film is the soundtrack.  You can see the process in a lot of making of movies.  It usually involves the conductor standing in front of the orchestra with a screen showing the movie, and the orchestra literally plays the soundtrack to the movie.  This movie was cut listening to the soundtrack.  I can't wait to see the results!

The music on the album is a mix of orchestral music with techno.  This mix comes off well.  Some tracks like Derezzed are almost all techno music.  This is what Daft Punk is known for, and they don't disappoint.  The music is well sequenced and mixed with an originality that is rare in techno.  Where Legacy really shines though is in the use of the orchestra.  There are moments that sound like something from Batman Begins, moments that sound like Lord of the Rings in their scope and grandeur and moments that sound like the great composers.  No, I'm not exaggerating.  Adagio for TRON is incredible.  I actually stopped what I was doing, put the headphones on, started the track over, closed my eyes and listened.  Exquisite.

Something that is so different about this album is the interplay between the orchestra and the techno.  What you would expect would be the orchestra and the loops to be treated as separate entities, but since the Daft Punk guys created it all at the same time, the orchestra is simply another sonic tool for the layering of the music.  The result is something truly unique (at least I've never heard something quite like it).

What is important about this album is that I can listen to the whole thing and that I can listen to it multiple times.  It seems like movie soundtracks have really gone downhill in the last decade.  The aforementioned Batman Begins sounds much the same throughout and the new Star Trek wasn't much better.  Listening to Legacy I can hear what is missing from so many soundtracks, melodies and counter-melodies to go along with these wonderful chord progressions.

If you enjoy classical music, techno music or movie soundtracks, you really owe it to yourself to listen to this album.