Title: Wolf
Year: 1994
Composer: Ennio Morricone
Wolf is a modern retelling of the classic werewolf
story and stars Jack Nicholson as the protagonist. The score was made by Ennio
Morricone at the time when he was attached to many American projects as well as
European ones. The score juxtaposes two different musical styles: the tragic love story with nostalgic, lyrical romance writing, and the animalistic side with
urban noir elements and primal percussion.
The opening
presents the film’s dramatic main theme that has some tragic romanticism to it.
It’s played by the horns over beautifully lush string harmonies and tinkling
electronic effects. However in a Morriconean fashion there is also a frantic
electric harpsichord ostinato appearing every now and then in a completely
different tempo and key that I remember many film music fans hating at the time
of the soundtrack’s release. They’re distracting for sure but for me they do depict
the animalistic nature of the beast within, waiting to get unleashed. The barn is a more traditionally
romantic, beautiful love theme for saxophone and warm strings. The same melody
is heard along with crashing percussion and the harpsichord in Laura and Wolf united in a unique track
that could only come from the pen of Maestro Morricone.
The first
sings of distraught come through in The
dream and the deer which begins with the main theme and then starts its
developmental section for suspenseful wandering high strings followed by several
mournful reprises of the main theme. The harpsichord ostinato also rushes
through the nostalgia warning the listener of what is to come. Around 5-minute
mark a descending suspense motif appears along with some noirish trumpet
playing that comes to play a bit later. From 6-minute mark we’re introduced to
fast percussion grooves, woodwinds resembling the forest birds and the mad
ostinato running on top of everything. It all builds towards a victorious set
of chords but comes crashing down with the suspense motif and final howling
brass. An absolutely sublime, descriptive cue! The moon continues where we left off with quieter suspense motif
variation along with some main theme that unfortunately then moves to low-key
suspense that isn’t as interesting as its predecessor. Luckily at the end some
bubbly madness is heard once again. Laura
goes to join Wolf includes sparse individual chords which don’t form a
coherent narrative.
From track
7 onwards the suspense rises to the main element. The three Transition cues and Laura transformed are all pretty slow-moving, at times tedious
experiments in atonal suspense, familiar to the usual style of Maestro
Morricone but done better in other projects. The howl
and the city begins with weird trumpet manipulation heard first in track 3
that sounds like some sort of animal howl. It harks back to the 60s with
Maestro’s past in avant-garde group Nuova
consonanza. Low-speed action follows then with the pounding percussion
combined to staccato chords and sleazy saxophone bringing that urban
atmosphere. A reprise of the love theme arrives in Animals and encounters that then turns sour with some excellent
action writing covering many sections of the orchestra, even some rhythmic harp
ostinatos, not a usual instrument for momentum. Wolf on the other hand returns to the main theme riddled with
sadness after a horrific orchestral shocker.
Chase is sure to make you wake up in case you found
the preceding slow horror boring. It has all kinds of screeching brass and
woodwinds and combines them to low piano and percussion that really keep the
pace going. Occasionally even the jazzy saxophone comes through the overall
chaos. It’s one of the most exciting and brutal Morricone action cues I can
think of and really makes your heart race. The abstract main theme variation at
the end is just the icing on the cake for me. Unfortunately more slow music
follows in Confirmed doubts that
tries to bring out the horror but I find it rather tensionless to be honest. The talisman has some fascinating
swirling textures that have almost ethnic qualities with effects resembling the
Indian sitar and then closing with a twisted major key variation of the main
theme. The last two cues return to the darkly romantic material first with the
most romantic version of the main theme in Laura
and Will which can’t stay away from the suspense and just has to have some
of it at the end ruining a perfectly fine moment. Luckily Laura fixes that problem and ends the score with a powerful main
theme statement that offers no hope for our main characters and closes the
album on a somber note.
Wolf is best at its romantic material and especially
in the brutal action cues that aren’t heard that often in Maestro’s overall
repertoire nowadays. However where it falls is the middle section and the
slow-moving suspense that can’t make the listener feel the desperately needed
chills. Hence I recommend approaching this one with caution. However Maestro
has cleverly assembled the album to an order that best presents the music and
offers a fine listening experience.
Rating: ****
Tracklist:
1. Wolf and
love (03:32) *****
2. The barn
(01:59) *****
3. The
dream and the deer (09:15) *****
4. The moon
(05:28) ****
5. Laura
goes to join Wolf (02:20) **
6. Laura
and Wolf united (01:24) *****
7. First transition
(01:28) **
8. The howl
and the city (03:21) ****
9. Animals
and encounters (04:37) *****
10. Laura transformed
(03:36) **
11. Wolf
(02:48) ****
12. Second
transition (01:17) ***
13. Will's
final goodbye (01:31) ****
14. Chase
(05:43) *****
15. Confirmed
doubts (03:41) ***
16. The talisman
(03:27) ****
17. Third transition
(00:57) ***
18. A shock
for Laura (02:43) ***
19. Laura
and Will (02:26) ****
20. Laura
(02:36) *****
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