The 13th Warrior: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Soundtrack]

Jerry Goldsmith | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 10, 1999)
• Original Release Date: August 10, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B00000JWOZ
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,869 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Old Bagdad

2. Exiled

3. Semantics

4. The Great Hall

5. Eaters of the Dead

6. Viking Heads

7. The Sword Maker

8. The Horns of Hell

9. The Fire Dragon

10. Honey

11. The Cave of Death

12. Swing Across

13. Mother Wendol's Cave

14. Underwater Escape

15. Valhalla/Viking Victory

16. A Useful Servant

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Goldsmith does it again!, November 23, 1999

By 

"dilinator" (Lansing, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The 13th Warrior: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

Whew! That's the feeling one will get when finished with this action packed soundtrack, composed by one of the masters, Jerry Goldsmith. It starts strong from the beginning, and never really lets up, going through many different mood shifts in the process. I had not seen (Still haven't) the movie when I bought this CD, nor could I hear the music clips. But I decided to get it based solely on the glowing reviews here at Amazon, and also because I've loved much of Goldsmith's other music. I was not disapointed!

The opening of the CD starts into the main theme, pounding out the strains, and drawing you right in. From there on, you'll be hooked, wondering where you'll be going next. There are two main themes (I always love it when a soundtrack has TWO strong themes throughout, rather than just one. Goldsmith's Rudy is another example of this), the first of which is nordic in sound, a considerable feat considering that nobody knows what Viking music really sounded like. But boy! Does Goldsmith capture the Viking essence with this theme! The second main theme is more arabic in nature, a lot like Mummy's, signifying the main character, who is arabic. Goldsmith then meshes these two themes wonderfully throughout the soundtrack, adding other branch-off cues during some tracks. I also agree that this soundtrack has very driving action music, and for the most part, it keeps from getting annoying, and chaotic, which I really don't like. Another awesome plus, is that Varese Sarabande decided to include the whole score (at least most of it), and not keep it under 40 mins, as they have with almost every one of their other titles. This CD runs almost an hour. Way to go Sarabande! Keep this up with future titles.

Now, don't be scared away by the 4 star rating, rather than a five. The only reason for the lower rating, is that I am comparing it to my other 50-some soundtracks, and there's a lot of competition. Not every score can be a five! :-) This is definitely a soundtrack I reccomend getting. Kudos to Goldmith for another job well done, and keep up the good work!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Triumph For Jerry Goldsmith, February 11, 2000

By 

michael g. stathis (Cedar City, Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The 13th Warrior: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

Very often a motion picure soundtrack can be judged by its use for PBS promos and as background to network sports broadcasts. Based on this alone, Jerry Goldsmith's score for "The 13th Warrior" has already arrived. Comparisons with Goldsmith's other notable, recent score, "The Mummy," and earlier action-dramas such as "The Wind and the Lion," are inevitable, and "The 13th Warrior" deserves high praise along with them. This is a musical triumph, bravo, indeed! And what is most amazing is the fact that the composer was brought in at the eleventh hour to do the score. Several themes are used including an exotic "Arab theme" and a powerful "Viking theme" along with several, very menacing motifs for the "mist monsters," the "eaters of the dead." The extended track for "Viking Victory/Valhalla" is spectacular, and a bit different than the music used in the film. Here it should be noted that the soundtrack is superior to the film, in that some of the best music did not make it to the screen. In fact, there are several tracks that seem to have been left out of the film, but the good news is they are on the soudtrack. One minor complaint. Although the end titles were actually made up from parts of a variety of tracks, it would have been nice to have had them on the recording.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Manly Battle Hymms, September 6, 1999

By 

Dave Cordes (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The 13th Warrior: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

Goldsmith returns to form with perhaps his best score in years and one of his all-time best compositions. I saw the movie twice and immediately rushed to buy the soundtrack. I have been playing it in my car for 4 days now and I am totally inspired by the brassy manly battle horns and choral hymms of Norse warriors and the melodic Turkish overtures that run throughout the entire album. Reminiscent of Basil Poledouris' score for Conan the Barbarian only better, with a dash of Lawrence of Arabia meets Rambo. It is an orchestral onslaught of one percussive beat and hymm and gloriously triumphant fanfare after another. I definitely would rank this as one of Goldsmith's Top 5 scores ever! McTiernan should be honored to have such a magnificent score to compliment his epic Viking tale. And to think that Goldsmith was brought in at the eleventh hour only to produce one of his finest works to date. The legendary composer has proven himself once more!