Fable [Soundtrack]

Allan Wilson (Performer), Steve Bartek (Performer), Russell Shaw (Composer), Danny Elfman (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Allan Wilson, Steve Bartek
• Composer: Russell Shaw, Danny Elfman
• Audio CD (February 15, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Sumthing Else
• ASIN: B0007KTB4Y
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,681 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

This soundtrack for the popular, goth-rooted, X-Box role-playing adventure is another powerful example of how artistically accomplished the video game industry has become. Indeed, its ambitious musical score frequently outshines many of its mega-budgeted Hollywood competitors. Oingo Boingo founder-turned-noted contemporary film scorer Danny Elfman anchors the album with an ominously heroic main theme worthy of one of his sweeping, big budget superhero sagas. But in providing the balance of the music, composer Russell Shaw doesn't so much follow Elfman's muscular symphonic lead as skillfully play off it. Shaw's impressive cues here manage to conjure an inviting aura of non-specific time and place, filling it with masterful orchestral and choral arrangements that evoke suspense, wonder, terror, and mischief with equal aplomb.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Soundtrack. Flawed CD release, though., October 18, 2005

By 

Elranzer (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fable (Audio CD)

First off I'd like to say that I loved the Fable soundtrack. It's one of my favorite videogame soundtracks, and definitely my favorite American one. That said, I do have a few issues with the soundtrack (and the CD) that others have not pointed out.

1. Danny Elfman. He wrote the first track, the main theme. This is a brilliant theme. Problem is, the theme is the entire soundtrack. See below:

2. Russel Shaw. He didn't write any real original music for this game. Every track in the soundtrack is a variation of a section from Danny Elfman's main theme. Listen to another track, then go back to track one, and you'll find it somewhere in the suite. All Shaw did was do some arrangments. Not to say Shaw didn't do any work, he managed to take one Elfman song and create nearly 40 arrangements from it. But let it be known, they're just arrangements.

3. The CD. The game's actual soundtrack has close to 40 different tracks. The retail CD is obviously missing quite a few. This is probably to keep it at one disc. Japanese import soundtracks tend to be multiple discs (sometimes 4 discs!) which increases production costs and the retail cost (they tend to cost $30+). In America, since the soundtrack CD market is much smaller, the studios don't bother to spend the extra amount to release a $30 soundtrack. They instead will sell an abridged version to keep it at normal CD costs.

That said, the soundtrack is probably worth buying, if you don't have another means of getting the soundtrack. It's great to have if you want to listen to the "best of" from this game in your CD player. The PC version (The Lost Chapters) includes the soundtrack pretty much, as it uses MP3 format. There's no other way to get the 30+ missing tracks.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Wonderful Experience, July 6, 2005

By 

Vince M. Pellegrini "Some Guy" (the same place as Carmen Sandiego) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fable (Audio CD)

Most the the times when a Soundtrack is produced from a video game there are two things that are to be expected that would turn off most people. First, that the music is synthesized and second, that the music doesn't stand up well enough on it's own except to those who have already played the game. The Fable soundtrack suffers from none of these. Every track is done completely by the Philharmonic of London. And though only the "Fable Theme" is composed by Danny Elfman, the other songs suffer no loss of quality. Each song stands out on its own with a sense of independence that many game soundtracks do not have. Having played the game, the music immediately provided the player with a sense of adventure and fantasy. Once you entered a town or a forest you gained a great sense of the situation just from the music alone. Currently the song "Summer Fields" has played over 150 times on my computer just because of the great atmosphere it creates. It almost reminds me of the playfulness of "Dawn is a Feeling" from Moody Blues' Days of Future Past. But at the same time a song like "Bowerstone" creates the sense of a bustling town and songs like "Darkwood" and "Lynchfield Cemetery" creates a sense of a dark foreboding place. The range and quality of this work has to be heard to be understood. I buy almost every RPG soundtrack I can get my hands on but this is the only soundtrack I suggest to anyone.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Listen, December 14, 2005

By 

Gorilla "-Gorilla" (Boston/Vienna) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fable (Audio CD)

This soundtrack is something that fits the bill whether you need some music to keep you awake while you work a late night in front of the computer screen, whether you want to relax and take an hourlong nap, or whether you simply want to listen to some cool music from a game you played once. It's NOT some kind of undeniable masterpiece, but there are some masterfully written/orchestrated twists and varations to be found.

Something has bothered me ever since I started listening to this: the prevalence of "Danny Elfman!!! Danny Elfman!" name dropping. Great, I'm sure it helps with the marketing, but Danny Elfman's part in the whole thing is completely blown out of proportion. The first track was composed by him (the Main Theme), and everything else is Russell Shaw's baby. Yes, there are many things found in Shaw's work that remind of a two-bar section here or there in Elfman's piece, but there is PLENTY of fresh, new stuff to be found. In comparison, the Main Theme sounds formulaic and uninspired. Don't listen to the majority of what you've heard about this CD. Heck, don't even take it from me, I could be just as full of it as the next guy. Anyways, that's what I wish someone had told me before I'd bought this CD.

Standout tracks include Oakvale (2), Summer Fields (6), and Greatwood (11)...but there isn't one track that doesn't offer something interesting that you'll want to skip back to and listen for again.

This is REALLY well done. Worth the price.