Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Soundtrack Connisseur, July 28, 2005
A Kid's Review
I'm not really a kid, but i don't want to sign up for Amazon to write this review. I have been collecting soundtracks for almost 10 years now. I started with this soundtrack in 1996 and have built to 300+ orchestral soundtracks. Having listened to most all of them, 10 years later ID4 still reigns supreme. David Arnold has been the basis of comparison to every composer i have ever heard, and i have heard ALOT!
This may upset a few people, but i think he is definitely the best in the business. Not necessarily for his ability to write catchy tunes (Williams), or recycle his own music (Horner), but because he can write music with the complexity that boggles the mind. I have listened to my copy of ID4 so many times in the last decade, that i bought a 2nd copy just in case the first one wears out.
The way each theme is captured and rarely heard the same way each time: i.e. the love theme, the alien theme, the good/bad guy theme....all of it is so amazingly tasty each time it's heard. You don't get bored with any theme! My favorite tracks are Evacuation/Firestorm, Base Attack, and The Day We Fight Back. And I can't go on without touching on his "End Credits" titled track. A nine minute masterpiece that is the best medley from any movie i have heard; and again, i have heard my share. These showcase the true genius of his writing. That's the only way to describe it: pure genius. His use of brass and his perfect blend of strings and voices just provides so much power behind whats going on in the movie, that you can literally see the movie on your eyelids as you lean back and listen to the soundtrack. How many soundtracks do that?!?!?
There are so many levels to his music, not to mention the brilliance that comes from every measure. He doesn't flaunt multi-meter like James Newton Howard or the Newmans (randy, thomas, and david)....but keeps the overflowing sound in a driving 4/4 time. This is what kept me seeking his upcoming soundtracks when i was 10 years younger. After i heard ID4, i had to see what else he had done: Stargate and Last of the Dogmen were all that had been out. I immediately purchased both. Since, i have acquired his other titles: The Musketeer, Godzilla, The Stepford Wives, all the bond films, Shaft (2000), even Changing Lanes. I have NEVER been disappointed with his music. He is consistently fresh and free with his styles and layered composition. I challenge anyone to compare David Arnold with any other composer out there.
In closing, I am a musician myself, in college going for a BAE in Music and composition. I give credit to David Arnold as my inspiration to write music. To me, he is the Mozart of film composition and i will watch his career and all of his works with great anticipation until one of two things occurs: he dies or i go deaf. I hope neither happen......
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Real Classic Soundtrack.., March 16, 2005
Before I buy soundtracks, I watch the movie to see how well it goes. If I like it I buy it. Well after watching Independence Day I knew for sure I wanted the soundtrack. as it was just amazing.. David Arnold did a wonderful Job with each track..
It's just a shame that half the traxks didn't make it on the official release. as their is another Soundtrack which has 2 Discs and features every single song from the movie. Indepedence Day Bootleg. It's really hard to find on the internet. But if you use the right toolz. You might be in luck..
Track Listing for the Bootleg Score
* 1. Prologue* (2:05)
* 2. S.E.T.I. Radio Signal* (1:54)
* 3. Satellite Destroyed (0:42)
* 4. That's Impossible (0:18)
* 5. Cropduster (0:56)
* 6. The Destroyers Detach (0:35)
* 7. AWAC Gets Fried (1:01)
* 8. The Darkest Day* (4:15)
* 9. Hiller Sees the Saucer (2:11)
* 10. Cancelled Leave* (1:47)
* 11. Launching Welcome Wagon (0:48)
* 12. Welcome Wagon Moves In (0:34)
* 13. Evacuation/Firestorm* (7:12)
* 14. Aftermath* (3:37)
* 15. Base Attack - Canyon Chase* (6:13)
* 16. First Lady Found (1:30)
* 17. Area 51 (1:34)
* 18. Spaceship from Roswell (0:57)
* 19. The Freak Show (1:52)
* 20. El Toro Destroyed* (1:32)
* 21. Alien Autopsy (5:22)
* 22. Nuke Attack - Reunions (6:02)
CD2:
* 1. 1969 - Film Version (1:59)
* 2. The First Lady Dies (2:43)
* 3. David Gets an Idea (0:56)
* 4. Planning the Attack (1:47)
* 5. International Code* (1:34)
* 6. Pre-Flight Check (1:51)
* 7. The President's Speech* (3:13)
* 8. Farewell - Launching the Ship (2:03)
* 9. Lift Off - Mothership* - Rebellion (13:54)
* 10. Jolly Roger* (3:18)
* 11. Independence Day (3:42)
* 12. End Titles* (9:11)
* Previously Released
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Heroic; Beautiful; Exciting; Awe-Inspiring!, November 19, 2001
This was one of the first few film scores I bought after catching the bug and for a few months it didn't stop rotating in my CD player. For many, this was the first time they had ever heard the name David Arnold, but certainly it wasn't the last as he continues to wow audiences and will no doubt lead the next generation of film composers. The music is probably the best he's ever produced for the big screen, though it isn't nearly as inventive or personal as Stargate. What ID4's music has is a magnificent spirit and bravery that traverses the seemingly endless action cues and exceptional themes that are some of the most rousing in film history.One listen to the End Titles and Arnold will have you hooked; you'll see why this score has become so publicly praised and why it probably played more than a small part in the film's success. Though it doesn't sound flattering, I consider this a compliment to Arnold's work: David Arnold has a propensity to create the most stirring and fitting B-style action scores. Listen to ID4, Musketeer, even his offerings in Wing Commander, and one will understand why; in short, the themes fall to a stereotypical simplicity, but are executed so perfectly that it seems undoubtedly appropriate. As previously stated, the themes here represented don't quite surpass those offered in Stargate, but they tend to have a more exciting and appealing use. The main theme is decidedly simple, yet to good effect since you can exit the theatre humming; the main action theme, with a glorious trumpet fanfare and underlying low brass is awe-inspiring; the still minor themes are all perfect and developed beyond the traditional silly, summer, sci-fi flick, which no doubt spells the success for this superb score. The CD is heavily packed with action--as was the movie. And, also due to the movie's style, there is little in the way of emotion in most places, just straightforward and bombast pirate music. But, if you can overlook the lack of variety, then you hold in your hands one of the most successfully implemented scores of all time. This CD deserves the attention of any film score fan, passing or lifelong. There is a rich, powerful, heroism to this score that modern filming too often neglects by choosing a less prevalent use of the orchestra. David Arnold's work on Independence is not one of those films, and thus redefines the soundtrack for the modern sci-fi epic.
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~ John Williams (Composer)
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by David Arnold 
