Customer Reviews

Race to Witch Mountain

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Trevor Rabin's latest effort is another digital release only and can be found on Amazon MP3 and iTunes Plus. As a person who grew up listening to Rabin I can tell you witch of his scores are fantastic, which of them are great, which of them are okay and which of them are not so memorable. Rabin has only been composing since 1996, but has quickly established himself as one of the great electronic composers working today. Now, we are all adults here and can admit that Rabin doesn't compose for Academy Award winning films, but that doesn't mean he has some pretty awesome scores. Race To Witch Mountain is not one of those scores.

Unfortunately with this score we are not getting anything remotely new or fresh. I couldn't even put my finger on a theme here. As a T-Rab fan I have to say I enjoyed hearing those familiar arrangements that evoked memories of scores past. "Tracking The E.B.E's" is by far the best track and it has Rabin written all over it. The pulsating strings laid on top of an electronic beat definitely gives that National Treasure feel, but it strives in its simplicity. All we have here is a great action beat which ends in a very Rabinesque manner.

So, Race To Witch Mountain won't be looked back on as anything memorable and even for Trevor it was disappointing and I don't say that often. It's not a terrible score, but for the standards I've come to expect from one of my favorite composers I can't hide the fact that I was disappointed.

I just watched the movie and barely noticed the soundtrack. It didn't really add much. Sometimes it gets drowned out by the sounds and pounding of the scenes, particularly in Las Vegas.

A big-budget remake of the classic 1975 Disney film Escape to Witch Mountain, Race to Witch Mountain is directed by Andy Fickman and stars Dwayne `The Rock' Johnson as Las Vegas cab driver who gets drawn into an intergalactic conspiracy and, with the help of a beautiful UFO expert (Carla Gugino), must help two alien children (AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig) return to their space ship while avoiding the clutches of a nefarious research company who wants to exploit their powers. The score for Race to Witch Mountain is by Trevor Rabin, continuing his collaboration with the Mouse House that he began with National Treasure in 2004.

Rabin's score is fun and adventurous, rooting in the familiar Media Ventures/Remote Control style that he utilized in scores like Armageddon and others, but with enough of a distinct personality to make it enjoyable on its own terms. As one might expect from a former rocker, Rabin sprinkles electric guitars liberally throughout the orchestral and synthetic performances. The opening score cue, "Into the Fridge", offers a pretty decent summary of the score in itself, running the gamut from unexpectedly gentle piano and string writing to large-canvas action cues with urgent synth rhythms and sampled brass. Later, action cues such as the "Unidentified Main Titles" (which appears in the middle of the album), "Jack and Kids Escape", "Burke's Deal" and "Tracking the E.B.E.'s" keep the tempo high with flashy string writing, cool electric guitar chords and an upbeat pace.

The Siphon - the robotic main antagonist of the story - has a mechanized, relentless synth pulse leitmotif which can be heard in several cues, notably "Siphon Searches" and "Excess Baggade". At the other end of the scale, "Long Goodbye" parts of "Make Me a Believer" and "Stand Off" offer sensitive emotional themes, noble trumpet refrains, choral majesty and a heady dose of Disney heroism (although, again, the sampled instruments often give the score an unfortunately cheap, tinny sound). Overall, Race to Witch Mountain is a fun, but throwaway score, a descriptor which can often be applied to Rabin's music. It's hamstrung by its lack of scope and the composer's unfortunate decision to limit his own sound palette, but it is what it is, and fans of Rabin's style, or of lighter Media Ventures/Remote Control scores will find plenty to enjoy.

I must admit that when i first heard the soundtrack on the film, i thought it quite unusual. I was right. While Rabin uses a lot of synths and electric guitars in his score, in this one he uses electric guitars whilst cross-fading them throughout some of the tracks. This gives the feel of a somewhat alien presence. Very atypical for this sort of film.
Most of Rabin's tracks in Race to Witch Mountain are definitely worth the listen. And if you're going to get most, why not get them all? This soundtrack is definitely worth it!