Rango [Soundtrack]

Hans Zimmer | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 15, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Anti
• ASIN: B004I3U7EE
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,464 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Director Gore Verbinski s ( Pirates of the Caribbean ) first animated feature, Rango, is the tale of a chameleon in the old west (voiced by Caribbean star Johnny Depp) who is forced to become a reluctant hero. Rango features an all-star cast, and a soundtrack that combines a soaring score by best-selling composer Hans Zimmer ( The Dark Night, Inception, Pirates of the Caribbean ) with original songs by Los Lobos, who act as a Greek chorus, commenting on the story in much the same way as Jonathan Richman in There s Something About Mary. With driving norteno melodies mixing with Ennio Morricone-inspired orchestral themes, Rango is a soundtrack both kids and adults will want to own.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars You wanted the music? Too bad., April 10, 2011

By 

Gregory Ronald David Craft "King of the Monsters" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rango Soundtrack (MP3 Download)

First of all, this album is short. Really short. Just over half an hour. Now this isn't a deal-breaker for me, since the price reflects that. What does bother me, however, is the inclusion of bits of dialogue playing OVER the music.

When I buy a soundtrack album, I want to hear the music. If I wanted to hear the movie, I'd watch the movie. I don't mind the inclusion of dialogue if it's kept separate from the music tracks (a la the Tarantino albums), but this business of ruining the music cues needs to stop. Who wants to pay money to hear this?

What makes this doubly sad is that this is some of my favorite work from Zimmer in years, recalling the great spaghetti western scores of Ennio Morricone. It would have made a great listen alongside those albums. But apparently, they thought we needed the jokes to punctuate it.

Here's hoping for a special edition soundtrack in the future.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Giant disappointment, March 31, 2011

By 

Patience O'Donnell (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rango (Audio CD)

When I first sat down to watch Rango, I was excited. Heck, I was excited ever since I saw the first trailer! The movie did not disappoint me, and as I watched the Gatling gun rattlesnake, the dog-fighting bats, the mysteriously eerie pill-bugs, and even the kooky conversations between Beans and Rango, I was interested in the soundtrack. Formulated by Hans Zimmer, I expected the same quality that I had found in The Lion King, Kung Fu Panda, and even Gladiator/Inception/The Dark Knight for goodness sakes!

Unfortunately, the kind of "quality" I got was the sad collection of annoying burrow owl ballads, some random screaming/pointless audio clips from the actual film, and barely even half an hour of collective track time. This is, by far, my least favorite creation I have ever seen from Hans Zimmer, and I almost can't believe he was behind this. And while I'm complaining, where in the WORLD is that one song that played during Rango's 'suicide' moment where he's crossing the road, and eventually carried off by pill bugs? Or the song that played as he watched all those tall plants uproot themselves and lead him to water? Those tracks caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end, they were engaging and creepy. Why did Hans not include these arguably important points from the film in his soundtrack? He certainly had room for it, the CD holds a LOT more than 30 minutes, I'm sure!

I give this soundtrack 3 ratings, however, because what music does play (without the enraging voice clips and stupid owls), is everything I have followed Hans Zimmer devotedly for in the first place. I think my favorite track from this CD is tracks 12 and 14, with 19 being close behind.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Return to the Old West, March 29, 2011

By 

Calvin Scholtz (Cape Town, South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rango (Audio CD)

As can be seen from the track listing, this is quite a short soundtrack, totaling only 34 minutes. But, as another reviewer once said regarding Hans Zimmer albums: 'he goes for quality, not quantity'. For example, look at the soundtracks to "The Lion King" and "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" - there was only around 20 minutes of Zimmer's score on each of those CDs, but it was so good that I gladly would've paid the full price just for those tracks.

So, back to "Rango": if you've seen the film, you'll know that the narrative is interspersed with music and singing from an owl mariachi band. All these little episodes are included on the CD, whether you like them or not. The 'Rango Suite' is the longest track, and features variations on his comedic theme. Zimmer fans will recognize similarities with Jack Sparrow and Sherlock Holmes' themes, but it's still an original enough piece to listen to.

As the film is an homage to old Westerns, it only makes sense that the music should reference those sources, too. Zimmer adapted 'Man with a Harmonica' from "Once Upon a Time in the West" in "Pirates 3", and he does so once more in 'Rango Returns'. Funnily enough, the same two actors are facing-off: Depp and Bill Nighy. But, this is the most obvious borrowing, although you can hear a phrase from 'The Magnificent Seven' theme at certain points.

The overall feel of this soundtrack is fun, with 'It's a Metaphor' and 'Lizard for Lunch' being the most wacky and frenetic tracks. Then there's slow, heartfelt tunes like 'Welcome to Dirt' and 'Rango and Beans'. 'We Ride, Really!' is only 50 seconds long, but it really gets your heart racing as Zimmer sets Rango's heroic theme aflame. 'Bats' is another exciting one, its first half including some music by two other great German composers.

'The Sunset Shot' may be music from an alternate ending, as I don't remember it from the film. 'Walk Don't Rango' features the music from the credits, where Rango's theme gets some crazy guitar treatment, with a "Pulp Fiction"-esque riffing in the background. The 'Rango Theme Song' is a brilliant little ballad that tells the legend of the hero in fine Western style. Overall, a great little soundtrack that still has me humming along to it.