Sherlock Holmes: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Soundtrack]

Hans Zimmer | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 12, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: WaterTower Music
• ASIN: B002ZMZBD2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,907 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The action-adventure mystery "Sherlock Holmes" is helmed by acclaimed filmmaker Guy Ritchie. Robert Downey Jr. brings the legendary detective to life, and Jude Law stars as Holmes' trusted colleague, Watson, a doctor and war veteran who is a formidable ally. The soundtrack to "Sherlock Holmes" features music by Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and Grammy Award winning composer Hans Zimmer. Enhanced CD includes free digital download of the Soundtrack in 5.1 Surround Sound.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but missing some of the music., January 18, 2010

By 

W. Stevenson "grammar doctor" (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sherlock Holmes: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

The soundtrack for this movie was spectacular and this is a good CD, but it's missing some of the music that was in the film. Mostly noticeably absent was the the great Irish music vocal, "The Rocky Road to Dublin," by The High Kings. This song made the Holmes fight scene even more dramatic, and it also made the credits at the end more enjoyable. I was disappointed to find that it wasn't included in the soundtrack CD.

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quirky music for The Great Detective, December 26, 2009

By 

Jon Broxton (Thousand Oaks, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sherlock Holmes: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (MP3 Download)

This version of Sherlock Holmes is apparently the 223rd occasion the ubiquitous detective has been portrayed on either the big or small screen, but as far as I'm aware this is the first time Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary character has been a traditional Hollywood action hero. A succession of actors - from Basil Rathbone to Peter Cushing and Jeremy Brett - have portrayed Holmes as a thoughtful, cultured, albeit rather eccentric English gentleman, and although Doyle's novels have often spoken of his prowess as a bare knuckle fighter and swordsman, as well as his drug use, Holmes was never an `action man' in the traditional sense. It seems the filmmakers have made a rather unfortunate misjudgment of character on this film, making this Holmes a young, bare-chested hunk rather than an analytical mind.

The film is directed by Guy Ritchie, the former husband of Madonna and the director of such popular hits as Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and stars Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Holmes' faithful assistant and confidante, Watson. The plot revolves around the dastardly Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), an occult-worshipping aristocrat who, following a series of brutal murders, is captured, tried and subsequently executed, but seemingly rises from the dead to continue his reign of terror. The film also stars Rachel McAdams as Holmes's American paramour Irene Adler, Eddie Marsan as Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard, and Geraldine James, Kelly Reilly, Hans Matheson, James Fox and William Hope in smaller roles. For the film's music, Ritchie turned to composer Hans Zimmer, who began his career in London with the late great Stanley Myers, and as such has an affinity for the city and its cultural heritage.

Zimmer's score is not what you would expect from a major Hollywood studio's key Christmas lynchpin film. The composer describes it as `the Pogues in Romania by way of an East End pub', and rather than being performed by a standard symphony orchestra, is instead a cultural mishmash of gypsy fiddles, banjos, cimbaloms and an out-of-tune piano, which Zimmer said was intended to illustrate both the "chaos in Holmes's head", as well as the film's period setting at the turn of the industrial revolution. Zimmer was also apparently inspired by the folk sounds of Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera, which explores Victorian London's criminal underbelly in much the same way as Holmes does. Taking into account the obvious thought put into the creation of a unique sound, the resulting score is surprisingly easy to listen to and enjoy on its own terms, mainly because of its unashamed and unrestrained strangeness, and because it sounds so unlike most of Zimmer's most recent work.

The first thing listeners will find upon listening to the Holmes score is how much like the Jack Sparrow music from Pirates of the Caribbean it sounds. Like Sparrow's music, Zimmer's Holmes theme portrays the character as a comedic eccentric, but whose peculiar outward demeanor hides an inner strength. The spiky, slightly-drunken theme for fiddles, cimbaloms and accordions dances above a thrusting rhythm in the opening "Discombobulate", an energetic opening that certainly sets the tone of the score, and reoccurs later in the slightly more conventional "My Mind Rebels At Stagnation", the action-packed "Marital Sabotage" the stirring "Panic, Shear Bloody Panic", and the conclusive (and rather peculiar) "Catatonie". What's interesting about this theme, and about much of the score in general, is how off-kilter is all sounds. Instead of a smooth, constant sound, the strings have a scratchy, scrappy coarseness to them, while the accordions, banjos and various percussion items have a slightly broken sound, as though their pitch is a little off, or as if they are not being played properly. This is clearly not the case of course - scores such as this are intended to sound exactly the way they sound - but the cumulative effect of this is to make the score sound more than a little rough around the edges.

The tinkling cimbaloms are used in a more sinister manner in cues such as "Is It Poison, Nanny?", which have an unusual, scratchy electronic sound design element under the solo instruments, and which combine with deep bass chords to present a sense of impending menace. The second half of "My Mind Rebels At Stagnation", as well as cues such as "He's Killed The Dog Again", are similarly threatening, with an increased brass presence, dark electronic chords, buzzing violins, and multiple appearances of the famous de-tuned piano, which Zimmer personally detuned by throwing it down a set of stairs in the parking structure on the 20th Century Fox lot. At the other end of the scale, "I Never Woke Up In Handcuffs Before" is a crazy Romani-style dance for fiddles, accordion and an oompah tuba that picks up an exotic percussion beat half way through, and ends as a frenzied whirligig dance piece that would not sound of out place in a Turkish bazaar.

The main set piece of the score is the 18-minute "Psychological Recovery... 6 Months", into which Zimmer combines all the specific acoustic and electronic elements, the prancing Holmes theme, the banjos and fiddles and cimbaloms, and the cranky piano, but beefs up much of the music with some of the engaging action rhythms for which Zimmer is much more famous. He even finds time to work Irish pipes into his sound mix, which briefly recalls the work Zimmer did no An Everlasting Piece back in 2000. One absolutely wonderful touch comes 8 and a half minutes into the cue, when Zimmer works the Westminster Chimes melody (which precedes the hourly chimes of the clock of Big Ben) into his robust string ostinato. It's all very entertaining, and builds up to a thoroughly rousing, orchestrally-enhanced, and unexpectedly emotional conclusion as Holmes and his nemesis fight atop the still-under-construction Tower Bridge.

While Guy Ritchie's reworking of Sherlock Holmes might dismay the literary purists, and while Zimmer's score will likely make younger Zimmer fans scratch their heads in confusion, I personally found the score a refreshing change of pace, and a new sound from a man not known for breaking with convention that often. It took me a while to warm up to the score and to appreciate its nuances, but once you get past the initial reaction of "what the hell...?", there is a great deal of engaging music to be found. This is the kind of Zimmer music I like the most; the music that reminds us why he, above all his `underlings', is capable of writing genuinely good music, and why he continues to be held in such esteem.

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Discombobulate, January 12, 2010

By 

mikey mike - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sherlock Holmes: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

Have not loved a Zimmer score this much since "Da Vinci Code".

Just when you think you have Zimmer figured out and expect him to churn out his usual style of music he knocks you out with this fun and very strange score that features an amazing mix of synths and an unusual orchestra. According this interview I read they had the piano I think right side up or something like that on one of the cues. And I could have sworn I heard an alto flute on one of the tracks. Woodwinds in a Zimmer score? What's the world coming to.

The album starts with the engaging and highly entertaining "Discombobulate" which is just blast to listen to. When the track started I was ready to yawn but then the trombones kicked in and the fun started. The track sets up what I imagine is the movie's theme, which is done with a banjo if I'm hearing right then joined by the rest of the very odd orchestra. Zimmer even throws in a solo violin towards the end and what I could have sworn was an accordion. This track alone is worth the purchase of the album, so much fun and craziness. And all this time I thought Zimmer was humorless.

The humor doesn't stop with the first track, the 3rd track "I Never Woke Up in Handcuffs Before" is a crazy, crazy piece of music that sounds like something you'd hear an Indian bar. Zimmer pretty much has the unorthodox orchestra attempting to play the main theme and doing a very poor job of it. Sounds like a middle school band rehearsing for the main theme, which just makes it hilarious. Not sure if this was an aleatoric performance or actually written, but it's funny as all hell. Once again shocked that Zimmer has a sense of humor.

But it's not all fun and games as there are some tender moments here and there which also works fine without feeling out of place. It's Zimmer allright, but just toned down without being too sweet or sounding like some cliché laced complicated romantic comedy music. A great example of this is the strange and beautiful "Not In Blood, But in Bond". It starts very odd but halfway through the strings kick in and it just gets very endearing but still maintaining that heavy handed Zimmer sound. "Ah Putrefaction" is another sweet moment on the album.

Fans of Zimmer's action writing can rejoice, and those tired of his string ostinatos can also rejoice? His action writing here is some of his best in a while. It's not so far removed that you don't think it's Zimmer, but also not the same crap that he and his boys churn out all the time. It has the heavy strings, the synths doing the part, the light drum loops and so forth but Zimmer combines them very effectively and makes some pretty interesting action music.

The lengthy and enjoyable "Psychological Recovery.....6 Months" contains the most action on the whole album. It's a long one but quite enjoyable and perfect for when you're stuck in traffic or waiting for your pharmacy to refill your anti depressants. One little touch that Zimmer employs here that I loved was this snyth piano sounding instrument, which I heard was a dulcimer? Other than LOTR I never even heard anyone else use it so it was refreshing to hear Zimmer use it along with the crazy array of sounds he got out of the orchestra which worked really well in the action material.

The album ends with another highlight, which is "Catatonie". My personal favorite part starts at 3:17 till the end. It's a great ender to a great album that really caught me off guard. Was expecting Zimmer to be Zimmer, and instead he surprised.

In an age when high profile composers are content to not do anything original it's nice to see that some still love the art enough to give it fresh material.


Recommended.