Customer Reviews

Treasure Planet

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm a fan both of the Goo Goo Dolls and of James Newton Howard's work scoring films, so this CD was a no-brainer for me. The first time I heard "I'm Still Here" on the radio, before I knew it was even associated with "Treasure Planet," I was hooked. Composed and performed by John Rzeznik (sorry if I spelled that wrong), it's got the classic tone and quality of the Goo Goo Dolls' best work and conveys a really powerful portrait of the Jim Hawkins character. The BBMak song isn't bad either, although it's quite evident listening to it that it feels more appropriate as the sort of stuff Rzeznik performs himself (he composed this one too).

Howard's score, as always, is great. A lot of the tracks have a real salty, seafaring, swashbuckling feel to them, yet Howard has managed to mix that feeling up with very modern instrumentation (I'm sure I heard a synthesizer in there somewhere) and great sci-fi-ish themes. He's a wonderful composer, right up there with John Williams and Howard Shore.

I just LOVED the movie and I got so hooked to "I'm Still Here" that I am now practically FORCING my mom to buy this CD for me. I really like the fact that the music is very Irish-sounding (please forgive me if you disagree) and is very easy to dance to. Conclusion: BUY THIS CD, IT'S AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If anyone's looking for the lyrics to "I'm Still Here" (like I was :P), here they are:

I am a question to the world
Not an answer to be heard
Or a moment that's held in your arms

And what do you think you'd ever say
I won't listen anyway
You don't know me
And I'll never be what you want
Me to be

And what
Do you think you'd understand
I'm boy, no, I'm a man
You can't take me
And throw me away

And how
Can you learn what's never shown
Yeah, you stand here on your own
They don't know me
'Cause I'm not here

[Chorus]
And I want a moment to be real
Want to touch things I don't feel
Wanna hold on and feel I belong

And how can the world want me to change
They're the ones that stay the same
They don't know me
'Cause I'm not here

And you see the things they never see
All you wanted - I could be
Now you know me
And I'm not afraid

And I want to tell you who I am
Can you help me be a man
They can't break me
As long as I know who I am

[Chorus]

And how can the world want me to change
They're the ones that stay the same
They can't see me
But I'm still here

They can't tell me who to be
'Cause I'm not what they see
Yeah, the world is still sleepin' while I keep on dreaming for me
And their words are just whispers and lies that I'll never believe

[Chorus]

And how can you say I'll never change
They're the ones that stay the same
I'm the one now
'Cause I'm still here

I'm the one
'Cause I'm still here
I'm still here
I'm still here
I'm still here

This review will focus mostly on the score for Treasure Planet by James Newton Howard. Treasure Planet is the third Disney film score composed by Howard and it is by far the best. He combines traditional 17th and 18th century music with modern influenced intruments to produce a totally fantastic adventure score. The score stays true to the nature of Stevenson's story yet at the same time is the perfect compliment to the movie. Overall an A+ and 5 star rating for the score. The two songs that go with the movie are fine in fact they are very good and much more tolerable than the recent Phil Collins songs for Tarzan so another A goes there. OVerall a great cd with a great score!

I enjoyed most of James Newton Howard's movie scores, especially his spine-tingling music from the movie 'Signs'. I bought this CD, not knowing whether there would be any memorable pieces of music on this album. Well, luckily there was! The Treasure Plant theme is reminiscent of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Atlantis, what with all the blaring of the trumpets.
Some of the scores actually sound more intense and frightening than the scenes they accompany in the movie! And the two pop-rock songs on the soundtrack are listenable, thankfully. My favorite track on this CD is number 05: Rooftop. Its soft yet powerful at the same time, and then it suddenly takes a different, more sinister direction. Newton may not be as good as say, John Williams, but he's still good at this stuff. 'Tis the power of the orchestra.

James Newton Howard never ceases to amaze me. Time and again, his scores bring life and emotion to films that are somewhat devoid of such necesseties. With "Treasure Planet," Howard uses his unmistakable talent to give us a score that is both exciting and gentle, sweeping and sublime. This one goes up on my shelf with "Atlantis," "Dinosaur," and "Sixth Sense" as another great work by one of film music's most talented composers.

And to the person wondering where the Trailer music was, I believe that piece was actually from a John Williams score, I think "Far and Away," but I could be mistaken. Remember that 99% of all film trailers do NOT use music from the films they advertise.

Not to dissappoint anyone, but since the MAJORITY of the score is taken up by James Newton Howard's excellent score, and since we already have 2 people who reviewed the 2 pop songs to the exclusion of everything else, I think I'll help out all the film score fans out there. I think the 2 songs at the beginning are the weak part of the album...

And since amazon didn't review it, and they didn't give you audio samples (as of this date), you'll have to just trust me, scary as that may be...

In the rush to get a helpful review to counter the bad ones, I have only listened to this score 5 times, all in the last 24 hours (which I guess is no small feat when you got 2 other scores in the same day).

The score's kinda like an odd mixing of the styles (not the themes) of Dinosaur and Waterworld. The main theme is great, and it has an electric guitar! Not that's anything special, but this time it sounds cool in an orchestral score. Dinosaur was brilliant, but this might just be better! It has all the adventure/action music you could hope for, though I think the most surprising music is the celtic soloists performing Silver's theme. Very enjoyable! The length's about 54 minutes altogether including the 2 badsongs. The music kind of drags a little bit in the middle, but picks up again very quickly with some absolutely outstanding cues like "Ben," "The Portal," and "Jim Saves the Crew." If you are a fan of Dinosaur and Atlantis, you won't be dissappointed with Treasure Planet. At the very least, it will be talked about among JNH fans for a long time to come.

Hope that was more helpful for you!

One of the things that struck me about this movie when I saw it was the music-- a bright, rousing, appropriately nautical-sounding score on a par with anything John Williams or James Horner has ever done. Stylistically, the music is not unlike the film's artwork: it sounds, on the surface, like a set of old-fashioned seafaring tunes, but when you actually listen, there is something clearly futuristic about it. It succeeds both in being perfectly appropriate for the movie, and a good listen in its own right. For anyone who enjoys instrumental music, or anyone who enjoyed the film, this is highly recommended. The John Rzeznik songs are also very good. Powerful. Catchy. If you're a fan of the Goo Goo Dolls or similar bands, you will love them. They're pretty standard pop-rock tunes, and probably not worth buying the whole disc for since there are only two of them, but they really do add something to the cd, taken alongside the score.

Hopefully there are some of you out there who remember John from his band Goo Goo Dolls. The man is a very good lyricist who I have always thoroughly enjoyed, and he isnt a half bad guitar player either. But do yourself a favor and listen to this cd its not your typical disney atmosphere in it. The song "Im still here" is probably the best on the cd, which portrays the emotional struggles of the main character from the film. But either way this is some top notch work by some talented musicians.

I think Disney has found a new composer that they are going to stick with for a long while: James Newton Howard. His scores for Disney films soar with plenty of adventure and are always a joy to listen to. This is no exception. The first track is a song by Goo Goo Dolls lead singer and songwriter, John Rzeznik, which is a great song that is one of the better ones to come from a Disney film. The second track is a song by the British version of 'N Sync, BBMak, which is decent, but not nearly as good as the first song. Now, on with the score. "12 Years Later" kicks things off with the main theme stated on a celtic-like solo fiddle. "To the Spaceport", "The Map", and "The Launch" are 3 exciting action/adventure cues with plenty of soaring chorus lines and lots of brass fanfares. A nice addition to the score is the use of electric guitars that give the sound a contemporary feel, as in "12 Years Later" and "Jim Saves the Crew". Howard uses softer and more gently played music in "Rooftop", "Silver Comforts Jim", "Silver Bargains", and "Silver Leaves", which is co-written with Alasdair Fraser, who plays the fiddle solos. Other solo instruments used throughout the score include solo whistles and solo pipes, which both give the score a Celtic touch. "Jim Chases Morph" and "Ben" are 2 more comic like cues with funky synth rhythms thrown in the mix. "The Portal" and "Jim Saves the Crew" finish off the score with plenty of action and adventure. About 46 minutes of score are contained on this 54 minute album. If you enjoyed James Newton Howard's scores to Dinosaur and Atlantis, I suggest checking this one out. As the other two, it is a real treasure.

The first track called "i'm still here" is an amazing song. Personally, I think it's the best song in a disney movie, something that you can actually play when you're driving down the street. This song is definitely for people from all walks of life. Disney has done a good job by hiring "John Rzeznik" from the "goo goo dolls".

The 2nd song is also written by "John Rzeznik", but unlike the "i'm still here", this song is performed by BBMAK! BBMAK has done an amazing job, but regardless, this is a "John Rzeznik" song and nobody in this world has the ability to imitate and perform a "John Rzeznik" song better than "John R" himself. The problem with this album is that they didn't include the "always know where you are" version by "John", which was in the movie, and this is probably going to bother alot of buyer who expected otherwise.

Overall, great album and worth the money. If you don't like it, there's definitely alot of disney fans out there, and i'm sure there are some in your family who are disney fans, so give it to them, but I'm definitely gonna keep mines.