Customer Reviews

Tron: Legacy (Amazon MP3 Exclusive Version) [+Digital Booklet]

5 star:		(129)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

The U.S. release of this CD is missing a total of 9 tracks. That's over 25 minutes of missing music. There is a much better limited 2-CD release available from Amazon.uk and Amazon.ca that includes 5 bonus tracks not available here in the States:

Encom Part 1 (3:53)
Encom Part 2 (2:18)
Round One (1:41)
Castor (2:19)
Reflections (2:42)

Additionally there are 2 bonus tracks available exclusively only from iTunes:

Father and Son (3:12)
Outlands Part II (2:53)

Also...

Sea of Simulation (2:41) is available to download in lossy mp3 format exclusively from Amazon.

Sunrise Prelude (2:51) is available exclusively to download from Nokia Ovi.

Unfortunately, if you want the complete soundtrack (legally) you have to import the more expensive 2-CD album and the only way to get the other four missing bonus tracks is to purchase them from iTunes AND get the 8th track from Amazon and 9th track from Nokia so keep in mind that you are NOT getting all of the really great memorable music from the film on the single disc 22 track domestic album. It also does not include the two retro 80's songs "Separate Ways (World's Apart)" by Journey and the Eurythmic's "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" that were both featured in Flynn's Arcade.

As for the score itself, it's absolutely mind-blowing. Daft Punk have created a sonic masterpiece worthy of the legacy of Tron. Their brilliant layering of ambient electronica with orchestral symphonics is every bit as avant garde in creating atmospheric digital soundscapes as Wendy Carlos' score was for the original Tron. I only wish that they had incorporated some more of Wendy's memorable themes. You can kind of hear a few familiar notes that recalls Tron's theme in "Adagio For Tron" but that's pretty much the only hat tip to Wendy's vintage score. Like the film itself, Daft Punk have taken the music of Tron to a whole new aesthetic level by incorporating their unique style of techno synthpop along with their influences of electronic film composers like Vangelis on "Arrival" to the ominous Carpenter-esque "C.L.U." and synthesizing them with traditional orchestral composers like Bernard Hermann and Max Steiner.

Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homen-Christo demonstrate they have the musical talents to command the accompaniment of a full symphony orchestra and can score unforgettable music for blockbuster films. When I heard Daft Punk were scoring the film, I admit I initially had my doubts that they could pull it off but they have and by far their score for Tron Legacy is one of the best and most inspirationally thrilling movie soundtracks of the modern age and deserves a complete 2-disc release and not scattered all over the Grid.

End of Line

When the word got out that Daft Punk would be scoring the sequel to TRON it generated something of a phenomenon- where fans were more excited for a soundtrack than a movie itself.

Unlike the original TRON soundtrack, there's no silliness or cheesy comedy on display here; the ridiculous scherzo is replaced with both a poignant adagio and a nocturne to underscore the higher stakes in this upgrade to the TRON saga. Orchestrations mixed with techno beats might put off those looking for a pure Daft Punk release, but remember this is a movie score and tracks will be scene-specific and somewhat repetitive in their themes. Plotlines and emotional arcs are being explored here; the symphony lends gravitas to the proceedings and it all comes out pretty good. The only real negatives here are that most tracks are pretty short, clocking in between 1 ½ to 2 ½ minutes. The other is that this isn't a complete release- a few tracks are held back for the deluxe version and one is only available directly from iTunes. How typically Disney...

Wendy Carlos' semi-iconic 24-note TRON theme is used both sparingly and excessively; you get heavy doses of it, but only in the tracks at the beginning, middle and end of the cd. There's also a couple of secondary themes at work here, notably a cello rush and sub-tonal pulsing rhythm that are very effective at setting the mood. The rest of the cuts are peppered with soundscapes that are strikingly similar to Hans Zimmer, Brad Fiedel, and a couple others. But after having seen the flick, I can say it does all fit very well.

Some Highlights: *Potential Spoilers*

Overture- Begins with a single extended synth note underscored by cello until a solo trombone breaks in at the 0:25 mark with a couple of solemn two-noters before it blossoms into a reprise of the TRON theme at 0:52. At 1:35 the synths, string and brass come together (in a pretty rough edit) for another reprise. A very nice build up, but it doesn't appear in the film.

The Grid- Used for the movie's opening sequence, it starts with a brief plot exposition delivered by Jeff Bridges, supported by a pulsing percussion and the debut of one of the secondary themes- an 8-note pulsing reverb- accompanied by a string version of the theme before ending with a TRON reprise in synth.

Recognizer- Named for the police program that sends Sam Flynn and other captured programs to the arena games. Built upon the second major theme- the 8-note cello rush- accompanied by some Zimmer-style bottom and driving sub-tones, it also incorporates an alternate TRON keyboard motif to flesh things out. Very reminiscent of the themes from 'The Dark Knight'.

Rinzler- 8-note sub-tonal intro highlighted by a couple of 4-note crashing percussion sets. Some eerie synth notes blend into a pulsed rhythm supported by cello. Synths and rhythm rise in full with a new set of dystopian percussion before falling into a fade out. A nice intro for C.L.U.'s enigmatic enforcer.

The Game Has Changed- Plays during this film's version of the iconic- and very well done- lightcycle battle, it's also the track used in the initial teaser footage and first trailers. Starts with the 8-note sub-tonal pulse used in 'Rinzler', it only takes ten seconds for the dystopic drums to appear. At :20 seconds they crash head on with a violin rush behind them. Switches to strings and synths until the sub-tones return at 1:13 and the string emerge again, followed by more synth. This sequence repeats a couple times with some alternate synths and filtering thrown in making for a dark, intriguing mix before ending with the crashing drums.

End of Line- Welcome to the most exclusive club in The Grid. Shades of Thomas Dolby with the snare and kick synth combo. Leads into high and mid layered keyboards before adding a couple layers of 7-note synths to carry it. Add in some flutter and warbling effects and it's not bad.

Derezzed- Used for the smackdown fight scene inside the End of Line Club between the heroes and some goons- it's 100% Daft Punk! Fast, frenzied and completely schizoid- and I love the ending when it goes all off-kilter and spastic... in a good way! Only thing wrong with it is it's over way too soon at only 1:44.

TRON Legacy End Credits- Built upon repeating layers of 5-note synths over a 4-note looped drum track. At 1:18 the TRON theme comes in on keyboard. The third time through the theme it gets fleshed out with part of the orchestra as the synths drop underneath. Makes for a nice denouement.

Though I'm not a big fan of the franchise this soundtrack had me pumped up to see this flick and it's a flawless complement to the movie. An excellent piece of work.

When it was first announced Daft Punk would be doing the score for "Tron: Legacy," anyone who has ever held the original film on a pedestal among sci-fi movies was most likely overcome with joy.

After all, Daft Punk's synthesized sound pulls a great deal from the early `80s when the original film was released. Even their helmeted costumes seem to resemble those worn in the computer world of "Tron."

However, what Daft Punk created was something much more serious than any of their studio albums. Like Christopher Nolan's new take on "Batman," "Tron: Legacy" has been described as much darker than the original film and Daft Punk's score, released ten days before the film, follows suit.

The overture introduces Daft Punk's newest adventure with quite possibly the biggest departure from their original sound to be heard on the record.

Gentle horns gradually fill the air just as a full string section takes shape. By the end of "Overture," timpani, cymbals, and a gong provide the ultimate climax, dramatically announcing Daft Punk's first full collaborative venture into cinema and the return of Tron simultaneously.

"The Grid" is the only track with any words put to the music. With Jeff Bridges providing a voiceover for the first half of the track, the song acts as an introduction for anyone who may have missed the first film.

As "The Grid" fades out and "The Son Of Flynn" opens with an arpeggiated synthesizer, listeners get their first taste of Daft Punks blend between their own unique sound and classical music. Although the majority of the tracks on "Tron: Legacy" utilize an excellent balance between the two styles, some of the tracks sway one way or the other, drastically changing the mood of the piece.

Tracks like "The Game Has Changed" offer an almost exclusively classical instrumentation while transforming the percussion section into a series of powerful electronic hits, rattling the eardrums and taking focus off of the ominous strings hidden beneath.

Although the London Philharmonic Orchestra provides all of the string arrangements, their true feature comes on "Adagio for Tron." Sounding a bit like Hans Zimmer's "Hummel Gets the Rockets" from the soundtrack for "The Rock," Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk use this track as a means of showing off their prowess with orchestration, complete with a simple, yet beautiful cello solo.

As the mood darkens, the music dives deeper into the electronic realm while still maintaining at least some aspects of a symphonic orchestra. Tracks like "End of Line" pull entirely from the electronic realm except for a sustained string part which would typically get lost in a Daft Punk mix, but because of their extraordinary presence on the rest of the album, they remain surprisingly noticeable.

Easily the song most reminiscent of Daft Punk's previous work is the club ready "Derezzed." It's almost hard to believe this track falls on the same album as "Adagio for Tron," but Daft Punk fans will make "Derezzed" the song from the movie to know. Although less than two minutes in length, "Derezzed" finds Daft Punk letting loose and presenting their trademark sound for the world to see on the big screen.

Without words to accompany the music, this album may not ring as positively for all Daft Punk fans, but it will easily add a great deal to the action captured on film. This may be Daft Punk's first venture into film soundtracks, but the duo's masterful work on "Tron: Legacy" makes it hard to believe it will be their last.

Similar Artists: Justice, Deadmau5
Track Suggestion: "Adagio for Tron"

The Track List

This review is for the COMPLETE score, which is currently not available ANYWHERE to my knowledge, but is the ideal way to hear this score (naturally). For reference, after seeing the film in the theater twice, I believe the correct chronological order of the music to be:

Overture
The Grid
Father and Son
The Son of Flynn
Encom Part I
Encom Part II
Recognizer
Armory
Arena
Round One
Rinzler
The Game Has Changed
Outlands
Adagio For Tron
Nocturne
Outlands, Part II
Reflections
End Of Line
Castor
Derezzed
Fall
Sea of Simulation
Rectifier
Disc Wars
C.L.U.
Arrival
Flynn Lives
Sunrise Prelude
Tron Legacy (End Titles)
Solar Sailer
Finale

The Pieces

Overture is a mix of electronic and orchestra, and is not used in the film. It is the main theme of the film which is used many times and is a perfect overture.

The Grid is very similar to Overture, but features a build-up and voice-over by Jeff Bridges. Normally I don't care for voice-overs...but this one is awesome.

Father and Son is a slower version of the main main theme. Beautiful.

The Son of Flynn is an electronic piece that sounds more like a Daft Punk song, building upon its own electronic themes. Great.

Encom Part I and II are atmospheric film music which are uniformly excellent and a nice break after the faster paced The Son of Flynn.

Recognizer is the awesome music you remember from the Tron Legacy Trailer, a sinister foreboding piece that gradually builds upon itself to become an epic awesome musical masterpiece evoking appropriate awe and wonder of the first glimpse of a world only previously imagined.

Armory is a slow down-beat piece played while Sam is being suited up to fight in the games, it's one of my favorite tracks. Slow, methodical, and beautiful.

Arena, Round One, and Rinzler are all battle music from the games and to me are similar in feel. They are more brash, harsh, loud, and lively than more of the other tracks, featuring a lot of digital distortion. Still good though.

The Game Has Changed is another one of the best tracks, featured during the light-cycle battle. Show-down music. Great stuff.

Outlands Part I and II is atmospheric music to evoke the landscape of the digital world, and is similar to something John Williams or James Newton Howard would use in Hook or Peter Pan. Another of my favorites, though both pieces are very similar, almost to the point of being one piece.

Adagio For Tron is slow piece that builds in in sad gravity like Chopin piece, as it describes Flynn's creation of the new Grid, and how it was then corrupted and filled with tragedy by his creation C.L.U.

Nocturne is another of my favorites, mostly because it reminds me of Nightvision from Discovery. It's slow, sad, and sweet. I love it.

Reflections is basically the start of the theme from C.L.U., and thus is part of the theme of that character. Dark and sinister starting with strings and then moving into electronic sounds.

End of Line, Castor, and Derezzed are all club music from the End of Line club. The first is industrial sounding, the second is more rave-type club music (more upbeat, with a cut-out seconds after it starts). Derezzed is arguably the best "Daft-Punk style" track on the score, with infectious beats and addictive electronic stylings that will make you want to listen to it over and over. A perfect piece of music for a stylized fight. Fantastic.

Fall is an appropriate piece of music played during a quick crisis in the film, a piece that gets the heart rate up quick. I don't care for the electronic distortion on this track as it distracts from the main musical theme played.

Sea of Simulation is another slower paced piece that sounds very Daft-Punkish in tone. Soothing and slow, it's the music from the journey on the solar sailor. Another favorite.

Rectifier. Sinister villain music of threatening imminent demise. CodeMaster Talon told me it reminds her of Captain Hook's Theme from Hook. Appropriate music. A good track if you like Zaibach from the Vision of Escaflowne soundtrack or One Winged Angel from Final Fantasy VII.

Disc Wars is a piece full of determination which builds on itself. Less brash than the arena battle music, it is nonetheless appropriate battle music. Excellent.

C.L.U. is naturally the villains' main theme and an excellent sweeping sinister piece which builds upon itself going from sinister to contemplative to urgent, blending the best of Reflections and Fall. Outstanding.

Arrival is your brief breather before the epic finale. It's the music played when our heroes finally arrive at their destination and there is a spiritual tint to the piece as it goes from light and angelic to heavy and mortal. Gates of Valhalla music. Brilliant.

Flynn Lives is by far the best piece of music in the entire score. It is the epic climax music which uses Wagnerian string and horn motifs for brilliant dramatic effect. This piece literally makes the final showdown of the movie what it is. There are no words to describe how brilliant and awesome this piece is. Academy Award material if I ever heard it. The main Tron Legacy theme is used to its maximum potential.

Sunrise Prelude is....gorgeous. It combines the slow beautiful beats of the style of Encom, Armory, or Nocturne with the slow orchestral beauty that comes later from the finale. It's the last track in the movie and being at once sad, dramatic, romantic, and achingly beautiful... is absolutely perfect.

Tron Legacy (End Titles) is perfect ending credits music. It's an electronic, upbeat, catchy, fantastic remix of the main Tron Legacy Theme from Overture, The Grid, ect.

Solar Sailer is another slower paced electronic piece similar to Sea of Simulation (and goes quite well together with it). Not my favorite track as it's just not progressive enough in its melody for my taste, but it's a favorite track for many people (including my girlfriend).

Finale is the Sunrise Prelude (only orchestra with no electronic sounds) which morphs into the main Tron Legacy theme with carefully chosen electronic instrumentation. After a somewhat rousing main theme is quietly takes its leave like the last star of night under the light of day. An wonderful finale to a fantastic score.

The Score

Tron Legacy has one of the greatest musical scores in film history, easily on par with the best of John Williams, James Horner, and perhaps even the revered Ennio Morricone. It's THAT good. And this coming from me, a person who pretty much only listens to video game music, J-pop, and most of all, TONS of orchestral scores for TV shows and films (you would think Silva Screen Records is on speed-dial and City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra as my homepage for all the music I have from everything from El Cid to The Last Starfighter).

The first Tron had a very unique musical score that was largely made-up of electronic sounds, resulting a very appropriate computerized feel. When I heard that Daft Punk would be creating the score for Tron Legacy, I didn't know WHAT to think. On the one hand, I was a huge fan of Daft Punk's album discovery (check out my spotlight review on Amazon if you don't believe me). And on the other hand...there was just so much potential to get everything wrong and ruin the score by producing something that didn't fit with the vibe of the new film and the original. Hence, I tried to keep an open mind and not set my expectations too high so as not to be disappointed. I needn't have worried.

Some have said that the score needs to stand on its own, and is best heard separate from the film. I couldn't disagree more. A ballet is meant to be watched, an opera is meant to be watched, and a film score is meant to be watched. When you see the film Tron Legacy the music fuels everything on-screen. The film was actually cut to the music, resulting the movie feeling very much like an awesome long music video. From the opening notes and title of the film to the epic climax at its finish, I highly recommend seeing the film to fully enjoy the music. That said...

This score manages to perfectly capture the feel of the world of Tron, simultaneously paying tribute to the past while being completely fresh and new (I have heard the score to the original Tron and could not find any copied musical cues whatsoever). Rest assured, the themes in this score are brand new, yet totally appropriate. Sometimes the music is completely electronic, sometimes it is completely orchestral, many times it is a mixture of both, but it is always excellent.

Too Many Adagios?

It appears that most of the negative reviews of this score are from people who were expecting another Daft Punk album. In case you haven't guessed it yet, this is not an album like Discovery. Not even close. There are no words to any of the songs, and they were designed for a film, not a dance club. While some of the tracks certainly are brilliant in a very similar way to Daft Punk's past work (Derezzed and other tracks like End of Line and Castor), primarily this score succeeds as what it was designed to be. A film score.

Some have commented that the score to Tron Legacy is similar to other scores, and this is true. It may at times remind you of Mass Effect (with its heavy synthesizer use) or Inception (with its heavy two-tone use) but that is very unfair. This score blows Inception's score out of the water in every way. I had thought Inception had the best score of the year until I saw Tron Legacy, but it feel incredibly repetitive and unimaginative in comparison. And Mass Effects themes are not nearly as dynamic, full, or original in comparison (the tracks on Mass Effect are also very short).

Flynn Lives, And So Does Daft Punk's Greatest Achievement

When I heard the track Flynn lives I thought of the finale to an Ennio Morricone score like The Good The Bad And The Ugly where a soaring vocal would not be inappropriate. The main theme is simply that strong, that beautiful, that good. Honestly, this score belongs with the best of the best, and deserves to be listened to along with the best of great film composers of the last 30 years (Williams, Silvestri, Powell, Horner, Goldsmith).

It would be absolutely criminal if this score does not win an Academy Award. If you are a fan of film music you owe it to yourself to purchase the score immediately. Just be sure you get the complete score and listen to it in the proper order, and see the film at least once to experience the music the way it was meant to be.

I was very disappointed to read they made more than 22 songs , so i personally got all multiple editions through different ways and after a week of listening to all tracks , i felt the order was wrong , i rewatched it on a cam version for the sole purpose of the track list . the end product i have completed with the songs sounds every bit amazing and complements the movie in a correct feel .
1.overture ( not in the movie yet it opens up the orchestra )
2 the grid
( father and son plays when the flynns talk about the grid yet the song plays for a few seconds so i didnt count it in )
3 the son of flynn
4 encom p1
5 encom p2
6 flynn lives
7 seperate ways by journey , plays in the arcade
8 also sweet dreams are made of these by the eurythmics in the arcade
9 recognizer
10 armory
11 arena
12 round one
13 rinzler
14 reflection
15 the game has changed
16 outlands
17 father and son ( the full song plays)
18 adagio for TRON
19 nocturne
20 outlands p2
21 end of line
22 C.L.U
23 castor
24 derezzed
25 fall
26 sea of simulation
27 rectifier
28 disc wars
29 arrival
30 sunrise prelude
31 TRON legacy (end credits)
32 solar sailor
33 finale (end the score with a finale, might not be in the movie , there is another song at the end yet i didnt catch it.)
34 bonus unreleased track from there fx test , its a good song they composed for the movie yet was only used for the clip

Think of the back of any Audio CD - Silver, right? Apparently, this Tron Package throws functionality out the window with a "cool" black CD. While I'm sure I would have no problem playing this in a Sony Playstation, I had all sorts of problems with just about every other optical disc player in my household - my HK changer, Alpine head unit in my car, the internal drives in my macbook or my wife's Dell.... nothing played this disc. I finally dug up an old external Plextor from my basement and it read the disc and I ripped it into the computer.

I came "this close" to just hitting the torrent sites. What would have happened had I not been able to read the disc? Would Amazon (or any retailer I may have purchased it from) return my money? Nope, just another black disc - that's policy. I've gone through this issue before with Copy Protected "CDs" that wouldn't play and it is not productive. The shops have a rule against returning opened discs, so you are stuck with it.

I don't know why I purchase music anymore. It would have been easier to download illegitimately.

The music? Pure Daft Punk. Once you get to it.

There are plenty of reviews for this soundtrack, so I will briefly offer the opinions of a Sci-Fi / Industrial & Classical music fan, with the recommendation that you also read some of the other excellent reviews. Given that TRON: Legacy is about life literally inside the electronic world, how appropriate is it that Amazon offered a digital copy of the CD liner notes with the mp3 album? Normally I like to buy hard copies to get the liner notes of pieces of work that I find myself wanting to listen to in their entirety. Based on the samples (which are excellent) offered here, I knew I liked enough of the tracks that I wanted the entire album. The bonus of getting the CD liner notes in a digital format made my decision easy.

After downloading the album, there were a number of tracks that immediately appealed to me. While I am a fan of industrial music (and classical music as well ... I know, it seems like an odd fit, but it is actually pretty common amongst musicians), I was never into Daft Punk's lighter weight electronic music. They did an amazing job with the Tron: Legacy soundtrack!

I've listed a number of tracks I recommend you sample (the samples are representative of what I like about the tracks). I've also expanded upon what I like about a few of these.

Recommended Tracks:
* Recognizer
* Rinzler
* The Game Has Changed
* Overture
* The Grid
* Outlands
* End of Line
* Arena
* Derezzed

The opening track, overture, has an Aaron Copland feel to it (specifically his Copland: Appalachian Spring; Rodeo; Fanfare for the Common Man). To put this into words, I've always felt that Copland's modern era classic music beautifully invokes an optimistic sense of space and exploration that is easily associated with North America's wide expanses. What an excellent way to begin the soundtrack.

As a fan of industrial music, the concept of using spoken word to begin a song or even throughout is common place. Many artists do this early in their album in order to literally focus the audience and further define the scope of the rest of the album. With that in mind, I liked Jeff Bridge's spoken introduction in the Grid.

The track Rinzler appealed to the "rivet head" (industrial music fan) in me. Though short, it is the perfect loud, fast paced, beat driven character theme and introduction. In less than two minutes it starts off slow and uncertain, but quickly picks up pace to provide an aural definition to Rinzler's intensity and devotion. Without even seeing the film, a listener knows that Rinzler is pivotal to the story. This track continues with the next track, the Game Has Changed, in which the protagonist of the story / soundtrack (Sam) is pitted against the antagonist Rinzler. With the conflict now established, the story and soundtrack can really begin. If you liked these two tracks, I encourage you to listen to some of Bear McCreary's reimaged Battlestar Galactica: Season 3 soundtracks.

Finally, while programmers and fans of the original Tron film should be pleased by the track "End of Line" based on its namesake alone, the track itself also hails back to the style and tempo of the original film. If you liked this track, you might enjoy music from electronic-industrial artists such as Monstrum Sepsis (Movement) or Gridlock (Formless).

Conclusion:
The samples do an excellent job of characterizing the tracks. The soundtrack itself stands alone without having seen the movie (yet). It tells a story (something any good album should do) using a variety of tempos and character based themes. And finally, the digital download was quick and included the complete liner notes (which are naturally visually attractive).

If you are a fan of Daft Punk you may need to temper your expectations a bit. This is not a stand alone DP album. This is a film score. And a brilliant one at that. Hats off to the electronic duo as they have crafted a moving and haunting narrative to TRON: Legacy. This body of work speaks to the amazing and unique talents that Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter possess. Let's hope that they continue to branch out into new artistic avenues.

Tron: Legacy is a very belated sequel to the 1982 science fiction classic Tron, which starred Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner and introduced audiences to what were then state-of-the-art computer graphics in a story about a computer programmer named Flynn who gets sucked into his own software programme and is forced to take part in vicious gladiatorial games by the omnipotent Master Control Program. The sequel, which is directed by Joseph Kosinski, sees Flynn's son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) suffer the same fate as his father, albeit 20 years later, when he receives a mysterious message from his father's old video game arcade and subsequently becomes trapped in the same digital world - which in the intervening years has become bigger, more visually stunning, and much more dangerous. With the help of a beautiful warrior named Quorra, Kevin must traverse this astonishing landscape and find a way home. The film, which stars Olivia Wilde and Michael Sheen and sees both Bridges and Boxleitner reprising their original roles, is Disney's big movie for Christmas 2010, and features an original score by Daft Punk.

For those unfamiliar with their history, Daft Punk is a French electronic music duo comprising composer-musicians Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They first emerged as part of the French house music scene in the early 1990s and became hugely influential and successful, eventually going on to enjoy chart hits such as "Da Funk", "Around the World" and "Harder Better Faster Stronger". Their gimmick is that the pair of them wear stylized crash helmets and futuristic body suits on stage, giving them a sort of detached, other-worldly public persona a little like the Blue Man Group, or what Slipknot used to do in the hard rock scene. Bangalter has previous film music experience, having scored the extremely controversial French film Irréversible as a solo composer in 2002, but this is the first time Daft Punk, as a group, has scored a film.

Following in the footsteps of Wendy Carlos, who scored the original Tron, Daft Punk have expanded their electronic palette to include a 90-piece symphony orchestra recorded in London. The resulting sound is immense. Many readers may be under the impression that I don't like electronic scores, but I can categorically say that this is not the case. I like electronic scores when they have a reason to be electronic, not when synthesizers are simply used to double up or (even worse) imitate on an orchestra. With its overarching themes of the human world being invaded and overtaken by its digital counterpart, Tron: Legacy has a reason to be electronic, and Daft Punk's skilful merging of the two musical palettes is one of the most engaging things about this excellent score.

In terms of the stylistics of the electronic music, there's a little bit of John Carpenter, a little bit of Brad Fiedel, a little bit of Vangelis, and (obviously) a little bit of Wendy Carlos, all mashed together and filtered through Daft Punk's high energy rhythmic sensibility, but with a larger scope and a greater lyricism than any of these other pioneering electronic composers brought to their scores. There are no direct statements of any of Carlos's thematic work on the original Tron, but her fingerprints are everywhere, and I have to say that this is some of the best synth writing I have heard in a film score in years. It becomes even better when it mixes with the large-scale symphonic forces provided by the London orchestra, which humanizes and warms the electronic tones, giving them an emotional center and a great deal of power and gravitas.

Many will inevitably compare this music to that of Hans Zimmer, especially his recent score for Inception (listen to "Recognizer"), but while the orchestral tones are similar in their chord progressions and rhythmic ideas, the electronics have a sophistication way beyond anything anyone from Remote Control has shown to date. The multiplicity of tones, sample types, and nostalgic throwbacks to the synth sounds of the 1980s give the electronic parts of Tron: Legacy a depth and variety almost never heard in scores of this type. Whereas Zimmer and company often limit the scope of their electronic palette, Daft Punk opens theirs up to encompass a massive range.

The opening "Overture" introduces the main theme of the film, a heroic piece which has a vague similarity to Aaron Copland's classic piece Fanfare for the Common Man. "The Grid" features some stirring and dramatic narration by Jeff Bridges (the only cue to do so), which builds to an alien-sounding but wonderfully effective statement of the main theme. In the score's conclusive cues - "C.L.U", "Flynn Lives" and the "Finale" - the theme reaches appropriately epic proportions, while in the "End Titles" cue the theme is accompanied by a modern, driving, defiantly upbeat electronic accompaniment which is simply terrific. There is even room for a conventionally attractive classical love theme, "Adagio for Tron", which features an absolutely gorgeous cello solo, before going on to pick up a bubbling electronic undercurrent during its second half.

The action music is busy and powerful, with thunderous cues like "Rinzler", "The Game Has Changed", "Fall" and "Disc Wars" building layer upon layer of propulsive electronic sound design and booming percussion hits over a bed of churning, endlessly moving string lines. "Outlands" has a terrific Don Davis-style fading brass effect towards the end of the cue, while "Rectifier" has portentous horn blasts and an ominous, I'm-coming-to-get-you string figure which sounds more like something Elliot Goldenthal would write, and has a wonderful, palpable sense of danger. The moments of pure electronica - "The Son of Flynn", "Armory", the Terminator-like "Arena", the groovy "End of Line", the aggressive and highly-charged "Derezzed", the unexpectedly graceful "Solar Sailer" - are fascinating, and often have a mesmerizing dream-like ambience which is astonishingly effective. Some of these cues have the same hypnotic, euphoric aura that 1990s trance music had, which makes perfect sense considering Bangalter and Homem-Christo's respective backgrounds.

Knowing me and my tastes, Tron: Legacy is the last score you would expect me to praise, but there's something about Daft Punk's music here which is immensely engaging and interesting. Maybe it's the sense of freedom and lack of cynicism that composers new to film music always seem to have, being let loose in an exciting new world. Maybe it's their total commitment to the project, and their obvious thrill at being able to incorporate an orchestra into their music for the first time which makes things so appealing. Their electronic sound design is so fresh and lively when compared to the tired old samples we have grown accustomed to hearing over the last few years. And while their orchestral writing is certainly not groundbreaking in any way, it has a pleasing tonality and an appropriately grand scale which makes it very easy to enjoy. It's unlikely to win any awards, but in this case it really doesn't matter: this is one of my favorite scores of the year, and I'm as surprised to be typing that line as I'm sure you are to be reading it.

The film was cut to the music. That should give a hint right there of just how well the music and the film flowed together, and how easily the images accompanying the music in the film pop into your head while listening to this soundtrack. Combining authentic symphonic work with layers of electronic music, the soundtrack to "Tron: Legacy" is an incredible piece of soundtrack artwork that deserves at least an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score.

From the get-go of Jeff Bridges's voice narrating in the track "The Grid" right up through the "End Titles" track, this soundtrack never ceases to amaze. For me, there is not a single track on here I don't care much for, though there are some big standouts, such as "The Game Has Changed", a track that was done so well that listening to it brings back the images of the much-too-short Lightcycle battle of the film. There is "Armory", in which you can practically hear the steps of the Sirens as they rig Sam up for the arena games. And then there is "The Son of Flynn", a track that can only really be described as "felt" rather than "heard". Leitmotifs run rampant here, from the primal rumble of Clu's motif to the notes that show up in the "The Grid", sprinkled throughout such tracks as "Armory", "Flynn Lives", and "Recognizer". They serve to tie the entire work together without overshadowing the tracks themselves.

It is a deep disappointment that the bonus tracks of overseas releases, such as "Encom, Parts I & II" and "Castor" are no included on the physical release, or the Amazon exclusive track "Sea of Simulation". Still, the soundtrack as it is presented here is wonderfully done and well worth the price. Daft Punk has done an amazing job - here's to hoping they will do more soundtrack work in the near future.