Alexander
Reviewed by Jonathan Shearon
December 21, 2004

Vangelis is simply one of those “love ‘em or hate ‘em” composers. There doesn’t seem to be much middle ground between these two extremes for film score fans. In his 30+ year career in film composition, Vangelis’ style has changed little – he favors simple, broad melodies, mostly electronic instruments and a new-agey ambience that seems to be the root of many fans disdain for his work. If you’ve heard his scores for Chariots of Fire, Blade Runner or 1492: Conquest of Paradise (the latter in particular) you will have a good idea of what Alexander sounds like.

Vangelis is really at his best when composing big sweeping themes on top of lush atmospheric palettes, and he gets plenty of room for that here – who better to inspire grand heroic music than perhaps the most written-about military conqueror in history. Though by all accounts Oliver Stone’s film was a cinematic mess so bad that it borders on camp, you would never know it from tracks like “Introduction” and “Young Alexander”, which are strongly reminiscent of the “spinner” music from Blade Runner, and “Titans” which provides the film’s bold main theme via a combination of male chorus and horns. Equally effective are quieter moments such as the closing cue “Tender Memories”, whose lyrical folk-like melody is the perfect unexpected finale for such a bold, brassy affair.

What doesn’t work very well in Alexander are the moments when Vangelis is required to write action music. Tracks like “The Charge” and “Preparation” are downright headache-inducing, mostly because of the repetitive and boring rhythm writing. This entire section of the score is evidence that the composer simply lacks the chops of more studied composers when he is forced to veer too far from his forte. Also, one minor technical quibble with the album here: Many of the tracks on the last half of the CD flow into each other, as if they were originally designed to be a suite. Why not simply combine these tracks rather than separate them? This strange decision chops up the album a little more than necessary.

Alexander certainly won’t convince any Vangelis detractors to change their minds about his music. Likewise, fans will get a healthy dose of exactly what they’ve come to expect from the composer. Any qualms purists may have with the anachronisms of a historical synthesizer score seem moot to me – one of the things I like about Vangelis’ music is its ability to seem at home in a futuristic detective film or a 4th century biopic. Whether or not it is good film music is also irrelevant, since the film is obviously an overcooked turkey. What we are left with is an entertaining and ambitious album that is both an easy listen and a composition worthy of its outsized subject.

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