The Jungle Book
John Debney
" John Debney unleashes necessities "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Disney knew exactly what they were doing when they announced they would bring the legendary animations to life. Because after Maleficent and Cinderella they are planning to rock this summer with Tarzan and The Jungle Book. And luckily director Jon Favreau made it perfectly clear he wanted none other than John Debney for The Jungle Book. Question is, would he deliver the right sound about the good life?
The Disney fanfare immediately morphs into various sounds. First the George Burns jungle music for reminding us this is Debney taking special care of the Jungle Book memory. But that changes too once the real action commences, leading us into action / suspense territory with little melody but lots of pounding energy instead. It will become more or less the Debney manner to present his action music.
But when themes are taking center stage, better pay attention. Because there are several to remember. The wonderful John Barry esque theme basically stands for the Jungle, Mowgli, his family, the PACK and it will be titled here as the main theme. And it's lovely when it appears. A calmer lovelier variation turns up in "Water Truce", leaving out the Shere Khan introduction and possible theme too. "Mowli's Leaving / Elephant Theme" has a small variation again of the John Barry magic, followed by a wonderful moment of elephant pride (Favreau ever so slightly hints towards the original Jungle Book film here). And no hints are required when Kaa gets us hypnotized in "Kaa / Baloo to the Rescue", receiving a powerful version of the Kaa melody that needs no further explanation. I love how it briefly states Mowgli's theme while Kaa's melody is holding a tight grip on him. Meaning in terms of homage, Favreau and Debney leave nothing to chance. Kaa's theme returns when Mowgli grabs "The Red Flower".
The themes are somewhat the mold that holds it all together. It is a joy to experience such a lovely sincere melody like the main theme in "The Man Village", all the while the first of 2 statements of the "Bare Necessities" song is heard in "Mowgli and the Pit". The second one "Mowgli Wins the Race" is my favorite.
Though the action music lacks above all melody, it excels in power, energy and rhythm. Jeezus, it is a joy to experience the thunder of "Shere Khan / Stampede" loud. Same for "Monkeys Kidnap Mowgli" and "Cold Lair Chase" (which has a cool thing too, namely various action statements of King Louie's song theme). The Mogli main theme now becomes the pack theme in "Shere Khan's War Theme" when rhythm and energy meet up with a more (subdued) heroic main theme version. All in all, it's the power of these cues that gets me all exited, not the melody. Sadly "Shere Khan and the Fire" is somewhat of a letdown. Luckily the noble Elephant and Mowgli's theme join forces in the wonderful track "Elephant Waterfall". It's a majestic finale, showing the true power of filmmusic when themes become the dominant force of the score, only to be surpassed by the brief but utterly spine tingling version of 'Bear Necessities' in "Mowgli Wins the Race".
The Jungle Book works because of its power and its attention to detail. Even in the tiniest moments, Debney brings forward small but detailed theme variations of all the known songs, when one known enemy after another interrupt Mowgli's way of life. It are the small but excellent versions of the 3 songs that get interwoven with one incredible Barry esque theme and a small but noble Elephant one. Somehow I wasn't able to hear Shere Khan's theme in it, but then again some of those moments are not even presented on the album, something a complete edition will probably fix somewhere in the near future. Again, in the action, Debney's music lacks excellence. What would it have been if he could have brought Cutthroat Island melody to that action rhythm? Yet, the album overall excels because it's a strong musical album and a thematic ode to The Jungle Book that many people grew up with. A strong score, but not a classic.
Track Listing
1. The Bare Necessities: Dr. John and The Nite Trippers (3.36)
2. Trust in Me: Scarlett Johansson (2.56)
3. Main Titles (Jungle run) (2.27)
4. Wolves / Law of the Jungle (2.16)
5. Water Truce (3.40)
6. The Rains Return (1.46)
7. Mowgli's Leaving / Elephant Theme (3.28) Excellent track
8. Shere Khan Attacks / Stampede (2.06)
9. Kaa / Baloo to the Rescue (5.21)
10. Honeycomb Climb (3.31)
11. The Man Village (2.59)
12. Mowgli and the Pit (3.26) Excellent track
13. Monkeys Kidnap Mowgli (1.52)
14. Arrival at King Louie's Temple (4.35)
15. Cold Lair Chase (4.03)
16. The Red Flower (3.16)
17. To the River (3.04)
18. Shere Khan's War Theme (2.37) Excellent track
19. Shere Khan and the Fire (4.52)
20. Elephant Waterfall (3.28) Excellent track
21. Mowgli Wins the Race (0.41) Excellent track
22. The Jungle Book Closes (2.15) Excellent track
23. I Wan'na Be Like You: Christopher Walken (3.02)
24. The Bare Necessities: Bill Murray & Kermit Ruffins (3.01)
Total Length: 74.18
The Disney fanfare immediately morphs into various sounds. First the George Burns jungle music for reminding us this is Debney taking special care of the Jungle Book memory. But that changes too once the real action commences, leading us into action / suspense territory with little melody but lots of pounding energy instead. It will become more or less the Debney manner to present his action music.
But when themes are taking center stage, better pay attention. Because there are several to remember. The wonderful John Barry esque theme basically stands for the Jungle, Mowgli, his family, the PACK and it will be titled here as the main theme. And it's lovely when it appears. A calmer lovelier variation turns up in "Water Truce", leaving out the Shere Khan introduction and possible theme too. "Mowli's Leaving / Elephant Theme" has a small variation again of the John Barry magic, followed by a wonderful moment of elephant pride (Favreau ever so slightly hints towards the original Jungle Book film here). And no hints are required when Kaa gets us hypnotized in "Kaa / Baloo to the Rescue", receiving a powerful version of the Kaa melody that needs no further explanation. I love how it briefly states Mowgli's theme while Kaa's melody is holding a tight grip on him. Meaning in terms of homage, Favreau and Debney leave nothing to chance. Kaa's theme returns when Mowgli grabs "The Red Flower".
The themes are somewhat the mold that holds it all together. It is a joy to experience such a lovely sincere melody like the main theme in "The Man Village", all the while the first of 2 statements of the "Bare Necessities" song is heard in "Mowgli and the Pit". The second one "Mowgli Wins the Race" is my favorite.
Though the action music lacks above all melody, it excels in power, energy and rhythm. Jeezus, it is a joy to experience the thunder of "Shere Khan / Stampede" loud. Same for "Monkeys Kidnap Mowgli" and "Cold Lair Chase" (which has a cool thing too, namely various action statements of King Louie's song theme). The Mogli main theme now becomes the pack theme in "Shere Khan's War Theme" when rhythm and energy meet up with a more (subdued) heroic main theme version. All in all, it's the power of these cues that gets me all exited, not the melody. Sadly "Shere Khan and the Fire" is somewhat of a letdown. Luckily the noble Elephant and Mowgli's theme join forces in the wonderful track "Elephant Waterfall". It's a majestic finale, showing the true power of filmmusic when themes become the dominant force of the score, only to be surpassed by the brief but utterly spine tingling version of 'Bear Necessities' in "Mowgli Wins the Race".
The Jungle Book works because of its power and its attention to detail. Even in the tiniest moments, Debney brings forward small but detailed theme variations of all the known songs, when one known enemy after another interrupt Mowgli's way of life. It are the small but excellent versions of the 3 songs that get interwoven with one incredible Barry esque theme and a small but noble Elephant one. Somehow I wasn't able to hear Shere Khan's theme in it, but then again some of those moments are not even presented on the album, something a complete edition will probably fix somewhere in the near future. Again, in the action, Debney's music lacks excellence. What would it have been if he could have brought Cutthroat Island melody to that action rhythm? Yet, the album overall excels because it's a strong musical album and a thematic ode to The Jungle Book that many people grew up with. A strong score, but not a classic.
Track Listing
1. The Bare Necessities: Dr. John and The Nite Trippers (3.36)
2. Trust in Me: Scarlett Johansson (2.56)
3. Main Titles (Jungle run) (2.27)
4. Wolves / Law of the Jungle (2.16)
5. Water Truce (3.40)
6. The Rains Return (1.46)
7. Mowgli's Leaving / Elephant Theme (3.28) Excellent track
8. Shere Khan Attacks / Stampede (2.06)
9. Kaa / Baloo to the Rescue (5.21)
10. Honeycomb Climb (3.31)
11. The Man Village (2.59)
12. Mowgli and the Pit (3.26) Excellent track
13. Monkeys Kidnap Mowgli (1.52)
14. Arrival at King Louie's Temple (4.35)
15. Cold Lair Chase (4.03)
16. The Red Flower (3.16)
17. To the River (3.04)
18. Shere Khan's War Theme (2.37) Excellent track
19. Shere Khan and the Fire (4.52)
20. Elephant Waterfall (3.28) Excellent track
21. Mowgli Wins the Race (0.41) Excellent track
22. The Jungle Book Closes (2.15) Excellent track
23. I Wan'na Be Like You: Christopher Walken (3.02)
24. The Bare Necessities: Bill Murray & Kermit Ruffins (3.01)
Total Length: 74.18