Danny Elfman Albums (26)
What The Critics Say
Sean Penn's accurate and award-winning portrayal of Harvey Milk (the first openly gay elected public figure who served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and was assassinated by fellow commissioner Dan White in 1978) in the film Milk, features symphonic soundtrack music composed by Danny Elfman and a handful of popular songs that speak to how people of conscious choice and tolerance need to live together. The pieces Elfman has composed bear a strong resemblance to that of the minimalist music of Philip Glass, at times in melancholy preludes to dramatic circumstance, and eventually victory. A reserved mood is held throughout the film, as if anticipation of these breakthrough events is tempered by the feeling that battle lines are being drawn, and there are huge obstacles to overcome under a hopeful horizon. Elfman's music is at once serene, a bit ominous, foreboding, and marginally triumphant. The popular tunes signify a need to inform, accept, nurture, and encourage. It's interesting to note that the release of this film in 2008 coincided with the controversial 2008 vote on Proposition 8, a statute banning same sex marriage in California that, as of 2009, has been submitted to be overturned. Of the actual soundtrack score by Elfman, you hear the hymnal quality of "Harvey's Theme," the stark romanticism of "The Kiss," the "calm before..." waltz "Vote Passes," the sighing "Weepy Donuts," and requiem toned "Harvey's Last Day." Unmistakable echoes via the music of Glass comes out in the piano/cello waltz "Main Titles," shifting leads from instruments during "Politics Is Theater," baleful "Proposition 6," more dramatic "Gay Rights Now!" and static counterpointed phrases of "The Debates." An electric sounding jig, dour waltz, oom-pah-pah vocal, or flute creeps in, as well as pure symphonic horizons, space music, and the finale "Postscript" buzzing with marimba and vocals more in the Steve Reich style. Included is Sly & the Family Stone's "Everyday People," the perfect inclusive anthem. The Hues Corporation's "Rock the Boat" actually says "don't rock the boat," David Bowie's glam rock icon "Queen Bitch" represents the androgynous side, while the Swingle Singers contribute a vocalized la-la-la counterpoint version of Bach's "Prelude #7 in E Flat." The campy pop piano parlor rag "Hello Hello" by the Sopwith Camel is also included. For those who enjoy contemporary classical orchestra music, and a short stack of retro hits from the psychedelic '60s through the disco '70s, this soundtrack is a diverse backdrop to an important gay rights film that should appeal to many people, no matter your sexual orientation. You may also want to refer to Milk's biography by Randy Shilts, The Mayor of Castro Street. ~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide
'Meet the Robinsons'
Release Date 1/1/2007
Tracks 18
Label EMI UK/Mixed Repertoire
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What The Critics Say
The Walt Disney animated feature Meet the Robinsons, based on William Joyce's book A Day with Wilbur Robinson, about a 12-year-old boy who travels into the future, is not a musical per se, but as this soundtrack album shows, there is plenty of music in it. Danny Elfman composed the score, cues from which take up 29 of the disc's 53 minutes. That score is a typically eclectic Elfman effort, with some of his characteristically sly melodies, a lovely lullaby serving as "The Prologue," some generic adventure music, and some playful, jazzy interludes, notably "Pop Quiz and the Time Machine Montage." The eight songs that bookend the background music are also eclectic, including three tunes written and two performed by Rufus Wainwright, beginning with the Beatlesque "Another Believer," and including a good Rob Thomas number, "Little Wonders"; some neo-traditional jazz by Jamie Cullum, who covers the 1945 hit "Give Me the Simple Life"; and "Kids of the Future," a rewrite of Kim Wilde's 1982 pop/rock hit "Kids in America," performed by Jonas Brothers. The All-American Rejects (not the kind of band name you might expect to see on a Disney project) and They Might Be Giants also turn up. They help make this a more varied effort than that usually heard on a soundtrack for a children's movie. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Rock-musician-turned-film-composer Danny Elfman was commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra to write Serenada Schizophrana, his first piece of classical concert music, and it had its world premiere at Carnegie Hall on February 23, 2005. This recording, produced by Elfman and conducted by John Mauceri, has been made with all the ambition of a big-budget Hollywood film, employing an orchestra of 140 members plus a small choir. In his liner notes, Elfman cites a series of influences, but the two a listener is most likely to be reminded of are Bernard Herrmann and the man Elfman calls "one of my few living influences," Philip Glass. This is because, as is usual in his many film scores, Elfman pay particular attention to radically changing dynamics (Herrmann) and quick, driving tempos (Glass). But the biggest influence on Elfman, as demonstrated here, may not so much be an earlier composer as his day job. He writes that he began composing the work by writing short pieces of "maybe a minute each," developed some of them until he had six separate movements, and then "more or less let the movements take themselves wherever they wanted to go in a kind of musical stream of consciousness...." This turns out to be a reasonable description of the musical results, and another way of putting it would be to say that Elfman as a film composer, particularly of the adventure and fantasy films on which he often works, is accustomed to writing short cues to underline specific dramatic moments onscreen and that, even without that inspiration, he has done much the same thing here. One might have hoped that he would take the opportunity to develop his musical ideas more rather than just stringing a lot of them together and juxtaposing them in ways that sound interesting, but given his experiences of the past 20 years, that might have been too much to expect. As it is, Serenada Schizophrana lives up to its name, and it is not surprising to note that, although not written for the movies, it has already been adapted to them, serving as soundtrack to the IMAX film Deep Sea 3D. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'The Corpse Bride'
Release Date 9/20/2005
Tracks 24
Label Warner Bros.
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What The Critics Say
A study in contrasts, the score to The Corpse Bride, Danny Elfman's second 2005 collaboration with Tim Burton, features some of the composer's gentlest, most restrained pieces as well as some of his vividest ones. Tellingly, most of the pieces that soundtrack the land of the living, including the "Main Titles" and "Victor's Piano Solo," are gray-on-gray pieces inspired by chamber music. Meanwhile, the music of the dead spans the macabre but still vibrant "Remains of the Day" -- which explains how the Corpse Bride came to pass, and makes a refrain like "die, die, we all pass away" sound downright cheerful -- as well as the swooning, spooky romance of "Moon Dance." Indeed, aside from a few slightly scary tracks, The Corpse Bride's music is largely (if darkly) romantic: "Piano Duet" and "Finale" both have an otherworldly sweetness shared by the ruefully witty "Tears to Shed," in which the Corpse Bride's friends (including the maggot that lives in one of her eye sockets) try to convince her that lacking a pulse isn't so important when it comes to true love. The soundtrack's other songs are just as pithy. "According to Plan" neatly outlines the living couple's families and their reasons for marrying -- Victor VanDorts' parents are grasping nouveau riche, while Victoria Everglot's are aristocratic but penniless -- and offers some clever commentary on arranged marriages to boot. "The Wedding Song," meanwhile, recalls the madcap whimsy of The Nightmare Before Christmas, although for two films with similar looks, themes, and creative teams, The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride's scores are remarkably, and admirably different. The soundtrack also includes a suite of bonus tracks by Bonejangles (who is voiced by Elfman) and his Bone Boys, a group of underworld hepcats inspired by Cab Calloway, Django Reinhardt, and hot jazz and swing in general. The "Minnie the Moocher"-esque "Remains of the Day (Combo Lounge Version)" and "Ball & Socket Lounge Music #2," for example, would make a great soundtrack for hipper Halloween and Day of the Dead-themed dinner parties. Equally playful and sophisticated, The Corpse Bride is a delightful score that delivers on all of the expectations of an Elfman/Burton teaming. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'
Release Date 7/12/2005
Tracks 21
Label Warner Home Video
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The soundtrack to Tim Burton's unusually subdued, sentimental Big Fish collects pop songs from the '30s through the '70s as well as longtime collaborator Danny Elfman's score and a new song from Pearl Jam, "Man of the Hour." Though Burton's quirky, eerie aesthetic would normally be at odds with Pearl Jam's earnestness, the two work well together here, with the song touching on the film's warmth and adding a bit of earthiness to its daydreamy nature. The rest of the soundtrack's pop songs play a bit like a miniature version of the Forrest Gump soundtrack, moving from Bing Crosby's early-'30s jazz hit "Dinah" to the '50s nostalgia of Buddy Holly's "Everyday" and Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" to the '60s and '70s recollections of Canned Heat's "Let's Work Together" and the Allman Brothers Band's "Ramblin' Man." Like the film itself, Elfman's score is also on the relatively subdued and sentimental side -- fans of his sprightly, spooky style will only get a chance to hear that aspect of Elfman's music on "Return to Spectre" and the eerily lovely "Jenny's Theme." However, the rest of the score is by no means dull; Elfman takes the film's Southern setting to heart musically as much as Burton does visually, and the fiddles, banjos, guitars, and strings give the score an appropriately, and appealingly, down-home flavor. Surprisingly moving cues like "In the Tub" and "Finale" reaffirm just how integral this score is to the movie. Finally, Bobbi Page and Candice Rumph's "Twice the Love (Siamese Twins' Song)" adds some of the style and whimsy usually associated with Burton and Elfman's collaborations. While Big Fish is a somewhat atypical Burton/Elfman soundtrack, it's still a successful one. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Much like his score for the first film, Danny Elfman's score for Men in Black II mixes the composer's innately twisted melodies and arrangements with allusions to classic spy themes and urban music (as a nod to the film's star, Will Smith). This time around, Elfman's compositions aren't quite as outlandish, serving more as a backdrop to the film's action than a musical commentary on it. Nevertheless, Lalo Schifrin-inspired pieces like "Headquarters," "Hunting for K," "Sleuthing," and "The Chase" convey the story's tension with quirky flair. A strong exotica influence also runs through the score, particularly on "Worm Lounge 1" and "Customs," a femme fatale theme for the evil Serleena that recalls "Martian Lounge," aka the Martian Spy Girl's theme from Mars Attacks! Since Men in Black II is also a love story, the score also features plenty of weirdly pretty, romantic pieces, such as the eerie flute and strings-driven "Heart Thump" and the majestic, bittersweet "The Light." While this is relatively mainstream work from Elfman, some weird twists and turns at the end make it slightly less straightforward than his Spider-Man score: "Titles Revisited," perhaps the score's most Elfman-esque composition, gives the film's title music a strange electronic makeover by setting it to a dance beat and inserting odd vocal and instrumental snippets, and "Worm Lounge 2" sounds like it's straight from an underground cabaret. Fans of the film will also be pleased to hear Frank Black's inimitable cover of "I Will Survive" and Smith's "Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)"; though it's definitely catchy, it's just not as much fun as the original film's "Men in Black." Fortunately, though, the rest of Men in Black II is just as enjoyable as the score to Men in Black. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Befitting the emotional complexities at the heart of director Steven Zaillian's courtroom drama A Civil Action, composer Danny Elfman's soundtrack to the film is his most mature and resonant work to date -- his score evokes the picture's taut narrative with rare subtlety and depth, its serious aspirations never eclipsing the imagination which is the hallmark of all his soundtrack work. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
An entertaining Elfman score (his second for a Pee-Wee Herman project) that culminates in the rousing "Big Top Finale" number, featuring a large portion of the cast. Not Elfman's best-remembered score, but it does have some very bright moments. ~ Steven McDonald, All Music Guide
