"The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe "
Score Composed by Harry Gregson-Williams
MP3 Audio Clips: The Blitz, 1940 | Only the Beginning of the Adventure

It's holiday time, and that means Hollywood is delivering its final assault of the year at the box office with some pretty noteworthy pictures. Amongst the cream of such a crop is "Narnia", a fantasy adventure that offers music from Harry Gregson-Williams.

Gregson-Williams is perhaps a few paces ahead of his former collaborator, John Powell, at this point of his career. His music seems to be more completely developed than that of Powell's, and offers a bit more refined orchestral polish. Personally, I like both of them (depending on the movies they score), and with "Narnia", Gregson-Williams is given a silver platter upon which to score to.

I can summarize Gregson-Williams' efforts here by saying the music is very friendly and easy to listen to. It's a spectrum that offers a substantial main theme that is melodic and heroic, a fantasy underscore that is at times magical, and innocent, youthful sounding passages of music that convey warmth.

The soundtrack is stacked up with 13 tracks before making way to 4 commercial songs that round out the disc. Gregson-Williams does well in composing music that is at its best when it's sequential, and makes the most of these 13 tracks that he is given.

Specifically, the main theme that I mentioned earlier is only fully realized at the tail end of the score, but that is how it works best. The music progresses to a point in which the climax is really that, leaving the listener with an experience that is memorable and impactful. Better yet, Gregson-Williams builds a bridge to potential sequels with the way the music is developed. This heroic theme that he leaves you with can be expanded to much more depth in future installments.

And you know what? That's just how it should be. Too many times we are pounded with repetitive, large works of music that tries too hard. Some composers will force epic down your throat, while others would get too keen with electronic backings of a synthesized orchestra and really show you a hell of a time! This is not the case here.

Showing a restraint that made "Kingdom of Heaven" so effective, Gregson-Williams resisted the urge to lambaste the listener with an over the top score and instead delivers a personal score with all the trimmings of an epic.

Final Score: A stellar effort that delivers on many levels, "Narnia" is a soundtrack that lays a foundation for adventures yet to come.

MP3 Audio Clips: The Blitz, 1940 | Only the Beginning of the Adventure