Pirates Of The Caribbean Soundtrack CD

Original score composed by Klaus Badelt.
Composer: Glen Lajeski.
Personnel: Heitor Teixeira Pereira (guitar); Martin Tillman (cello); Fred Selden (flute); Emil Richards (percussion).
Audio Mixers: Salmm "Scallywag" Andrew; Alan Meyerson.
The soundtrack for Pirates of the Caribbean was originally composed by Alan Silvestri, who left the project prior to the film's release. Credited to Klaus Badelt, a protégé of Hans Zimmer, it was hastily assembled at the last minute, resulting in a paint-by-numbers exercise in big studio fluff that required the work of several unnamed composers. Badelt and his mysterious co-conspirators have created a schizophrenic pastiche of Hollywood excess -- much like the film itself -- disguised as a traditional score. The swashbuckling is propelled by an instantly unmemorable -- albeit rousing -- motif that contains bits of every action score in existence. "Fog Bound" starts off with a sprightly Celtic flair before dissolving into a generic Jerry Bruckheimer wash of keyboard strings and synthetic flute patches. This is the case for much of the record, resulting in inspired flashes of creativity here and there. ~ James Christopher Monger
An adventure movie in the grand old style, albeit a modern one featuring the quirky talents of Johnny Depp, the 2003 film PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN seems tailor-made for a good old-fashioned orchestral film score. Fortunately, that's just what composer Klaus Badelt gives it. You'll find no pop-group promotional tie-ins here, just plenty of evocative mood music that captures the drama and panoramic vistas of this summer blockbuster.