Elektra Soundtrack CD

Composer: Christophe Beck.
Personnel: JoAnn Turovsky, Marcia Dickstein (harp); Eun Mee Ahn, Lorenz Gamma, Al Hershberger, Miran Kojian, Irina Voloshina, Anatoly Rosinsky, Katia Popov, Tamara L. Hatwan, Robin Olson, Mark Sazer, Aimee Kreston, Ana Landauer, Ken Yerke, Jeanne Skrocki Evans, Songa Lee Kitto, Julia Ann Gigante, Rene Mandel, Sungil Lee, Eric J. Hosler, Tiffany Hu, Franklyn d'Antonio, Jay Rosen, Joel Derouin, Kevin Connolly, Lisa Sutton, Richard Altenbach, Jacqueline Brand, Roberto Cani, Bruce Dukov, Clayton Haslop, Phillipe Levy, Sara Parkins, Sarah Thornblade, Shalini Vijayan, Roger Wilkie, Darius Campo, Liane Mautner, Dimitrie Leivici, Miwako Watanabe, Rafael Rishik, Mario Diaz de Leon, Endre Granat (violin); Matt Funes, Marlo Fisher, Shawn Mann, Kathryn Reddish, Karen Van Sant, Rick Gerding, Robert Becker, Brian Dembow, Keith Greene, Simon Oswell, David F. Walther, Evan Wilson, Victoria Miskolszy, Thomas Dienner, Darrin McCann, Shanti Randall (viola); Mathew Cooker, Trevor Handy, Timothy Landauer, Dennis Karmazyn, Anthony Cooke, Kevan Torfeh, Paul Cohen , Douglas Davis , Stephen Erdody, Armen Ksadjikian, Dane Little, David Low , Andrew Shulman, David Speltz, Sebastian Toettcher, Cecilia Tsan, Steve Richards , Todd Hemmenway, Christine Ermacoff (cello); Heath Clark, Jim Walker , Steve Kujala, Geri Rotella, David Shostac (flute); Steven Roberts, Ralph Williams , Emily Bernstein, Gary Bovyer, James Kanter (clarinet); Chris Bleth, Barbara Northcutt, Phil Ayling (oboe); Michael O'Donovan, Kenneth E. Munday (bassoon); Malcolm McNabb, Jon Lewis , Warren Luening, David Washburn (trumpet); Andrew Thomas Malloy, Alan Kaplan, William Booth, Alexander Iles, Charles Loper, William Reichenbach (trombone); Phillip Edward Yao, John A. Reynolds, David Duke, Yvonne S. Moriarty, Richard Todd, Steve Becknell, Kurt Snyder, Brian O'Connor, Jim Thatcher (horns); Michael Lang (keyboards); Alan Estes, Dan Greco, Gregory Goodall, Michael Fisher, Peter Limonick, Wade Culbreath, Brian Kilgore, Donald Williams, Vinnie Colaiuta (percussion); Mark Kilian, Bryan Carrigan (programming, sampler).
Audio Mixer: Casey Stone.
Recording information: The Newman Stage, Twentieth Century Fox.
Composer Christopher Beck (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) expands on his small-screen sound with the big-budget Jennifer Garner action film Elektra. Beck capably fuses Asian-inspired percussion, atmospheric programming and tense keyboard motifs into a serviceable score that is as effortless as it is forgettable. Emotional moments are carried by the usual low sustained note with soft piano, and action sequences are appropriately choppy and tense with the occasional slide into goth rock territory -- much like Underworld or X-Files soundtracks. Fans of video game music will find Elektra familiar and well-executed, but the overall atmosphere is lost without any kind of visual accompaniment, resulting in an experience that, when left to its own devices, goes in one ear and out the other. ~ James Christopher Monger