Soundtrack Review: Tron Legacy (2010)

Tron Legacy Soundtrack Review: This is a review of the motion picture score Tron Legacy by Daft Punk.

The balance of the score is in perfect sync between synth and orchestral and the addiction factor is dangerously high"

Many years ago, way back... I saw Tron on TV and the geek that I was swallowed it whole. Wouldn't it be cool to get sucked into a computer game? At the time I was like 8 or something so I never quite got it from a musical perspective. The years went by, technology got better and yet another Tron is upon us. Ok, I admit, the movie interests me, but I expect it to be below average. I have become more critical as the years has come and gone. The 90s came and with the 90s came Daft Punk and I loved them, then they just disappeared. So it was quite a shock and a surprise to me when it was revealed they were doing the score to the new Tron. Expectations were high as I started listening to the score. Can it deliver?

Track List

1. Overture	*****
2. The Grid	*****
3. The Son of Flynn	****
4. Recognizer	*****
5. Armory	****
6. Arena	*****
7. Rinzler	*****
8. The Game has Changed	*****
9. Outlands	*****
10. Adagio for TRON	*****
11. Nocturne	****
12. End of Line	*****
13. Derezzed	*****
14. Fall	*****
15. Solar Sailer	*****
16. Rectifier	****
17. Disc Wars	*****
18. C.L.U.	*****
19. Arrival	*****
20. Flynn Lives	*****
21. TRON Legacy (End Titles)	*****
22. Finale	*****
23. Encom Part I *Special Edition	***
24. Encom Part II *Special Edition	**
25. Round One *Special Edition	****
26. Castor *Special Edition	****
27. Reflections *Special Edition	****
28. Sea Of Simulation *Amazon MP3 Exclusive	*****
29. Father and Son *iTunes Exclusive	*****
30. Outlands, Part II *iTunes Exclusive	*****

There had been a lot of previews of this score, some of them fake, but when Derezzed was released I knew we were in for something special. Even right from the start this score grabs you with the ominous 'Overture' where you get to hear the heroic main theme that sounds just perfect throughout the score.

Orchestral Vs. Synth

One thing that surprised me with this score is how orchestral it really is. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of synth music, but the orchestral music plays a big part. Very few has got the mix and balance between electronic and orchestral music to truly flow through my ears like it was always meant to be there. Daft Punk has mastered it to perfection and as you go through the whole score once, twice, ten times, a story unfolds through the music.

Let me go back to the main theme a bit as it is truly something wonderful. It's so heroic, and when played with orchestral and synth throughout the album you realize how perfect it all fits together. It's like an hour long symphony that you just can't help being addicted to.

Of course since most of the movie is inside a computerized world, a digital world, Daft Punk has made sure to use effects that sometimes make the instruments sound very digital like the drums in the cue 'The Game Has Changed'. Notice how great they sound with the strings? A perfect combination.

Old Daft Punk

The not so computerized 'Adagio For Tron' is a beautiful orchestral track that reminds me a bit of Rob D's 'Clubbed To Death' from The Matrix. The harmonics are just right and it doesn't ruin the mood of the score, but enhances it. I have already mentioned 'Derezzed' but I have to mention it again. What a fantastic track! It's a bit like the old Daft Punk, and it is just as catchy and addictive like their biggest hits 'Da Funk' and 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger'.

Some of the best moments for me are the very zen 'Solar Sailer' that at first sounded a bit repetitive, but I now see the error of my ways. A wonderful track. Then there's 'Arrival' and 'Flynn Lives' that are one track to me as they play the main theme, but it grows into something epic and wonderful. I'm a big fan of music that allows for growth and become bigger and better the further you get into it. When 'Flynn Lives' reaches it's climax, it makes for a perfect moment in film music for me. One of the tracks of the year.

'Tron Legacy (End Titles)' is a superb ending to the score with a distorted electronic track that sounds like it has been back and forth through time, back to the old 8-bit arena. Yet the sound is so modern and wonderful and it is another example of how "old" sounds can be honed to perfection for 2010 and beyond. Of course it doesn't quite end there as 'Finale' has the final say

Tron Legacy Soundtrack Editions

Be warned that there are many editions of the Tron Legacy soundtrack. If you buy the CD from Amazon.com, you get the standard CD with 22 tracks, but if you buy the Special Edition only available on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.ca (as far as I know), you get 5 extra tracks. Then there's Amazon.com MP3 edition where you get an exclusive track called 'Sea of Simulation'. Of course if you buy on iTunes you get 2 exclusive bonus tracks, 'Father and Son' and 'Outlands Part II'. What edition to get? Get them all! But if you have to choose, get the Special Edition, then buy the extra tracks. To tell you the truth though, the Special Edition tracks are nothing special so this is for completionists only! the iTunes and Amazon exclusives are great though (specially the iTunes exclusives)

Finally... chuffed to see this in the credits: Orchestration Consultant: Bruce Broughton! And also more curiously: Daft Punk would like to thank:Â Brian Loucks, Hans Zimmer, John Powell, Harry Gregson-Williams and Christophe Beck for their generosity. For what I wonder?

Conclusion

Yes, Daft Punk has gotten some ideas from Hans Zimmer and Inception, that much is clear, but I would not expect Zimmer to create something like this. It is what it is and it suits Daft Punk and the movie. The Tron: Legacy soundtrack is for me what Blade Runner was when I first heard this. It is, despite some Inception-vibes, astoundingly original and creative. The balance of the score is in perfect sync between synth and orchestral and the addiction factor is dangerously high. The more I listen to it, the more I love it and it is without a doubt a contender for the score of the year for me.