I’ve been ambivalent about the new film version of C.S. Lewis’ classic tale on many levels; for one, despite enjoying some of the past attempts that have been, to put it charitably, steeped in cheese, I’m just not sure this is something that can be accurately committed to the big screen. (Oddly enough, I have the same feeling about Dune – I’ve enjoyed various attempts to put it on film, but I’ve also been more than ready to say “okay, enough” at the next attempt.) This big-budget, big-screen, CGI-filled, Disney-backed version looks like it may actually convey the story satisfyingly. And if the soundtrack, released before the movie’s opening, is any indication, we may actually luck out this time.

Harry Gregson-Williams’ score, the main component of the soundtrack release, is gorgeous stuff. From its opening cue, The Blitz, 1940, it’s clear that much of the music will be in a traditional leitmotif mode, but Gregson-Williams still finds plenty of room for originality within that context. “The Blitz, 1940″ cleverly uses rumbling, downward portamentos of brass to accompany the bombing of London, sounding almost like diving airplanes (who needs sound effects?). Things get decidedly more modern with “Evacuating London”, which almost sounds like it’s taking a few Enya-inspired pointers from Titanic in places.

Things settle down a bit until we actually step through the wardrobe, at which point the music conveys a great sense of the fantastic and the epic. There are numerous cues which – at least judging by their track titles – are lush, flowing travelogues, making for a very relaxing listen without quite fading into the blandness of background music. Having completely missed a few guesses in past “heard the music before I saw the movie” soundtrack reviews, I’m not even going to try to guess at how well the music fits the film, but it’s great stuff; out of the entire score, I will admit to having kept “The Blitz, 1940″ and “The Battle” on repeat play quite a bit.

There are four songs included on the tail end of the CD; Alanis Morissette fans will enjoy her track, “Wunderkind”, and I was stunned beyond belief to see Tim Finn turn in a new tune, “Winter Dream” (especially since I’m a fan of his work and hadn’t heard a peep about his participation). (I don’t know who worked the deal to get Tim on this soundtrack or how they did it, but hopefully he benefits from the exposure.) Imogen Heap contributes “Can’t Take It In”, while Lisbeth Scott, the vocalist who can be heard at several points in the score itself, gets a song to herself (“Where”). There’s also a nicely packaged two-disc “special edition” release; the contents of the soundtrack CD are identical, but the package also includes a DVD with interviews with composer Gregson-Williams, concept art galleries and trailers from the movie, and a few other promotional pieces.

All in all, The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe gets a very nice orchestral score with some modern touches (though not overpoweringly modern). If you’re looking for a good film score with a balance between action scenes and more contemplative cues, and something that’s not John Williams (nothing against Mr. Williams, but 2005 at the theater has been jam-packed with his music – Revenge Of The Sith, War Of The Worlds, Munich, Memoirs Of A Geisha…), this will do nicely.

1. The Blitz, 1940 (2:32)
2. Evacuating London (3:38)
3. The Wardrobe (2:54)
4. Lucy Meets Mr. Tumnus (4:10)
5. A Narnia Lullaby (1:12)
6. The White Witch (5:30)
7. From Western Woods To Beaversham (3:34)
8. Father Christmas (3:20)
9. To Aslan’s Camp (3:12)
10. Knighting Peter (3:48)
11. The Stone Table (8:06)
12. The Battle (7:08)
13. Only The Beginning Of The Adventure (5:32)
14. Can’t Take It In performed by Imogen Heap (4:42)
15. Wunderkind performed by Alanis Morissette (5:19)
16. Winter Light performed by Tim Finn (4:13)
17. Where performed by Lisbeth Scott (1:54)

Released by: Walt Disney Records
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 70:44

Bringing back the remixing mastery of Tony Fox NYC, Digital Retro Revolution picks up where Fox’s I Am Humanoid left off – slammin’ beats, video game samples galore, and frequently-hilarious out-of-left-field samples from other sources punctuating the proceedings.

Save The Humanoids goes further afield than the arcade for its source sounds, however, and hits a whole new level of musicality. “Final Fantasy Laguna Battle Remix” is a great example – it’s a simple enough tune from a classic game, but with added layers of rhythms and other elements, it only enhances the original. Similar treatments built around the simple tunes from games such as Galaga, Crazy Climber and Tron are just as effective. Also included are remixed versions of Buckner & Garcia’s 1982 singles “Pac-Man Fever” and “Do The Donkey Kong”. Man, the fun that could’ve been had with “Froggy’s Lament”…

“Adagio For Humanoids” takes things in the opposite direction, taking non-musical sounds and trying to make them musical, building Barber’s “Adagio For Strings” out of game samples. And once again, there’s a dandy hidden track straight out of the brassy, Sound of Philadelphia 70s to close things out.

How much you get out of Save The Humanoids will depend a lot on how much you enjoy hearing these samples, but for those who remember these games by heart, this is your soundtrack.

1. It’s Wacked Man (Ms. Pac-Man Remix) (3:02)
2. BLIP-NOT-TICK (3:12)
3. Adagio For Humanoids (5:01)
4. CentiMillipede (1:38)
5. Save The Humanoids (2:35)
6. Go For It! Crazy Climber Remix (1:45)
7. Triple Punch Bop (2:15)
8. Humanoids & Asteroids (The Buck Out Edit) (3:39)
9. GaLaGaLaXiaN (1:32)
10. Carnival 2005 (2:18)
11. Zelda Vs. The Humanoids (4:05)
12. Humanoid Master (Underground Edit) (2:01)
13. Stop, Judge (Karate Champ Remix) (2:30)
14. Tetris On The Runway (2:47)
15. The Lair Of Tron (2:04)
16. Pac-Man Fever Remix (4:56)
17. Do The Donkey Kong Remix (3:35)
18. Robotron: 2005 (3:00)
19. Star Humanoid (2:56)
20. Final Fantasy Laguna Battle Remix (4:48)
21. Hey Porcupine! (Sonic Remix) (1:55)
22. Ghouls, Ghosts & Goblins (2:01)
23. Knock Him Out! (Hardcore Humanoid Edit) (1:37)
24. Humanoids Reprise (3:04)
25. ? Hidden Track (3:35)

Released by: Digital Press Records
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 72:01

A completely different animal from 2003’s Confidential, Vaporware Soundtracks is the sound of a whole new, completely reloaded 8-Bit Weapon. Rather than remixing classic Commodore 64 game music, 8-Bit Weapon – now consisting of Seth Sternberger and drummer Stacey Superstix – is doing some infectiously catchy original numbers. The odd pairing of “micromusic,” using Commodore computers and a Game Boy Color, with live drumming gives some of this CD’s tracks a fresh surge of power – in fact, I found that on some of the tracks where there were no live drums, the pace almost seems to sag.

Unusual instrumental pairings alone don’t make a good album, though – a bunch of good songress do, and this album definitely has ‘em. Seth does vocoder-processed vocals on “Arcade” and “One Last Mission”, the latter being the jewel of the whole collection. Played frequently on stage at Classic Gaming Expo 2005, “One Last Mission” is a masterful throwback to the sort of dirge-like electro-pop that nobody’s done this well since Gary Numan was still on the map. Its lyrics are also a perfect calling card for 8-Bit Weapon, a story of losing (and trying to redeem) love, described in terms of an epic gaming session. Stacey gets a moment in the spotlight as well, delivering breathless vocals with just a hint of Lene Lovich on the twitchy “Panty Raid”.

The rest of the album is largely instrumental, though again the percussion gives it a certain “oomph” – when it’s there. Some of the instrumentals come entirely out of the computer with no acoustic backup, and while many of them are lively and fast-paced, they just seem to lack the impact of those tracks with real stick work.

The new lineup of 8-Bit Weapon has a lot going for it – a great sound that’s not like anything else I’ve heard recently, and some great songs to go with it. If anything, they might want to concentrate on songs that utilize both of their talents, and, it must be said, they’re at their best when playing live. The moment they can capture that same energy in the studio, 8-Bit Weapon will officially be locked, loaded, and maybe just dangerous enough to take on the mainstream.

1. GameBoy Rocker (2:53)
2. Sk8 Bit (4:03)
3. Arcade (4:13)
4. Bombs Away! (3:26)
5. Panty Raid (3:54)
6. Bit ‘n Run (3:49)
7. Samurai Princess (3:48)
8. Breathe Sleep Dream (3:58)
9. Action Kitty In Space (4:32)
10. Nature Music (2:54)
11. Funk Data (5:41)
12. One Last Mission (6:59)
13. Satellite (2:20)
14. Bit Breaks (demo) (4:21)
15. Sk8 Bit (demo) (3:59)
16. Hidden Track (4:55)

Released by: 8-Bit Weapon
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 65:45

It’s very simple, the premise of this tribute to the music of New Zealand’s premiere pop music exports, Tim and Neil Finn (Split Enz, Crowded House, and respective solo careers and collaborations as the Finn Brothers). The basic idea is this: female or predominantly female acts from Australia and New Zealand reinterpret songs from various stages of the Finns’ careers in their own style. What emerges from that idea is an array of wildly different styles, voices and degrees of fidelity to the source material.

If you’re not from that part of the world, you may not know who virtually all of the performers are (I can relate – prior to this CD, I must confess that I had only heard of Boh Runga and Natalie Imbruglia). But like a lot of “various artists” projects heavy with smaller acts, you’ll probably walk away from the endeavour wanting to sample more of their work. Clare Bowditch’s rendition of “Fall At Your Feet” gets things rolling, and as much as I was faintly disappointed by the fact that the song that gave this album its name wasn’t actually covered, “Fall At Your Feet” serves as a good eye-opener when the unchanged lyric “I’m really close tonight, and I feel myself moving inside her” is sung by a female vocalist. This is an excellent cover too, stripping the song down to basics somewhat and yet retaining so much of its yearning feel.

A few of the covers are almost baffling, but at the same time I admire the reinvention of every single one of them. Renee Geyer transforms “Into Temptation” into a pop song with hip-hop influences, and “Persuasion” and “One Step Ahead” make a successful leap into bubblegum pop territory. Some of the covers don’t stray far from the source material at all – “Won’t Give In”, from the Finn Brothers’ 2004 album, becomes just a little bit country-fried, while the group Little Birdy turns the dense synth textures of “Six Months In A Leaky Boat” into dense guitar textures. “I Hope I Never”, while a bit stripped down from the synth-orchestral arrangement of the 1980 Split Enz version, retains its soaring, wistful vocals thanks to Lisa Miller. “Better Be Home Soon”, which was always written as a ballad reflecting the thoughts of a woman whose significant other is away from home far too often, finally gets to be sung by a woman here.

I’ll admit that I wasn’t crazy about Holly Throsby’s “Not The Girl You Think You Are” remake, but that’s just down to it being not my favorite style of singing; your mileage may vary. “Don’t Dream It’s Over” is a nice cover, but almost strips the song down too much, only to restore it to its full glory by recasting the famous organ solo as a choral piece.

For the most part, the lyrics are left unchanged; a few adjustments are made for gender here and there. I was a little dismayed that “like a Christian fearing vengeance from above” was completely excised from “Distant Sun”; Brooke Fraser’s cover of the song is very nice, but there’s a little voice in my head that says these artists are supposed to be reinterpreting the songs here, not rewriting them. I found this single omission more jarring than any of the more daring stylistic alterations, because it changed what was being said and not how it was being said. (Neil Finn’s recurring “lapsed Catholic” theme is an intriguing thread running through a great many of his songs, and part of the character of his work.) But then maybe I’m being a bit too defensive of the source material there.

There are other ways to drastically change the character of a song, though. Sophie Koh’s reading of the early Enz tune “Charlie” takes the song’s already dark narrative – involving someone waking up from a hangover and realizing that they killed their friend during an argument the night before – and puts a whole different spin on it by making the song fast and fun, leaving the story intact but generating a “crazy chick” vibe that makes it unnerving in a whole new way – as if the person doing the singing isn’t remorseful of what has happened, but is instead blissfully unaware. “Charlie” is almost punk rock in this incarnation, and it may well be the best thing on the CD. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for some of Sophie Koh’s originals. I was surprised by how much I liked Natalie Imbruglia’s take on the Crowded House number “Pineapple Head”, too.

So, the question is…will you enjoy She Will Have Her Way? I give it a strong recommendation – in particular, even though I didn’t get it (mainly because I’ve already got all of the original albums on which these songs appeared), the 2-CD version which allows you to compare the covers with the original recordings. You might find some of the differences jaw-dropping. In any case, these were great songs to begin with – lyrically and musically outstanding works – and they survive even the wildest changes and still emerge as great songs. Whether you’re a Finn fan daring to try out some different takes on your favorites, or someone just now sampling both these artists and the music of Tim and Neil Finn for the first time, this is a solid collection that’ll keep you coming back for more.

1. Fall At Your Feet – Claire Bowditch (3:50)
2. Stuff And Nonsense – Missy Higgins (3:31)
3. I’ll Never Know – Goldenhorse (3:04)
4. Into Temptation – Renee Geyer (4:56)
5. Six Months In A Leaky Boat – Little Birdy (3:53)
6. Better Be Home Soon – Kasey Chambers (3:19)
7. Distant Sun – Brooke Fraser (3:56)
8. Not The Girl You Think You Are – Holly Throsby (3:37)
9. I Hope I Never – Lisa Miller (4:09)
10. Don’t Dream It’s Over – Sarah Blasko (4:42)
11. One Step Ahead – Amiel (3:01)
12. Four Seasons In One Day – New Buffalo (4:00)
13. Won’t Give In – Sara Storer (4:18)
14. Pineapple Head – Natalie Imbruglia (3:23)
15. Persuasion – Stellar* (3:41)
16. Charlie – Sophie Koh (3:47)

Released by: EMI
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 61:07

John Williams’ War Of The Worlds score is the latest in a long line of John Williams / Steven Spielberg collaborations. Whether one of Spielberg’s summer blockbusters (Jaws, E.T., the Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park trilogies, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind) or one of his more dramatic films (Artificial Intelligence: A.I., Minority Report, Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List), Williams’ compositions are an essential component to these films that have added to the emotional impact made by each one of them.

Throughout the War Of The Worlds soundtrack, Williams takes his time building those emotions and delivers a slow ascension of impending disaster in much the same way the film does. Many of the tracks are as suspenseful and heart pounding as scenes from the film itself. You’ll find no catchy themes to whistle the day after here. War Of The Worlds is a horror film, and the soundtrack directly reflects that.

One unique feature of this soundtrack are the opening and closing monologues performed by Morgan Freeman, reprising his role as the narrator from the film. Pure soundtrack fans may find it annoying, but helps set the tone and mood of the story for those who haven’t seen the film.

Overall the soundtrack is eerie and suspenseful, with a bit of terror thrown in for fun. Some of the tracks (“Escape From The Basket”) take over five minutes to develop, building suspense the entire time. Other tracks, like “Escape From The City”, climax quickly and convey the terror and panic from the film’s action scenes.

Unfortunately the soundtrack, whiile technically impressive, isn’t very entertaining to listen to on its own. The lack of repeating themes or memorable catches will keep it off most people’s favorite lists. As a soundtrack it’s great, as a stand alone album it’s only good.

1. Prologue (2:52)
2. The Ferry Scene (5:49)
3. Reaching The Country (3:24)
4. The Intersection Scene (4:12)
5. Ray And Rachel (2:41)
6. Escape From The City (3:49)
7. Probing The Basement (4:12)
8. Refugee Status (3:51)
9. The Attack On The Car (2:44)
10. The Separation Of The Family (2:36)
11. The Confrontation With Ogilvy (4:33)
12. The Return To Boston (4:29)
13. Escape From The Basket (9:24)
14. The Reunion (3:16)
15. Epilogue (3:11)

Released by: Decca
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 61:07