Enter a zip code
CD
Directed by Gore Verbinski (The Ring, The Mexican), Pirates of the Caribbean -- The Curse of The Black Pearl parlays the action and romance of Disney's theme park attraction to the big screen, with a touch of the supernatural thrown in for good measure. Composers Klaus Badelt (The Recruit) and Hans Zimmer (The Lion King), who have collaborated on the scores for Gladiator and Hannibal, join forces once again on Pirates, with the Academy Awardwinning Zimmer serving as producer. The disc opens with a few bars of a deceptively merry melody played on a solo cello. Then, like a sudden plunge into the deep, pulsating horns and violins usher in a darker passage. "The Medallion Calls" follows, again with a brief, romantic orchestral introduction to what becomes a sweeping section with a wordless male chorus, brass, and taut strings conveying a sense of adventure and excitement that reaches an ominous climax. It's a melody that recurs throughout the score, with each variation signalling dark and dangerous doings. In a final burst of fireworks, "He's a Pirate" serves as an orchestral coda to this rousing salute to those tales of derring-do that can, at least in dreams, make pirates of us all. Andrew Velez, Barnes & Noble