A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

Oliver Stone's Alexander has met with what could politely be described as a "mixed" reaction from critics and audiences, though in truth the only mixed thing is the degree of dislike.  One can't help but wonder what contribution the stunt casting of Vangelis in the role of composer had on this reaction.  He is certainly Greek, but whether that is truly enough to qualify him to score an historical epic about a Greek is debatable.  He never seemed like the sort of composer who might be ideal for this type of film, and his music for 1492 directed by Ridley Scott (the most unsavvy of the major directors when it comes to music) was full of pretty melodies, but also pretty extraordinarily laughable as accompaniment to the film.

And so it goes with Alexander.  It's never been in doubt that he can throw up a chart-topping, anthemic piece at the drop of a hat, but what has certainly been in doubt is his relevance as a film composer, which made the enormous hype concerning his appointment to the film all the more surprising.  As a film score with any dramatic merit whatsoever, Alexander is nothing short of a joke, and a somewhat offensive one to those genuine film composers who would sweat blood to work on a film like this, but never get the chance, and of course their fans.

Yet - however much I try to dislike the album because of that - I find that I cannot.  Vangelis pulls out every imaginable cliché, but somehow the album features a not inconsiderable amount of highly-entertaining music - similar to the situation with Gladiator, I suppose, but taken even further to the extreme.  The first "big theme" comes in "Titans".  It's ridiculously simplistic in construction, extremely similar to 1492, but it really is so enjoyable that it's virtually impossible to dislike.  In amongst the various synths comes what sounds like a small orchestra, conducted by Nic Raine, who also orchestrated, and the score is at its best when at its most orchestral.  Choir also enters proceedings every once in a while to add the much-needed epic touch (though it doesn't particularly succeed).  

The "romantic" music (what little of it there is) is quite unbelievably cheesy but (you may spot a theme emerging here) still most entertaining.  "Roxane's Veil" features some 80s-style synth percussion (though it would probably have sounded somewhat dated even during the 80s) and an electric violin solo by Vanessa-Mae - you can picture the eyes of the Sony Classical executives lighting up when they heard about this.  It's a really attractive piece of music, though it does end with an incredibly silly-sounding synth that might just be a sampled dog's howl.  There is some action music here and there, and this works well enough, though it is far too simplistic to be entirely satisfying.  "The Drums of Gaugamela" and "The Charge" are perhaps the highlights, and it is here that the score comes closest to sounding like a proper film score - but never too close.  Elsewhere, the stirring "Across the Mountains" is probably the album's standout track, and the finale is attractive as well.

I appreciate the paradoxical nature of the things I've said above - first I hate it, then I love it, then I hate it again, and so on - but it's tricky to have any other kind of reaction.  It would take a brave man (or woman) to posit this as good film music, but if you're into easy listening instrumental music then you won't find a better album this year.  If, like most people, you're somewhere in between the two then you will probably spend some of the time listening to the album laughing out loud at how truly banal it is, and other times really quite enjoying it without wanting to admit it to anybody.  Sadly I have put my reputation on the line by admitting it myself, but fortunately my reputation was so poor anyway that it's difficult to know what further damage could be done.  Oliver Stone was very silly to hire Vangelis for Alexander, but it's a cheesy, breezy album all the same, and is good fun.

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Tracks

1. Introduction (1:32)
2. Young Alexander (1:36)
3. Titans (3:59)
4. The Drums of Gaugamela (5:20)
5. One Morning at Pella (2:11)
6. Roxane's Dance (3:25)
7. Eastern Path (2:58)
8. Gardens of Delight (5:24)
9. Roxane's Veil (4:40)
10. Bagoas's Dance (2:29)
11. The Charge (1:41)
12. Preparation (1:42)
13. Across the Mountains (4:12)
14. Chant (1:38)
15. Immortality (3:18)
16. Dream of Babylon (2:41)
17. Eternal Alexander (4:37)
18. Tender Memories (2:59)