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Review of Lethal Weapon Soundtrack Collection

L3 Cover

Once again the Lethal 3 part of the set has the second disc being the original album. I wasn’t even sure that the soundtrack had even been released until now. What I remember most about the beginning of Lethal Weapon 3 is the song by Sting and Eric Clapton “It’s Probably Me”. After that Kamen rises to an even high standard with the big action moments in the music here. Sure there are the subtle slow tones we’ve heard in the previous two films, but here the action is ramped up past eleven! The Armoured Car Chase track is just an example of what I’m talking about. Michael Kamen  is a freakin’ genius when it comes to composing for this four film story! He even puts a slight spin on the Leo Getz track for this, sure in the beginning it’s the classic bada bum bum… track, but then it goes into all kinds of crazy notes. What I find interesting is the music for a character like Leo is nothing like his character at all. Leo Getz is LOUD, boisterous, and obnoxious at times. This means that his music HAS to be something completely different from his personality. Which Kamen delivers with track five on Disc 1. As the music progresses sure it has moments where you hear the over the top way Leo acts, but then it offers something more subtle. Track ten on disc 1 is “Jack Kills Billy” …. “Hi Billy, bye Billy.” This track just shows us how ruthless the character of Jack Travis really is. The fact that he as a “former” cop in the same precinct that Riggs and Rog are in, can just walk in past all check pints and kill Billy with a silencer shows us how truly evil he is. The scoring for the music here reflects that.

Track fifteen “Man’s Best Friend/Lorna’s First Fight. Sgt Lorna Cole can kick major ass!!! The upbeat tempos and horns along with massive guitar riffs make track fifteen very epic! then the very next track is the “Scars/Love Scene” track throughout we have seen the growing sexual tension between Riggs and Lorna, and here it all comes full circle. Because the score here is for the scene where they are showing their scars to each other. The music is very touching, and kinda shows that love at first gunfight might be a good thing. OK maybe not, but you get the point.

Track twenty five “Fire/Fire Battle/A Quiet Evening by the Fire” is the climax scenes in Lethal Weapon 3, and Kamen does it again with making the score match the epicness of the film. By the end of the film we see Jack Travis at his wits end, and he’ll do anything to win. The music with its ramped up tones reflects this. The three best things about the second disc are the first three tracks. Sting and Eric Clapton on “It’s Probably Me” Elton John and Eric Clapton on “Runaway Train” and “Grab the Cat” this third track on disc 2 is from the opening bomb cutting wires scene!

Overall the Lethal Weapon 3 discs are great, just as the previous scores. I’d say that this would be one score I could listen to over and over. The reason being is that it mixes the comedy and serious moments. I’d almost say better than the first two film scores. Because even though at the heart of this film it’s serious, there’s wayyy more comedy. That to me is a good thing.

L4 Cover

The Lethal Weapon 4 2 disc set had NEVER been released before. So this is a treat that we are getting it now. We start this one off by hearing the mischievous scene where Riggs makes Rog take his pants off. The first three tracks add up to about eleven minutes, and boy are they a fast eleven minutes! Track three on disc 1 is “Frieghter” this is from the scene where Riggs uses his laser sight to kill almost every one of the bad guys. This music is why action scenes are so great in the Lethal Franchise! Michael Kamen and his team out do themselves yet again! Then in track four “The Payoff” we hear even more awesomeness, with a number of subtle cues. In track five “Slaves” you can feel the emotion more than anything else. It also has that classic Roger Murtaugh theme which is nice at the end of the track. In track eight “Marriage Talk” we have Riggs and Lorna getting serious, so then the music gets serious. There are also a few funny parts in there. This is mostly when Riggs is trying to be funny. Track twelve “Drive to Uncle Benny’s/ Leo Gets Arrested” is simple a marvel, because Kamen works in some great comical tones. Meanwhile track thirteen has the true villain theme in “Uncle Benny’s Restaurant” This was the part of the movie where Riggs and Rog met up with the true villain of the film Ku. The next track is “Chinatown Chase” what I love about the Lethal 4 soundtrack is that for the most part disc one follows us all the way through the film’s events. In track eighteen “Locker Room” we hear that Riggs has finally caught up to Rog, when he says “I’m gettin’ too old for this shit” This track is yet another example of how Michael Kamen composes music that fits a scene so well.

The combination of horns and the harmonica in track eighteen was just awe inspiring. Tracks twenty and twenty one close out disc 1, they are “House Fight” and “Ku Attacks” Both of these tracks are high octane action packed scores, with a little bit of emotion at the ending. Then as you put disc 2 is you get “Freeway Chase” and “Riggs on a Table” This partr of the film is one of my favorite parts of any movie ever. I’ve always liked car chases in movies, and Riggs in a car chase makes it ten times better! There have been always times when I’m watching movies that I wish I could go back, and listen to part of the score again. While the movie is playing sure you can rewind and attempyt to hear it, but with the acting, sound effects, and all that jazz it’s hard. These first two tracks on disc 2 were like that for me. Now with having the soundtrack collection I can hear them clearly, and enjoy the bombastic music all over again. Track 29 overall is the “Underwater Fight” this track has some amazing symbols work in it, really love the different notes you can hear in this scene with all the action going on.

The final tracks that pertain to the film, “Cemetery” and “Hospital/Babies” Show the evolution of Riggs and Rog. Riggs wants to move on with Lorna, and Rog just wants to be happy. This second disc also has three bonus tracks kind of. Two of the additional tracks are alternates of the Butters’ Intro and the Chinatown Chase. It’s really nice when soundtrack producers put alternate takes on the albums, because you get to hear a different feeling from that same scene.

Lethal Out of the Box #2

WOW just over SEVEN HOURS of music! The Lethal Weapon soundtrack collection is PERFECT for anyone who is a fan of the film franchise. For those that have seen the four films over and over, it’s a journey through music that will have you envisioning the scenes that the tracks come from. This 8 disc boxset was produced by Neil S. Bulk and MV Gerhard, and boy did they do an amazing job putting this thing together! Each 2 disc set is in its own jewel case, and there is the 40 page booklet, plus the credits in each of the jewel case booklets. Each of the 8 discs are designed with characters from the film. Discs 1-2 have Riggs and Roger, Disc 3 has both of them on it, Disc 4 has Rika, Discs 5-6 have Leo and Lorna, and Discs 7-8 have Butters and Ku on them. Very nice way to use disc art.

So the question is SHOULD you get this set? YES, although most people might balk at the price tag of nearly $120.00… trust me it’s well worth it. I gotta give this entire set FIVE STARS because it truly is perfect!

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO MATT and the LA LA LAND RECORDS team for all the hard work they do in bringing us awesome soundtracks every year. 2013 has been an awesome year for soundtracks and scores from this great company. I’m glad they entrust me to write reviews for them, and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for 2014!

You can get this awesome score from LA LA Land Records directly! You can also find the entire track listing there!

Lethal #1

Final Rating:

RATINGS - 5.0 STAR

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TFG1Mike

TFG1Mike is a geek with many interests. He has been podcasting for over a decade, and sees no stopping point in sight. From Transformers, He-Man, Batman, Comics, movies, video games, cartoons, and so much more, Mike has a zeal for the things he loves, and he will bring the hammer down on the things that he has a disdain for. He's generally a postive person, but negativity can creep in there. Mike is all about the innuendos and innuendon'ts too. You'll hear him on many of The GCRN podcasts!

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