ROBOCOP: PRIME DIRECTIVES

NORMAN ORENSTEIN

Rating:

Original Review: Preconceptions are funny things, especially in film music. When Robocop: Prime Directives dropped through my door, with the name Norman Orenstein adorning the package, my first instinct was to dismiss it as cheesy TV music. Without wanting to sound unkind, Canadian composer Norman Orenstein's career to date has hardly been stellar. A series of cut-price straight-to-video classics such as Ski School II, Mask of Death and The First 91/2 Weeks have been the highlights of his film music career so far - until Robocop Prime Directives came along. Working with a comparatively small budget, and out of his personal studio in Toronto, Orenstein emerged with a surprisingly vibrant, large-scale, enjoyable series of cues which mix electronics with sampled acoustics and a smattering of live instruments. It's a world away from the classic march Basil Poledouris wrote for the film series, but as TV music goes this is as solid a score as you would expect.

When Paul Verhoeven first unleashed Robocop unto an unsuspecting public in 1987, a sea change in the way science fiction was viewed took place. Away from all the gun-fights, twisted metal and bone-crunching action, Robocop was a damning indictment of the corporate America of its time, when controlling budgets took precedence over controlling crime. By the time the third movie vanished into thin air, the series seemed dead and buried. But this album of music is taken from the four new TV movies which pick up the series where the third cinematic outing left off. The movies - "Dark Justice", "Meltdown", "Resurrection" and "Crash & Burn" - are covered collectively by the banner of "Prime Directives", cast Page Fletcher in the role made famous by Peter Weller, and are directed by Julian Grant.

As one would expect, much of Orenstein's music is made up of thunderous synthesised rhythms and textures which burst forth with such force and dramatic power that, after a while, the overall effect is quite overwhelming. The fantastic trumpet flourishes that first appear in the 'Prime Directives Overture' act as a leitmotif for Robocop himself, despite sounding more Spanish than anything, seeming as though they would be more at home underscoring the antics of Zorro than the chrome-domed crime fighter of Delta City. William Sperandel's virtuoso performances are the score's binding element - in further cues such as 'Bone Machine', the downbeat 'Young Murphy', and the rousing 'Finale' it provides a welcome interlude from the metallic blood and thunder. There's also an intriguing, mock-guitar motif that first appears three and a half minutes into the first track, and once or twice in subsequent others - I have no idea what it represents, but it at least highlights a degree of innovation on Orenstein's part.

Unfortunately, quite a lot of Orenstein's underscore proper tends to be less inspired; it crashes ever-onward with wave upon wave of synthesised dissonance, all at a rapid tempo, and undoubtedly suiting the futuristic style of the series, but never really going anywhere in musical terms. In many ways, this is the curse of the TV sci-fi score, and since the advent of The X-Files and its various spin-offs and rip-offs, atmospheric textures have become the genre norm. There are a few sweet and tender moments, such as in 'Delta City Defender' and 'Innocence', but these are the exception rather than the rule.

The one thing missing from Robocop Prime Directives is any reference to Basil Poledouris's original film scores. The driving anthem that he wrote for the first movie is now considered a classic, but to be honest it would have probably been unfair for Orenstein to be asked to restate the existing material in a new score. The one thing Orenstein obviously does have is a penchant for long cues - 'Death of a Hero', 'Clash of the Titans' and 'Legion' all run for over 10 minutes each. Enough time to make a strong statement about something or other - but unfortunately such occurrences are few and far between, and the cues rely heavily on synthesised washes of sound and colour instead.

Quite what Orenstein will do now is anyone's guess. As far as I am aware, this GNP album is the first commercial release of any kind of Orenstein's music, and the Robocop movie series is by far the most high-profile assignment he has ever had. In the echelons of dramatic TV scoring, the Canadian is still significantly down the pecking order, coming in some way below Mark Snow and the rest - so I suppose the only way is up. As a standalone album, though Robocop Prime Directives is fine for those who like this sort of thing, and get a kick from hearing a series of forceful synth action cues for half an hour or so.

Track Listing: Running Time: 73 minutes 13 seconds

GNP Crescendo GNPD-8070 (2000)

Music composed and arranged by Norman Orenstein. Solo trumpet performed by William Sperandel. Recorded and mixed by Norman Orenstein and Rob Reedijk. Mastered by James Nelson. Album produced by Norman Orenstein and Ford A. Thaxton.

Cinemusic Online
Filmtracks: Review by Christian Clemmenson (*)
Moviemusic Dot Com
Movie Wave: Review by James Southall (**)
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