Review of Daft Punk's Tron Legacy Soundtrack

Greetings Programs!

Last week, I was fortunate enough to see an advance screening of Tron: Legacy. If you follow me on Twitter, then you know just how much I enjoyed Daft Punk’s soundtrack for the film. It has dominated my music listening this week, including earning repeated spin status of half a dozen times in one day. But, like so many great sets of music out there, sometimes a 140 character review isn’t enough.

Simply put, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo’s music deserves to win every soundtrack award in existence this year. Yes, it is that good. Please note at this point, I purchased my copies (yes, copies) of the Tron: Legacy soundtrack, so this is not a PR-driven review, just one fan imparting his thoughts on a powerful set of original pieces. I will try and keep the spoiler bugs off your interface as much as possible, but, for the most part, the track titles don’t reveal too much about the movie.

First off, this is not traditional Daft Punk music. This is a film soundtrack. Anyone thinking that Thomas and Guy were going to record this as Discovery, Part 2 or Human After All: The Sequel will be greatly disappointed. There are no vocals, human or electronic on the album, save for a single piece (“The Grid”) with lines from the film emoted by Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn. The synth-heavy pieces like “End of Line” and “Derezzed” are as close to classic Daft Punk as the album gets and the sounds they use are instantly identifiable as Daft Punk. Hopefully some remixers get their hands on these to work their magic on. Those with concerns about this not being strict Daft Punk music should recall that when Danny Elfman transitioned full time from Oingo Boingo to soundtrack composing no one thought his music would sound like Boingo. They accepted it. His music always had that certain Elfman quirk about it and it is the same way with Daft Punk and Tron: Legacy. It’s them. You know it and you can feel it in the sound. It just may not always have a dance beat to it.

The music Daft Punk created for Tron: Legacy is a near-perfect blend of electronic-meets-orchestra. The heavy electronic pieces (especially the two mentioned above) are used in perfect context within in the film, and the orchestral passages fit the scenes they were built for in the same manner. What is even more exciting to hear are tracks like “Rinzler” and “Arrival” where the French duo and a 90-piece orchestra combine to create a new, magical sound for Tron. This isn’t just a mash-up of styles either. That has been done by others and this is more. It’s well thought out, well executed, and sounds frankly amazing. Hardcore soundtrack aficionados with a love for Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack or the numerous film scores of Tangerine Dream will identify immediately with Tron: Legacy. Despite her being completely absent from the production, there are even subtle nods to ideas and motifs created by Wendy Carlos for the original Tron soundtrack.

And this is exactly what I was hoping the music would turn out to be. Honestly, when I first heard Daft Punk was composing the music for Tron: Legacy, I was excited about the prospects of what they could bring to the film, but with a note of trepidation. Not because this was their first foray into original soundtrack composition, but because what I didn’t want to hear was two hours of dance music. It would not have been appropriate for a film such as this. The end result far exceeded my expectations. When you see the movie, be prepared for wall-to-wall music. There is very little screen time where Daft Punk’s creations aren’t heard. The pieces aren’t generic, and all have specific on-screen reasons for being played. The decision by director Joseph Kosinski to collaboratively work with Daft Punk for over a year during the actual production, instead of waiting till it was near picture lock as is often done in scoring, shows in both the final on-screen product and in listening to the music out of context from the film. This is movie soundtrack of the year. Period.

The music of Tron: Legacy is amazingly listenable, no matter where and how you are hearing it. When played in the background, you won’t have quiet periods where little is heard to fill the empty spaces. Throw on your headphones and immerse yourself in the sound of the Game Grid. Play it loud while you are driving to make your errands around town much more epic. Just remember you are in a car, not a lightcycle, and cutting off the moron next to you on their cell phone won’t cause them to derez. Try listening to it on Shuffle. No matter the order in which the tracks play, they come out of your speakers in exciting fashion, making for a surprising and near-unique experience during each play.

This deeper meaning of what Daft Punk has created here is that the duo have proven themselves to be multifaceted artists, not confined to just being creative within their genre. This soundtrack could easily make them a household name, and if not, will definitely elevate them to a new level of fandom above any beyond their current fan base. This will most assuredly not be their lone OST outing either.

Of particular note about the Tron: Legacy soundtrack, are its multiple versions. The standard album lists 22 tracks. There are, in fact, a total of 30* tracks available. Amazon’s MP3 version includes a bonus track entitled “Sea of Simulation”. Over in Apple’s sector of the Grid, iTunes has a pair of bonus tracks, “Father and Son” and “Outlands, Pt. II”. The good news is, all three of these bonus tracks can be purchased individually. There is no “album only” restriction on them. Whether it was Disney or the respective MP3 retailers who chose to do this, all I can say is kudos to you. So that brings us to 25 tracks. Where are the other 5?

In England, Tron/Daft Punk fans actually got a 2-disc limited edition version of the Tron: Legacy soundtrack, which includes five more tracks along with videos on the second disc. Unfortunately, it appears Amazon UK is now sold out of this version. If you can locate a copy, the additional 12 and a half minutes of music is worth it. Normally, I am not a fan of labels releasing a “Special Edition” of an album six months or so after an initial pressing, since it feels like a profit-grab from the most dedicated fans of an artist. However, in the case of Tron: Legacy, I think this would be a very welcome release, if it happens, because of all the music not on the main, physical release. It could easily be expanded into a dual or even triple disc set, when combined with the 8 bonus songs, any other missing cues, potential remixes and additional video content. (nudge nudge, Walt Disney Records).

(* While researching for a potential vinyl version of Tron: Legacy, I stumbled across a German music site listing an EP releasing in February with an alleged additional four pieces not on any currently released version. More to come on this, if it turns out to be true).

One more thought, and please indulge the shift from music to movies for the moment if you will. Some reviews of Tron: Legacy have not been glowing. While of course everyone’s opinion will vary, many of the negative reviews come from places which thrive on such things. This is not one of those outlets. Granted, I am a long time fan of Tron, but I am not a fanboy. Most of the Tron related franchise extensions which have come and gone in the intervening two plus decades between movies have not been great. If the movie was no good, I would have included a line about the music being better than the material for which it was composed. If you’ve read this far, you clearly can tell this is not where I am coming from. If you have even one ounce of wariness from what you have read elsewhere, to you I say this: Go in to your theater with an open mind. Lose yourself in the movie. Enjoy the fun romp across the Game Grid. Expect your eyes to be melted not from the 3D, which was done in a fun way which I will not spoil, but by the explosion of color and design which the filmmakers have created. My only warning to you is this: Whatever format you see Tron: Legacy in, make sure your theater’s sound system is top notch, for you do not want to miss out on the film’s sumptuous sound design or Daft Punk’s incredible music creations.

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