Record Label: Walt Disney Records
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I wasn’t sure how I felt about this film score on my initial reaction. It just wasn’t as action-packed like the first score was. But having seen the movie now, I like the film score by Hans Zimmer ten times more! Klaus Badelt steps aside on this one and Hans Zimmer takes over the scoring duties (like he was meant to do the first time!). I LOVED Klaus Badelt’s score and Hans still uses a lot of the motifs from that score as well as creating some new exciting themes!

The score starts off with “Jack Sparrow,” and it has a lot of the “Medallion Calls” pieces in that song. The last half of the track isn’t as playful as the beginning and gets louder & more intense. My favorite track on the album & in the movie is “The Kraken.” It starts off with a very deep bass, which seems like Zimmer is paying homage to John Williams & Jaws a little bit. But it sounds like a more updated version of it and you can tell from the bass how big the Kraken is. The organ is the most prominent instrument in the song and it just sounds very cool! You’ll be humming the motif after you hear this song for sure; I know I was! The part I like the best is when the Kraken strikes and gets the ships; it’s that part of the song that gives me goosebumps. I just think it’s the most notable song on the album. The organ is used a lot more throughout the songs, mainly having to do with Davy Jones since you see his character playing one in the film.

This score reinforces the fact that this movie is darker than the first film, and adds to the scariness of it. “Dinner is Served” track is when the pirates are on the cannibal island, and then you hear amusement park music…which is just hilarious I think. Before I saw the movie, I was wondering what was happening in the movie during that music. The amusement park music definitely adds to the funny scene of the pirates swinging from the bone cages. I really liked the track “Two Hornpipes,” which was when the film took place at Tortuga and there was a bar brawl. Arrr gotta luv me some Pirate jig music! The swashbuckling fun of the first score comes out again in the track “Wheel of Fortune,” which is when there is a three-way swordfight going on. I wish there was more swordplay in the film but I’m sure the third film won’t disappoint in that area. Ending the score portion of the Cd is “Hello Beastie,” and that’s when, um stuff happens in the movie. I can’t spoil it for you…It ends on a nice familiar motif from the first film and makes you crave to see the third movie badly! I wish this album was longer because there was over 2 hours of music in the movie, but this one barely hits the hour mark. The last track on the album is “He’s a Pirate” but in an electronica/techno form done by Tiesto. I didn’t like it at first but it grows on you. It doesn’t fit in the movie at all but it’s a nice bonus track to have on the album. I think Johnny Depp must be into this kind of music because a similar track was heard on the Once Upon a Time in Mexico soundtrack. Anyway, this score gets better with every listen and Zimmer has certainly met my expectations on the score. I just wish the CD was a lot longer so we could have heard more of the motifs from the first film.

Bottom Line: Just as good as the first score! Definitely check out “The Kraken” track!
Notable Tracks: Jack Sparrow, The Kraken, Davy Jones, Hello Beastie, He’s a Pirate (Tiesto Remix)
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