Oz the Great and Powerful (soundtrack)

Oz the Great and Powerful (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Oz the Great and Powerful (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Film score by Danny Elfman
Released	March 5, 2013
Recorded	2012–2013
Studio	Sony Scoring Stage
Genre	Film score
Length	1:05:19
Label	Walt Disney
Producer	Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman chronology

Oz the Great and Powerful (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2013 film of the same name, produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The film is directed by Sam Raimi, and featured musical score composed by Danny Elfman. The score was recorded at Sony Scoring Stage and the album featured 27 tracks with a promotional single titled "Almost Home" performed by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. The soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on March 5, 2013,^[1]^[2] followed by a physical CD release in association with Intrada Records on March 26.

Development

In June 2011, composer Danny Elfman was chosen to score for Oz the Great and Powerful, in his fifth collaboration with Raimi on Darkman (1990), A Simple Plan (1998), Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004).^[3] It also marked Elfman's re-union with Raimi,^[4] as due to their creative differences on scoring Spider-Man 2 Elfman decided not to collaborate with Raimi on his forthcoming projects, this meant that Elfman did not compose for the third instalment Spider-Man 3.^[5] He noted that the film's score was accessibly quick to produce, with a majority of the music being written in six weeks.^[6] Regarding the tonal quality of the score, Elfman stated, "We're going to take an approach that's old school but not self-consciously old-fashioned. Let the melodrama be melodrama, let everything be what it is. I also think there's the advantage that I'm able to write narratively, and when I'm able to write narratively I can also move quicker because that's my natural instincts, I can tell a story in the music."^[7] Elfman did not adapt any of the musical influences from The Wizard of Oz (1939), despite having pop-culture references "visually and musically". Raimi insisted Elfman, that the team were working on L. Frank Baum's early 20th century Oz novels and not from the film. He decided to create a "fresh music for the setting", but also wanted to pay homage to the 1939 film.^[8]

American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey recorded a promotional single called "Almost Home" written by Carey, Simone Porter, Justin Gray, Lindsey Ray, Tor Erik Hermansen, and Mikkel Eriksen (a.k.a. Stargate) for the soundtrack of the film.^[9]^[10] The song was recorded at February 6, 2013 at New York City at Roc The Mic Studios.^[11] In a statement, Carey said that the song has "a message that works beautifully with the film. It's a feel-good record; it gives you the feeling of reaching your home and being with people that you love."^[12] The single was released on February 19, 2013, by Island Records, despite being leaked a day before.^[13]^[14]

Track listing

All music is composed by Danny Elfman

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Main Titles"	2:57
2.	"A Serious Talk"	2:23
3.	"Oz Revealed"	1:58
4.	"A Strange World"	1:48
5.	"Where Am I? / Schmooze-a-Witch"	2:05
6.	"Fireside Dance"	1:19
7.	"Meeting Finley"	1:57
8.	"The Emerald Palace"	0:47
9.	"Treasure Room / Monkey Business"	2:56
10.	"China Town"	3:07
11.	"A Con Job"	1:47
12.	"Glinda Revealed"	1:43
13.	"The Munchkin Welcome Song"	0:41
14.	"Bad Witch"	4:32
15.	"The Bubble Voyage"	2:48
16.	"Great Expectations / The Apple"	4:58
17.	"Meeting the Troops"	1:18
18.	"What Army"	0:29
19.	"Theodora's Entrance / Puppet Waltz"	1:51
20.	"A Threat"	2:07
21.	"Bedtime / The Preparation Montage"	7:00
22.	"Call to Arms"	2:13
23.	"Destruction"	2:38
24.	"Oz the Great and Powerful"	1:25
25.	"Fireworks / Witch Fight"	1:39
26.	"Time for Gifts"	5:54
27.	"End Credits from Oz"	1:59
Total length:		1:06:19

Reception

Gregory Heaney of AllMusic wrote "the score of Oz the Great and Powerful feels like an avenue of escape for dreamers looking for something to break up the monotony of their humdrum days, and while it might lack the catchy musical numbers of its predecessor, it's nevertheless a solid outing from Elfman."^[15] Filmtracks.com wrote "Oz the Great and Powerful is one of those great ambient listening experiences in the genre that doesn't stand up to focused analysis upon a closer look. For many listeners, such details won't matter, but that is what distinguishes a solid, workmanlike score from one destined to be a classic."^[16] A review from Beyond the Marquee stated "Of particularly high merit are the delicate emotional chords of Oscar’s character arc from con man to wizard hero. Luckily the emotional range missing from Franco’s performance is conveyed in the nuance of Elfman’s leitmotif. This would be even better had Franco’s acting skills matched the melodies in quality but, to quote comedian Steven Wright, 'you can’t have everything… where would you put it?'"^[17] ClassicFM wrote "Danny Elfman's soundtrack gets off to a fantastically glitzy start, with orchestral and choral bombast to spare - perfect vintage Hollywood fare. Another corking soundtrack from one of the modern masters of the genre."^[18]

Personnel

Credits adapted from CD liner notes^[19]

Musicians

Bass – Bruce Morgenthaler, Chris Kollgaard, Drew Dembowski, Ed Meares, Ian Walker, Mike Valerio, Oscar Hidalgo, Steve Dress
Bass Trombone – Phil Teele
Bassoon – John Steinmetz, Rose Corrigan
Cello – Andrew Shulman, Tony Cooke, Armen Ksajikian, Cecilia Tsan, Chris Ermacoff, Dennis Karmazyn, Giovanna Clayton, Paul Cohen, Steve Erdody, Tim Landauer, Tim Loo, Trevor Handy
Clarinet – Gary Bovyer, Ralph Williams, Stuart Clark
Flute – Heather Clark, Louise Ditullio
French horn – Dan Kelley, Dave Everson, Dylan Hart, Jennie Kim, Kristy Morrell, Laura Brenes, Mark Adams, Nathan Campbell, Phil Yao, Steve Becknell
Guitar – George Doering
Oboe – Leslie Reed, Phil Ayling
Percussion – Dan Greco, Don Williams, Wade Culbreath, Bob Zimmitti, Mike Fisher
Piano – TJ Lindgren
Soloist – Mike Fisher
Timpani – Peter Limonick
Trombone – Alan Kaplan, Alex Iles, Andy Martin, Bill Reichenbach, Charlie Loper, Steve Holtman, Bill Booth
Trumpet – Barry Perkins, Dan Fornero, Jon Lewis, Marissa Benedict
Tuba – Doug Tornquist, Jim Self
Viola – Alma Fernandez, Brian Dembow, Carolyn Riley, Darrin McCann, David Walther, Keith Greene, Luke Maurer, Matt Funes, Robert Brophy, Shawn Mann, Thomas Diener, Vickie Miskolczy
Violin – Alyssa Park, Ana Landauer, Carol Pool, Darius Campo, Eun-Mee Ahn, Grace Oh, Jackie Brand, Jennie Levin, Joel Derouin, Josefina Vergara, Julie Gigante, Julie Rogers, Katia Popov, Lily Ho Chen, Marc Sazer, Natalie Leggett, Neel Hammond, Nina Evtuhov, Phil Levy, Richard Altenbach, Roberto Cani, Sarah Thornblade, Shalini Vijayan, Sid Page, Tereza Stanislav, Roger Wilkie
Concertmaster – Bruce Dukov

Orchestra and choir

Orchestra – The Hollywood Studio Symphony
Orchestrated by – Dave Slonaker, Edgardo Simone
Orchestra supervisor – Steve Bartek
Orchestra conductor – Pete Anthony
Orchestra contractor – Gina Zimmitti
Digital Orchestral Timings – Richard Grant
Choir conductor – Marc Mann
Choir contractor – Bobbi Page

Production

Music composer and producer – Danny Elfman
Additional music production – Monica Zierhut
Musical assistance – Melisa McGregor, Melissa Karaban
Technician– Greg Maloney
Music supervisor – Marc Mann
Music editor – Shie Rozow
Assistant music editor – Denise Okimoto
Supervising music editor – Bill Abbott
Temp assistant music editor – Katia Lewin
Temp music editor – Ellen Segal
Additional arrangements – TJ Lindgren
Recorded by – Dennis Sands
Recorded at – Sony Scoring Stage, Studio Della Morte
Additional recording – Noah Snyder
Recordist – Adam Michalak, Adam Olmstead, Noah Snyder
Mixed by – Alan Meyerson, Dennis Sands
Mixed at – Todd-AO, Remote Control Productions
Assistant mixing – Christian Wenger, Greg Hayes
Copyist (music preparation) – Reprise Music Services, Rob Skinnell
Executive producer (music) – Sam Raimi
Artwork design – Steve Gerdes
Management (executive in-charge) – Mitchell Leib
Management (music business affairs/legal advisor) – Scott Holtzman, Sylvia Krask

Awards

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient and nominees	Result
BMI Film & TV Awards^[20]	April 13, 2014	Film Music	Danny Elfman	Won
Georgia Film Critics Association^[21]	January 8, 2014	Best Original Song	"Almost Home" – Mariah Carey	Nominated
Saturn Awards	June 2014	Best Music	Danny Elfman	Nominated
World Soundtrack Awards^[22]	October 27, 2014	Film Composer of the Year	Danny Elfman	Nominated