Album Review: Percy Jackson and the Olympians Soundtrack (score by Christophe Beck)

Listening to a soundtrack before you watch the movie is sort of like putting the cart before the horse. In many cases, the reason you buy a soundtrack is that you liked the movie, and the music evokes certain scenes and visuals that you remember. Like when I used to play the music from Legend of Zelda on my computer at my old job, a co-worker who was around my age would walk by and say, “You are so weird - why are you listening to the theme from Zelda?” Yes, I get stuck in the 1990s from time to time, and it’s a video game, not a movie. But the fact that he knew it was Zelda shows the true power of a classic soundtrack.

Anyway, digression aside, you know a soundtrack is good when you can visualize a movie in your head before you’ve even seen the movie. Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a new film coming out in the U.S. this Friday, and after listening to a promo copy of the soundtrack, I have to say that it’s like a mini-movie within the movie.

First off, a feature flick about Greek mythology can take one of two musical approaches - 1) Be hip and get someone like Korn or Linkin Park to rock out with guitar-heavy tracks to back the CGI pyrotechnics you see on-screen, or 2) Be traditional and go with the classical/orchestral approach. Percy Jackson goes with the latter, which is probably the right way to go considering it’s a fantasy movie and the main character’s name is Percy. Also, with the external similarities between Percy Jackson and Harry Potter (i.e. two boys with magical powers who do magical things), it probably doesn’t hurt to see if you can evoke a similar feel to what’s worked in the past.

Overall, it’s well-done. I listened to it while multi-tasking on the computer, and the music is like a roller coaster. One minute you have a relaxing, quiet track punctuated with flutes or gentle strings, then suddenly your head perks up again as the big horns and heavy percussion come out for what you figure will be the action scenes. I like how the soundtrack establishes the main theme music with “Prelude,” then has it pop up from time to time in the later tracks in different variations and instruments. It’s good to have an identity, especially when it comes to marketing the movie, the album, the merchandise, and the DVD.

Overall, I give the Percy Jackson and the Olympians soundtrack a 3.5 out of 5. It’s nice to listen to, but I’m not sure if it’ll resonate enough with the public on its own unless the movie ends up doing well. To see when Percy Jackson opens up in your neck of the woods (2/12/10 in the U.S.), check out the official website.

Listen to samples and download the MP3 album: