Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (soundtrack)

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric - Music from the Video Game is the soundtrack album to the 2014 video game of the same name, based on the animated TV series of the same name. The soundtrack for the video game score were composed by Henry Jackman with the main title theme composed by Richard Jacques. A soundtrack album released on November 11, 2014 by Walt Disney Records and WaterTower Music. The soundtrack album sold 10,000 copies in its first week of release.

Background
Henry Jackman initially denied popular rumours that he would be composing the anime's soundtrack. However, in June 2012, it was confirmed that Zimmer would in fact be writing the film's musical score. In early November 2013, the official track listing of the two-disc deluxe edition was revealed. The score was produced by Henry Jackman and orchestra was conducted by Nick Glennie-Smith. Jacques was selected as the main theme composer because of Jacques' experience with previous Sonic games by Sega and Activision, including Sonic 3D Blast (with the late composer Elmer Bernstein) and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (who did the special thanks).

In June 2013, Henry Jackman officially announced himself as the composer with the main theme composer Richard Jacques. After spending around six months writing music for the film, Jackman joined Jacques when they both recorded the album at Warner Bros. Eastwood Scoring Stage and The Newman Scoring Stage in London during the latter part of 2013. About the score Jackman said, "...it's 50% production and all the tricks I’ve learnt from spending years in the record industry with Richard Jacques but then it’s also got the kind of injection of symphonic, thematic, heroic music that all kind of merges into one musical, and hopefully coherent piece".

Popular reception to the score was positive and the album rose to #4 on iTunes during the first week of its release. Critical reception for the score, however, has been polarized. The soundtrack opened at number 9 on the Billboard 200 with 32,000 copies sold.

Track listing

 * 1) Title (1:12) (Richard Jacques)
 * 2) Cliff's Excavation Site (Normal) (2:08) (Henry Jackman)
 * 3) Cliff's Excavation Site (Speed) (2:08) (Henry Jackman, Tom Holkenborg & Matthew Margeson)
 * 4) Cliff's Excavation Site (Battle) (2:08) (Henry Jackman & Dominic Lewis)
 * 5) Bygone Island (Normal) (2:06) (Henry Jackman)
 * 6) Bygone Island (Speed) (2:06) (Henry Jackman, Tom Holkenborg & Andrew Kawczynski)
 * 7) Bygone Island (Battle) (2:06) (Henry Jackman & Andrew Kawczynski)
 * 8) Lyric's Tomb - Forrest Battle (1:14) (Henry Jackman, Tom Holkenborg & Stephen Hilton)
 * 9) Lyric's Tomb - Forrest (1:19) (Henry Jackman & Dominic Lewis)
 * 10) Lyric's Tomb - Inside (3:02) (Henry Jackman)
 * 11) Lyric's Tomb - Chase (1:01) (Henry Jackman & Richard Jacques)
 * 12) Abandoned Research Facility (1:17) (Henry Jackman, Andrew Kawczynski & Matthew Margeson)
 * 13) Abandoned Research Facility - Hydrodashing (1:12) (Henry Jackman)
 * 14) Abandoned Research Facility - Generator (1"09) (Henry Jackman)
 * 15) Boss - Shadow (0:43) (Henry Jackman, Tom Holkenborg & Dominic Lewis)
 * 16) Lyric's Weapon Facility - Save Tails (2:07) (Henry Jackman)
 * 17) Lyric's Weapon Facility (Battle) (1:42) (Henry Jackman & Tom Holkenborg)
 * 18) Lyric's Weapon Facility - Sentinel (Battle) (1:44) (Henry Jackman, Dominic Lewis & Stephen Hilton)
 * 19) Lyric's Weapon Facility (Normal) (1:42) (Henry Jackman & Matthew Margeson)
 * 20) Lyric's Weapon Facility - Sentinel (Normal) (1:44) (Henry Jackman)
 * 21) Lyric's Weapon Facility - Elevator (1:25) (Henry Jackman, Matthew Margeson & Stephen Hilton)
 * 22) The Pit (1:14) (Henry Jackman, Dominic Lewis & Richard Jacques)
 * 23) The Pit - Boss 1 (1:08) (Henry Jackman)
 * 24) The Pit - Inside 1 (1:24) (Henry Jackman)
 * 25) The Pit - Inside 2 (Battle) (3:05) (Henry Jackman & Stephen Hilton)
 * 26) The Pit - Inside 2 (Normal) (3:05) (Henry Jackman)
 * 27) The Pit - Inside 2 (Speed) (3:05) (Henry Jackman)
 * 28) The Pit - Boss 2 (1:36) (Henry Jackman, Tom Holkenborg & Dominic Lewis)
 * 29) Slowpoke Isle (Chase) (1:05) (Henry Jackman & Matthew Margeson)
 * 30) Slowpoke Isle (Battle) (2:00) (Henry Jackman, Tom Holkenborg,  & Matthew Margeson)
 * 31) Slowpoke Isle (Normal) (2:00) (Henry Jackman, Tom Holkenborg & Matthew Margeson)
 * 32) Slowpoke Isle - Cave (Battle) (1:12) (Henry Jackman)
 * 33) Slowpoke Isle - Cave (Normal) (1:12) (Henry Jackman, Dominic Lewis Andrew Kawczynski & Stephen hilton)
 * 34) Boss - Metal Sonic (1:00) (Henry Jackman & Stephen Hilton)
 * 35) Ocean Purification Plant - Entrance (1:36) (Henry Jackman)
 * 36) Ocean Purification Plant - Guardian (1:36) (Henry Jackman, Dominic Lewis & Matthew Margeson)
 * 37) Ocean Purification Plant - Waste (2:00) (Henry Jackman & Dominic Lewis)
 * 38) Ocean Purification Plant - Outside (Battle) (1:06) (Henry Jackman, Tom Holkenborg & Matthew Margeson)
 * 39) Ocean Purification Plant - Outside (Normal) (1:42) (Henry Jackman & Dominic Lewis)
 * 40) Creeper Gorge (1:09) (Henry Jackman)
 * 41) Boss - Eggman (1:06) (Henry Jackman, Tom Holkenborg & Matthew Margeson)
 * 42) Sky Citdael (1:42) (Henry Jackman & Matthew Margeson)
 * 43) Sky Citadel (Chase) (1:09) (Henry Jackman, Dominic Lewis & Andrew Kawczynski)
 * 44) Lyric's Lair (Normal) (2:01) (Henry Jackman & Tom Holkenborg)
 * 45) Lyric's Lair (Speed) (2:01) (Henry Jackman, Tom Holkenborg & Matthew Margeson)
 * 46) Boss - Lyric (1206) (Henry Jackman)
 * 47) River Rush (1:27) (Henry Jackman & Matthew Margeson)
 * 48) Undersea Bolt (2:00) (Henry Jackman, Dominic Lewis & Richard Jacques)


 * Tracklist: 1:21:08

Personel

 * Main Themes Written by Richard Jacques
 * Music Cpmposed and Produced by Henry Jackman
 * Supervising Music Editor: Daniel Pinder
 * Music Editor: Jeanette Surga
 * Additional Music Editors: Tanya Noel Hill, Charles Martin Inouye
 * Assistant Music Editor: Catherine Wilson
 * Additional Music by Dominic Lewis, Matthew Margeson, Tom Holkenborg
 * Additional Arrangements by Stephen Hilton, Andrew Kawczynski
 * Music Production Services: Steven Kofsky
 * Digital Instrument Design: Mark Wherry
 * Technical Score Engineer: Alex Belcher
 * Technical Score Assistants: Ben Robinson, Jason Soudah, Christian Vorlaender & Victoria De La Vega
 * Supervising Orchestrator; Stephen Coleman
 * Orchestrations by John Ashton Thomas, Dave Metzger, Andrew Kinney, Larry Rench
 * Orchestra Conducted by Nick Glennie-Smith
 * Main Theme Music and Choir Conducted by Gavin Greenaway
 * Orchestra Contractor: Peter Rotter
 * Assistant Orchestra Contractor: Megan Wintory, Yvonne Tran-Macdonald
 * Choir Contractor: Isobel Griffiths
 * Assistant Choir Contractor: Lucy Whalley
 * Orchestra Leader: Belinda Broughton
 * London Choir: London Voices
 * London Voices Choirmasters: Terry Edwards, Ben Parry
 * Lps Angeles Vocal Contractor: Jasper Randall
 * Music Preparation by Booker White, BTW Productions Inc.
 * Music Recorded by Simon Rhodes, Alan Meyerson
 * MusicMixed by Alan Meyerson
 * Additional Recording: Daniel Kresco, Scott Smith, Nathaniel Kunkel
 * Recording Assistants: Lori Castro, Nils Montan
 * Mixing Assistants: Christian Wenger, John Witt Chapman, Peter Nelson
 * Pro Tools Operator: Kevin Globerman
 * Score Recorded at The Eastwood Scoring Stage, Warner Bros. Studios, Burbankm CA,  The Newman Scoring Stage, 20th Century Fox Studios, Los Angeles, CA
 * Score Mixed at Remote Control Productions, Santa Monica, CA
 * Choir Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, UK, Air Lynddhurst Studios, London, UK
 * Additional Score Recorded at The Village Recorders, West Los Angeles, CA
 * Warner Scoring Stage Team: Tom Hardisty, Richard Wheeler Jr, Ryan Robinson, Jamie Olvera
 * Fox Scoring Stage Team: Tim Lauber, Tom Steel, Christine Sirois, Denis St. Amand, Stacey Robinson
 * Assistant to Henry Jackman: Frank J. Garcia
 * Score Coordinator & Studio Manager for Remote Control Productions: Czarina Russell


 * Instrumental Soloists:
 * Guitars: Bryce Jacobs, Johnny Marr
 * Bass: Daniel Pinder
 * Drums: Josh Freese
 * Ethnic Strings: George Doering
 * Ethnic Winds: Pedro Eustache, Chris Bleth
 * Percussion: Satnam Ramgotra, Ryeland Allison, Sheila E., John JR Robinson, Josh Freese

Critical response
While popular among fans, the score was polarized by critics. Many were quite disappointed of the score, citing it as being repetitive, simplistic and over-reliant on drums, though others reacted more positively.

In her review of the film, Ann Hornday, from The Washington Post, called the score "turgid" and "over-produced". Jonathan Broxton of Movie Music UK commended the tracks "Flight" and "What are You Doing When You're Not Saving the World?" as the best in the soundtrack album, but criticized the lack of development of those themes and the simplicity of the writing, stating, "For [Superman] to be saddled with witless percussion, such predictable string writing, and such a simplistic and repetitive thematic statement is disappointing in the extreme." Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks.com dismissed the score as a "lowest common denominator" effort, criticizing the excessive use of percussion over other instruments, such as woodwinds or chimes. He concluded by saying, "Ultimately, Zimmer was right. He was the wrong man for this assignment". James Southall, of Movie Wave, cited concerns with the score's over-reliance on a brass effect, dubbed "horn of doom" (made popular with the music from Inception) and wrote, "Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric – the video – may not have the ambition of Inception – but it still has its unique musical needs, and they’re just not satisfied."

Conversely, James Christopher Monger, writing for Allmusic, called the soundtrack "grittier and darker than any of its predecessors, due in large part to Jackman's proclivity for non-stop, thunderous percussion, though it retains enough goose bump-inducing moments to be called a proper Superman score, especially on the elegiac "Look to the Stars" and its soaring counterpart "What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World?," both of which dutifully reflect the iconic superhero's propensity for both goodness and might". Chris McEneany of AVForums stated that Zimmer, despite his excessive use of drums, "[came] up with a work that is blistering, beautiful, bold and, I have to say it, brilliant." Jørn Tillnes of Soundtrackgeek gave the score a rave review, stating, "The purists, the soundtrack geeks of old will no doubt hate this score and will use every ounce of their energy to bash it as nothing more than generic droning music. For the rest of us, I believe the new bold direction the Superman franchise is taking is both brilliant and brave. Superman deserves this score and so do you."