The history of C&C is a whole saga of the overthrow of Zeus of the all RTS from the strategic Mount Olympus. One day the cult series stepped into the 21st century… and crossed the Styx the same day. Not least because of the publisher’s diligent contribution, I must say. As shown by Red Alert 3 and C&C3 the attempts to revive the cult without the people who created it prove to be fruitless. And at the very least the things with C&C4 from the game viewpoint are far more terrible. Even the zing of the C&C game got lumps. As soon as Frank Klepacki hanged up his axe, the game lost the lion’s share of its animal drive. Jablonsky and Morris wrote “somewhat” for C&C3 (the music was, err, almost inaudible in the game), and in Red Alert 3 there were just 5-6 worthy tracks despite Klepacki’s occasional participation in soundtrack composing. As for C&C4… it’s not so simple as it may seem.

Dear reader, do you remember Advent Rising? An idle-headed action for a couple of evenings. It would be a complete waste of time if only Tommy Tallarico and Co didn’t join. When listening to the music, which for some reason was written for this very game, you can’t help asking yourself a question – is this just a musical score or does Advent Rising serve as a bad game accompaniment to the epic soundtrack playing through the speakers? Well, the same fate has befallen C&C4.

However, we should notice at once that the tracks by James Hannigan, Jason Graves and Timothy Michael Wynn have almost nothing in common with C&C. When listening to them you can approximately imagine the whole history of the work on the album. Producers set the task of writing high-quality orchestral music, assigned a huge budget for it, but either they forgot to what the music should have been written or nothing was explained to composers on purpose. Looking at C&C4, I suppose, it's even for the better.

As a result, the soundtrack turned out to be as it is - full of pretentiousness and composers’ mad skillz and exclusively orchestral sound. In C&C series. Exclusively orchestral. Think of it once more, scratch your turnip and curse this wicked world. One can even burn a couple of NOD managers responsible for this decision in the fires of the Inquisition. But nevertheless it’s beyond any dispute that the quality of the music in C&C4 is incredible. Cause in a huge barrel of tar (though to be honest this tar is full on something far more stinking) the soundtrack is not even just a spoon; it’s a whole glass of honey.


But first the compiler of the album deserves to have his arms ripped off. Well, what idiot decided to throw tracks clearly demarcated into separate styles into a one big pot? That’s why the first thing to do after purchasing the disk is to rearrange the compositions alphabetically. In such a way the soundtrack will get a completely logical and pleasant framework consisting of three parts, which will naturally complement each other. By the way the former fathers of C&C had a similar experience when they worked on Emperor: Battle for Dune.

Thus, James Hannigan’s works are a 100 per cent first-class Hollywood symphonic music. A clear leitmotif of all his compositions is given by a bravura track entitled To Save Humanity. Just look at the name of the track in order to understand how it sounds. The melody would be a great fit to the movie Starship Troopers, well, or any other space opera a la Mass Effect: strong winds of London Symphony Orchestra (Star Wars), forcing climate of grandeur, peal of bells. In short, Basil Poledouris’s line is still alive and keeps on winning. Even the Lord doesn't know, probably, what this incredibly high-quality melody has in common with the rotten C&C4. James has prepared a couple of tracks inspired by the first C&C too. Of course, every sound of them is symphonic. But what a power, what a drive! It seems that Kodiaks troops will land on the orbit in a moment and save the Mammoths battalion got in NOD's relentless ambush. Of course, there is no proper application for the songs in the game, as skirmish firing of matchboxes and toothpicks hardly provides an atmosphere, which Hannigan tries to create for the player. However an amazing 11-minute orchestral suite The Prophet’s Ascension invites most questions about the point of its presence in C&C4. It took a bit from Samuel Barber, un poco from Vivaldi, some from Tchaikovsky, - even apart from the game the composition lifts the listener up. Furthermore the track does it dramatically, with great attention to strings, as well as with a good balance of length of instrumental parts. It’s even embarrassing to have any conversation about the arrangement of the track, cause it’s naturally beyond praise. But in the game no more than 10 per cent of this track, for which a Hollywood blockbuster would give the world, is being used. So where is the justice?

Jason Graves, in his turn, did not surprise us. He just maintained that bar, which he had set in Dead Space, and this is hardly terrible or bad. His tracks are traditionally not deprived of aleatorics and have some kind of "ambient" nature. Entanglement seems to have arrived with a special visit from Ishimura. Although, admittedly, even in such compositions there is much more melodiousness than earlier, and action works by Graves are far more better outside the game. Besides, he wrote an excellent track called Insurrection and a couple of similar compositions, which not only create the proper atmosphere, but also sound rather nice. Calm tracks are quite a success too. Though bearing in mind Dead Space ... It’s cut and dried.

However, on this orchestral background Wynn’s work looks like a stain on a white blouse. Most of all this part of the album conjures up memories of C&C: Generals. Electric guitars, electronics, drums, blotches of orchestra ... Well, the eastern ethnics, of course – a finger in every pie! And it’s good, well-woven ethnics. At times, though a style by Steve Jablonsky (the beginning of The Harder They Fall) breaks out, but evil communications corrupt… Sometimes, by the way, the leitmotifs by Hannigan emerge in the tracks. Very nice, damn it! If in general, it is the music by Timothy Wynn that is the closest to the native style of the series.


C&C4 has truly become an epic end of the series. An epic fail of it. And still? It’s only thanks to this mistake that we have, perhaps, the strongest nominee for the best soundtrack of the year. Strange things happen sometimes in this industry.




Shai Khulud

Overview

In 2010, Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight completed Command & Conquer's Kane saga to mixed results. While the real-time strategy gameplay of the title proved controversial, many still praised the presentation of the game, particularly the graphics and score. The score for the game aimed to be more cinematic, dramatic, and dark than each of its predecessors, following the precedent set by other action titles of the age. An ensemble team comprising lead composer James Hannigan, Red Alert 3 returnee Tim Wynn, and series newcomer Jason Graves, supported by the London Philharmonia, took an ambitious approach but did it pay off?

Body

The main theme for Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight, "To Save Humanity", has all the qualities of a cinematic epic. Hannigan was clearly inspired by Jerry Goldsmith's Star Trek: The Motion Picture while composing the theme, but still makes it his own, offering distinctive themes and a modern orchestration approach. The track evolves from a wistful dance-like introduction, exhibiting fantasy colours comparable to Hannigan's Harry Potter compositions, into a full-blown march featuring bold spacey orchestrations. The London Philharmonia convey the exact intentions of Hannigan, successively conveying intimacy, aggression, and grandeur through the extensive development, fully demonstrating what an orchestra can bring to a score production. The composition provides a solid thematic basis for the rest of the score and, whether portrayed in the reflective piano and strings piece "Welcome Back Commander" or the action-packed choral theme "Bad To Worse", Hannigan integrates it in a distinctive yet restrained manner.

The two co-composers bring their distinctive approaches to Command & Conquer. Many of Jason Graves' contributions to represent the G.D.I. campaign evoke memories of his score for Dead Space. An ever-evolving piece of ambient soundscaping, "Transport Down" is spectacularly haunting in context with its sporadic orchestral phrasing and drawn out string glissandi. Action cues such as "Entanglement", "Love and Death", and "Cold Hard Truth" meanwhile are major highlights on the stand-alone release. Perhaps it is their rhythmical qualities, or perhaps it is simply their raw timbres, but there is always something dangerously attractive about Graves' more dissonant cues. However, not all of Graves' contributions are brutal and there are some gorgeous moments too, such as the elegaic string-based introduction of "Paradise Lost", that is highly affective in and out of context.

The contributions of Tim Wynn to represent the Nod campaign blend orchestral, ethnic, and contemporary elements. "Things Fall Apart" offers an entirely different aesthetic to the contributions by the other two composers, emphasising ethereal ethnic vocals, sampled percussion loops, and Arabian instruments above orchestra performances. Such tracks certainly evoke memories of Command & Conquers: Generals and seem fitting to portray the Abrahamic influences of Kane's faction. Others such as "We Rise" and "To the Death" feature such explosive polyrhythms and hybridised timbres that they're reminiscent of Amon Tobin's works. Wynn is also responsible for one of the most evocative themes on the score, "The Pacific Hub," which features a stunning soprano performance. When combined with Hannigan's sci-fi orchestrations and Graves' horror-influenced contributions, Wynn's contributions certainly bring a lot of diversity to the score and help to individualise the factions.

The score's masterpiece is Hannigan's "The Prophet's Ascension". Despite being intrinsically minimalistic, this composition encompasses a great emotional range during its 11:27 playtime. Opening as a resonant string adagio, the composition gradually introduces new phrases above a bittersweet chord sequence. The choral work from the four minute mark is beautifully interweaved with the strings and captures the spirituality and humanity lying behind the theme. By the final few minutes, the composition takes a sinister turn with brassy fanfares and a string crisis motif, though still maintains the same chord progression throughout. The work culminates in the most spectacular sequence in the entire score, particularly when used in conjunction with the cinematic score. Hannigan closes the album in a remarkable way, hybridising stylistic features of earlier themes by himself, Wynn, and Graves into a dynamic and emotional theme, "The End of All Things".

Summary

Overall, the Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight Original Videogame Score is a highly accomplished production. Following the factory-produced tedium of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars and the intentionally over-the-top nature of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, it is pleasing to say that the series has at last succeeded in producing a very mature cinematic score. Overall, an effective musical conclusion to the Kane saga and a must-purchase for fans of dark cinematic music.

Chris Greening