A street-theater musician-turned-new wave artist-turned prolific film scorer, Danny Elfman composed music for over 100 films and TV shows between his first solo album, 1984s So-Lo, and this, his second, 2021s Big Mess. A much deeper, denser, and darker outing, Big Mess has more in common with his group Oingo Boingos grim final release, Boingo (1994), than any of his prior pop material, though it ultimately stands on its own. It was written in 2020 while in lockdown as a series of planned concerts were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An unplanned, ranting, over-hour-long work thats both personal and directly influenced by current events, it takes the form of an orchestral hard rock that the songwriter/multi-instrumentalist pieced together with help from, among others, guitarist Robin Finck (Nine Inch Nails, Guns N Roses), drummer Josh Freese (Devo, Nine Inch Nails), bassist Stu Brooks (Dub Trio), a string quartet, and two Budapest-based orchestras. (Oingo Boingo bandmate and longtime scoring assistant Steve Bartek contributed orchestrations.) Fans of Elfmans celebrated work with director Tim Burton will be glad to find that he still brings an irrepressibly mischievous spirit to the album, though it operates in tandem with an earnest anger and frustration reflected in titles like Choose Your Side, Better Times, and Love in the Time of COVID. The album opens with feedback, a power chord, and a drum fill on Sorry, an ominous rock track. Its components include choir-like backing vocals and a wall of sound constructed of electric guitars, synths, strings, and mallet percussion, all under a steadily intensifying, explicitly worded vocal that includes sentiments like I cant breathe while youre alive...and Im so sorry that I didnt die. That sets the tone for many of the albums 18 tracks, though Elfman varies tempo, topic, and approach throughout what is a well-sequenced, adventurous set. Diversions from its anguished, industrial-tipping indie rock include the quiet rumination of In Time, the acoustic-percussion-heavy Dance with the Lemurs, the haunting torch song We Belong, and the hookier Just a Human. Elsewhere, Choose Your Side samples a speech by then-president Donald Trump while holding its nose, and the thrash-injected Kick Me takes on celebrities, royalty, and billionaires with gusto (Losers not invited/Im such a sensitive guy). Seething lead single Happy is an epic, theatrical highlight in line with some of the darkest tracks from The Nightmare Before Christmas -- if with more guitar distortion. While the powerfully cathartic Big Mess does feel overlong, it may serve as a rare case where thats masterfully appropriate. ~ Marcy Donelson
トラックリスト
1. Sorry 2. True 3. In Time 4. Everybody Loves You 5. Dance with the Lemurs 6. Serious Ground 7. Choose Your Side 8. We Belong 9. Happy 10. Just a Human 11. Devil Take Away 12. Love in the Time of COVID 13. Native Intelligence 14. Better Times 15. Cruel Compensation 16. Kick Me 17. Get Over It 18. Insects
今作『Big Mess』はグラミー賞とエミー賞を受賞した作曲家が、作曲家、そして演奏者としても大胆な新境地を開拓し、歪んだエレキ・ギター、インダストリアルなシンセサイザー、オーケストラなどのディストピア的な要素を用いて、4年間に渡って忍び寄る結束主義と市民の腐敗によってもたらされた悪魔を祓おうとする、全18曲からなる広大で野心的なダブル・アルバムだ。このアルバムには、ドラマーのJosh Freese(Devo、Wheezer、The Vandals)、ベーシストのStu Brooks(Dub Trio、Lady Gaga、Lauryn Hill)、ギタリストのRobin Finck(Nine Inch Nails、Guns N' Roses)とNili Brosh(Tony MacAlpine、Paul Gilbert)が参加している。
トラックリスト『Big Mess』は、2020年の隔離中、ほとんど自然発生的に作られた。今作は、アグレッシブなロック・バンドとオーケストラのストリングスを組み合わせた、これまであまり開拓されてこなかった試みとして始まった。「一度書き始めたら、まるでパンドラの箱を開けたように、やめられなくなってしまったんです」とElfmanは説明する。「どれも計画されたものではありませんでした。何曲書くかなんて考えてもいませんでしたが、始めた途端から大きく対照的で、相反するトーンを持つ2面性のあるプロジェクトになりました。」
『Big Mess』の楽曲は、複雑なハーモニーを持つアレンジと、シンプルで勢いのある楽曲の両方を兼ね備えており、現代世界の混沌と混乱を鋭く突く機知に富んでいる。「2020年は、控えめに言っても強烈な年でした」とElfmanは言う。彼の言葉からは、怒り、もどかしさ、孤独感が伝わってくるが、『Big Mess』は、単にストレスを発散するだけではない。Elfmanは、自分の感情と向き合い、制限なく曲を書くためのスペースを作ることによって、何十年も逃してきた芸術的な解放をこのアルバムで達成し、その過程で自分の声を再発見し、自分自身を再構築した。
Elfmanは、その声を使って自身の考えを伝えることをためらわない。"Choose Your Side"、"Serious Ground"、"Sorry"などの曲は、現代の政治的な状況を反映する。オインゴ・ボインゴの曲をリメイクした"Insects"は、アメリカの支配階級の貪欲さと病をテーマにした瞑想曲に変身している。しかし、それと同時に『Big Mess』は深く個人的な作品でもある。瞑想的な"In Time"、心に響く"We Belong"、熱狂的な"Everybody Loves You"などの曲は、彼の驚くほど多彩なキャリアのどの段階でも聞いたことがないような、Danny Elfmanの姿を見せてくれる。
「最初からこのアルバムは簡単に分類できるようなものにはならないと思っていました」とElfmanは語る。「これはクレイジーな不協和音になる運命だったのです。それは私がそうだからです。」
アルバムのアートワークは、Sarah Sitkinが3Dボディ・スキャンから作成し、Berit Gwendolyn Gilmaがデザインとアート・ディレクションを担当した。
---メーカーより
A street-theater musician-turned-new wave artist-turned prolific film scorer, Danny Elfman composed music for over 100 films and TV shows between his first solo album, 1984s So-Lo, and this, his second, 2021s Big Mess. A much deeper, denser, and darker outing, Big Mess has more in common with his group Oingo Boingos grim final release, Boingo (1994), than any of his prior pop material, though it ultimately stands on its own. It was written in 2020 while in lockdown as a series of planned concerts were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An unplanned, ranting, over-hour-long work thats both personal and directly influenced by current events, it takes the form of an orchestral hard rock that the songwriter/multi-instrumentalist pieced together with help from, among others, guitarist Robin Finck (Nine Inch Nails, Guns N Roses), drummer Josh Freese (Devo, Nine Inch Nails), bassist Stu Brooks (Dub Trio), a string quartet, and two Budapest-based orchestras. (Oingo Boingo bandmate and longtime scoring assistant Steve Bartek contributed orchestrations.) Fans of Elfmans celebrated work with director Tim Burton will be glad to find that he still brings an irrepressibly mischievous spirit to the album, though it operates in tandem with an earnest anger and frustration reflected in titles like Choose Your Side, Better Times, and Love in the Time of COVID. The album opens with feedback, a power chord, and a drum fill on Sorry, an ominous rock track. Its components include choir-like backing vocals and a wall of sound constructed of electric guitars, synths, strings, and mallet percussion, all under a steadily intensifying, explicitly worded vocal that includes sentiments like I cant breathe while youre alive...and Im so sorry that I didnt die. That sets the tone for many of the albums 18 tracks, though Elfman varies tempo, topic, and approach throughout what is a well-sequenced, adventurous set. Diversions from its anguished, industrial-tipping indie rock include the quiet rumination of In Time, the acoustic-percussion-heavy Dance with the Lemurs, the haunting torch song We Belong, and the hookier Just a Human. Elsewhere, Choose Your Side samples a speech by then-president Donald Trump while holding its nose, and the thrash-injected Kick Me takes on celebrities, royalty, and billionaires with gusto (Losers not invited/Im such a sensitive guy). Seething lead single Happy is an epic, theatrical highlight in line with some of the darkest tracks from The Nightmare Before Christmas -- if with more guitar distortion. While the powerfully cathartic Big Mess does feel overlong, it may serve as a rare case where thats masterfully appropriate. ~ Marcy Donelson
1. Sorry
2. True
3. In Time
4. Everybody Loves You
5. Dance with the Lemurs
6. Serious Ground
7. Choose Your Side
8. We Belong
9. Happy
10. Just a Human
11. Devil Take Away
12. Love in the Time of COVID
13. Native Intelligence
14. Better Times
15. Cruel Compensation
16. Kick Me
17. Get Over It
18. Insects