"REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA" Advance Soundtrack CD
Darren Smith & Terrance Zdunich

"It is 2056. Organ failure is rampant, and the company responsible for the transplants isn't acting out of altruism. If someone misses a payment, Repo Men come to reclaim what belongs to the company."

So reads the synopsis for Lions Gate's upcoming film "REPO! The Genetic Opera", the Rocky Horror-meets-Blade Runner musical directed by Darren Bousman ("Saw" franchise), starring Alexa Vega (Spy Kids), Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas), Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Ogre (lead singer of Skinny Puppy), Bill Mosely (The Devil's Rejects) and vocalist Sarah Brightman (Phantom Of The Opera).

The transition from stage to screen has proved a perilous journey for more than a few productions, with musicals tending to fare the worst of the lot. Usually the most noticeable casualty is the music itself, second only to key roles being re-cast, and story elements reworked to accommodate the new medium. The end results can be hits (the brilliant "Hedwig and the Angry Inch") or misses (the lackluster "Phantom Of The Opera") While I don't claim to know anything about the stage version of "Repo! The Genetic Opera", I can say that given the strength of the upcoming film score; this creepy,quirky,violent and decidedly black-toned musical has a strong head start towards landing in the "hits" category.

Using contemporary music elements in musical theatre and especially in musical films, is a potential disaster waiting to happen. Given the fickle nature of the public's taste, it is very likely that instead of a timeless "Grease", or "Hairspray" the end result is more apt to be a very dated "Shock Treatment", "The Wiz" or "Phantom Of The Paradise"; aka: really cool, but painfully time stamped with the decade of it's creation.

It seems that the duo of Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich (screenwriters/composers) were well aware of this, and have taken great care to insure their efforts may stand the test of time with a little more grace.
This "futuristic" sound is, in fact, kind of retro to the discerning ear. As all of it is safely rooted in the industrial that was cutting edge circa 1994 or so. Some of it sounds like J.G. Thirwell's Foetus Interuptus album "Thaw" (circa 1988-89), in terms of the string elements mixed with acidic rhythms. Acts like Foetus, Skinny Puppy, Ministry, and Nine Inch Nails were doing this way back then, and paved the way for the incorporation of these production techniques that have been subsequently absorbed by more mainstream artists. What this means is that the distorted drum loops, low-fi filters, sequenced guitars and layered samples of "Repo!" are actually pretty easy on the ear in 2008, after having been thoroughly processed thru the collective ear, via radio friendly acts like Garbage, Evanesence, Rob Zombie, and even Madonna. Simply put; if you've had your head in the sand musically for the last decade and a half; this is gonna come across as very edgy, and I think that was the intent of the composers. Edgy, but familiar; so that the potential for acceptance is still there. Thematically, this opera is dark enough without having to fight it's way up two fronts at the same time.

All the production finesse in the world isn't gonna save a crappy song, and again the composers have paid close attention to ensuring this music is first and foremost, good. The score has been crafted with a sensibility that makes it all work together very well, and the attention to detail is remarkable. These tracks slither thru melodic and dark passages; riding upon wicked lyrics, until firmly taking up root in the brain. To say this stuff is catchy is an understatement. I defy you not to come away humming this music. As tempted as I am to give a song-by-song synopsis, I'll just turn the focus on some highlights.

Opening with "Zydrate Anatomy" (a dead ringer for the opening riff to Rob Zombie's "Living Dead Girl"), the soundtrack is off to a visceral, up-tempo start. This track incorporates a great deal of the wonderful and weird that is to follow.

"Thankless Job" is a well crafted slice of Tom Waits- infused melancholia featuring a "Mystery" vocalist growling away maniacally over a jazzy-dirge of tinker-toy rhythms.

"Night Surgeon" is just evil enough in it's flath -fith execution (the Devil's interval of medieval infamy...think the main riff of "Black Sabbath"), to make it's point while still being damn catchy.

"Worthy Heirs" ...picture the score to "The City Of Lost Children" as fed thru a Skinny Puppy album. Accordian,choir elements, and noise all colliding in a pretty enchanting way.

"Seventeen", with it's teeth -grindingly sweet happypunk is painful. And I'll bet that is the point. It's perfectly packaged angst ala Avril Lavigne (even down to the "My Fender Twin is on fire" craptastic guitar tone) meaning that these guys haven't missed a beat. The attention to detail is wonderful. In the future, teens will still listen to crap.

Apparently all the vocals are performed by the film's cast themselves, and the performances run the gamut from pristine (Sara Brightman) to awkward, yet perfectly appropriate to the character (Orge). Brightman does lend the whole production an air of "Legitimacy" that will be able to serve as a preemptive strike against the many "Purists" that will rally against this as something of a Pop-opera abortion. And in truth it is; but I don't think that is a bad thing.
There are moments of genuine tragic beauty, sullen harmonies, and ethereal textures that set this musical apart from other pop-opera cliches. In a few instances I found myself wishing that they had elected not to put lo-fi processed piano, or casio-tone keyboard in the background, and had just let the music sing on it's own voice , free of the trappings of the "Tech" vibe. This is especially true of the instrumental underscore pieces, but in all fairness to the artists, they do have a story to tell, and so the continuity of the audio palette must be maintained

"Legal Assasin" is a fine example of leaving the aforementioned trappings behind, and it comes close to perfection just being a straight forward crunch number, with the pre-requisite soft/acoustic elements here and there. The only problem I have with it is the vocalist's similarity to "Counting Crows"singer Adam Duritz (never a good thing), but that is a personal bias that I don't expect others will share.

"Depraved Heart Murder At Sanitarium Square" being another fine spooky-fest that gets a bit bogged down under the decidedly low-fi trappings, but the music itself is very good. Even if the textures seem to be trying a bit too hard.
During the albums instrumental moments, there are perhaps more chances taken than during the vocal interludes. A consistent emphasis on narrative storytelling is front and center throughout the cd, and tends to keep the stranger musical embellishments at bay; making room for the story to unfold...I t's hard, and I mean hard NOT to like this stuff.

The copy I have as an advance that was burned for me by the co-composer himself, and is unmastered, but the production quality is still readily apparent. For all the bravado of "Most origifatigue nal music" that may become the film's marketing line, the tones here are all quite wisely refined to work well together, and don't the ear at all. Don't be afraid, this is not John Zorn or Zhia Ghiva here (do a Google search), which is wise.

Too much genuine pushing of the envelope wouldn't be doing this musical any favors. The influence of co-producer Yoshiki is most likely at work here; as his stint with one of Japan's more pop-oriented visual kei acts ("X Japan") has served to give this score a polish and marketability that is well within the parameters of most folks ears.

I hope this film will catch on with an audience outside of trend-hopping scenesters who are bored with "Avenue Q", and goth-wankers who will embrace it as a darker alternative to"Sweeney Todd". This music deserves a wider audience, as it is a top quality effort by all concerned.
4 out of 5
MARS


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