Last weekend the TV show 60 Minutes aired a segment on composer Hans Zimmer. It is worth checking out if you have not seen it:
Hans Zimmer, basically needs no introduction. He is one of the most prolific and celebrated modern day film composers. He started with Rain Man in 1988 (after a brief stint in the rock band The Buggles) and has basically been on a tear ever since. With over 150 composing credits to his name, it got me thinking what my Hans Zimmer score is? There are plenty of candidates: The Lion King, The Simpsons Movie, Pirates of the Caribbean, Dune, Inception and The Dark Knight would all make my top-10 list, but if I were to pick one it would be Man of Steel…which is today’s pick!
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Man of Steel is unique in the Hans Zimmer canon because it puts a heavy focus on drums and percussion. This, of course, is right up my alley.
Since this is a Hans Zimmer soundtrack this is accomplished in the most over-the-top and bombastic way possible. Look at the list of drummers that are part of the percussion ensemble of Man of Steel:
- Matt Chamberlain (Pearl Jam, Perfect Circle, David Bowie, Tori Amos)
- Josh Freese (Vandals, Devo, Foo Fighters)
- Danny Carey (Tool)
- Jason Bonham (John Bonham’s son)
- Pharrell Williams (The Neptunes)
- Sheila E. (Prince)
- John JR Robinson (Michael Jackson)
- Jim Keltner (John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Traveling Wilburys, Ry Cooder)
- Vinnie Colaiuta (Frank Zappa, Sting, Joni Mitchell)
And that’s not even everybody! Go big or go home was obviously Zimmer’s motto here!
They filmed the recording sessions for Man of Steel and there are some interesting snippets of them available online. Here are a couple that are focused on the drummers:
And here is one that focuses on the steel guitar players that are also featured throughout, including Chas Smith, Marty Rifkin, Skip Edwards, Boo Bernstein:
What better way to celebrate the long Independence Day weekend than listening to this amazing soundtrack to a film starring American icon Superman by a German film composer? Happy 4th of July!