Search - David Shire :: Zodiac

Shire creates a remarkable emotional palate

Merbert | San Francisco, CA USA | 09/14/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In many ways David Shire has returned to the classic era of film score composition and performance with Zodiac. Spare and extremely well-coordinated with the screen action, he creates incredible tension and suspense without all of the heavy-handed and heavily processed thunder that is often heard in today's films. It is reminiscent of Herrmann's score to Psycho in this regard. With Shire's brilliant composition and scoring, the listener is always kept slightly off-balance; there are moments bristling with suspense and others of the bleakest isolation. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that this was recorded live under the capable baton of Mr. Shire. There is power, albeit subtle, in the recording of entire pieces instead of the incessant cutting and pasting that occurs almost exclusively in today's soundtracks.



For one who lived through the era of the Zodiac killer's grip on our community, David Shire's soundtrack transported me back to a time when were were all watching our backs in fear during this brutal and mysterious killer's reign of terror."