The score opens quite inauspiciously with some bouncing woodwinds for Let the Games Begin, but it's not long before Gregson-Williams unleashes the full power of the London musicians. The score's most enjoyable and memorable invention is a female close harmony group singing staccato "ahh's" that gives the score a little exoticism that the purely orchestral tracks generally lack. Most of the time they sound acoustic, but on occasion lead to the conclusion that they have been sampled and overlaid in post production, but a nice idea all the same. Naturally enough, their most prominent appearance is during Sirens, when they are added to the crunching action music most effectively. Much of the music is big and booming, probably with a Mahlerian size orchestra and more often than not with the full chorus thrown in for good measure. Lighting Lanterns and Rescue! add in modern pulsing percussion, which is effectively propulsive, but feels a little incongruous, especially when some banging on "authentic" acoustic percussion would have a similar driving feel and be more in keeping with the rest (especially since bongos or similar make a few appearances during the quieter moments).
Although a logical precedent for comparison could be Herrmann's classic scores for the Ray Harryhausen films, this is a different style of scoring, for a different era of movie making and a different type of fantasy. This Sinbad is more fantastical pirate adventure, than ancient myth and legend. However, even compared to recent swashbuckling efforts such as Debney's Cuthroat Island and James Newton Howard's uneven, but occasionally masterful Atlantis, it just doesn't have the clearly memorable episodes of those scores and is severely hampered by a surprisingly generic main theme. One need only compare his work with John Powell on Chicken Run and its almost annoyingly memorable collection of themes and Sinbad's tunes just don't make the grade. However, for all that, it is undeniably terrific fun at the time; this is an album to enjoy, with enough enthusiasm and propulsion throughout that I can't not recommend it. Ideal popcorn movie music - it's not good for you, but you still like it.
Rating ~ 
Total Time ~ 64:50