Steve Jablonsky still has a fairly limited CV with most of his major credits being spelt "Hans Zimmer", such as his fine contribution to Tears of the Sun and easy to spot due to the strangely loopy track titles. His first big solo effort for the trashy Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake had only a few moments that made it worth a listen on disc, but still a cut above the usual level of crud horror scoring. At the other end of the opportunities spectrum, animated films can often provide the composer vastly more scope - the chance to big it up and go larger than life are plentiful, especially when it's from one of Japan's finest animation directors, Katsuhiro Otomo, most famous for the 80's classic Akira. However, Steamboy is set in 19th Century England and features plenty of Jules Verne style steam powered machines and the expected doses of adventure and brain exploding visuals.

As was the case with Harry Gregson-Williams' solid, but generally somewhat unimaginative score to the animated Sinbad, the glowing praise that Steamboy has attracted seems just a touch hyperbolic. In truth, Steamboy has more variety and a stronger dramatic flow that Gregson-Williams' effort, no doubt as a result of having a better film to work with. However, compared to the handful of scores for other animé efforts to which I have become acquainted - notably those of Joe Hisaishi and Toshiyuki Honda - Jablonsky's score still seems a little average Hollywood. True, Hisaishi's work does have plenty of traditional Hollywood scoring flourishes, but his melodic talents are considerably stronger and the variety within each score is greater. This is not to say that Steamboy is a bad score, but it simply isn't a knock you sideways kind of album.

The score starts strongly with Manchester 1866, introducing the moderately memorable main themes and The Chase is a pretty decent action outing, setting the tone early for action, although later outings become rather similar and consequently less inspiring. It may be disingenuous to compare and contrast scores from a specific genre of film, but after the dazzling invention of Honda's action in Metropolis, Jablonsky's chopping strings, percussion and brass punctuation seems very old hat and is only infrequently enlivened by anything more substantial. However, Fly in the Sky is a high water mark, featuring the kind of up and away flying music that is always a joy, but the dramatic finale to the eight minutes of Collapse and Rescue is dramatically solid and blends from the rather less inspiring material earlier in the cue.

It's worth pointing out that Steamboy is a score I desperately wanted to really like and if the above seems a bit harsh, then it's possibly my disappointment spilling over. At around an hour, the album is just a bit long and Jablonsky wastes a little of the personality he brings to the earlier tracks on more routine material in some of the middle and later stages. True, the end of Collapse and Rescue is good, but only with Ray's Theme is it apparent just how much more engaging the melodic material could be and how disengaging it has become. However, for a relative newcomer, it is still a fine accomplishment and the album moves along with plenty of gusto. Jablonsky is definitely a name to watch.

Rating ~

1. Manchester 1866 (5:12)
2. The Chase (5:00)
3. Unexpected Meeting (2:18)
4. Scarlet (1:29)
5. Raid by the Airship (2:37)
6. London World Exposition (3:31)
7. The Atelier of Ray (1:40)
8. Crystal Palace Waltz (2:11)
9. Ray's Dilemma (5:36)
10. The Sortie of Scotland Yard (1:44)
11. Fight in the Exposition Ground (3:43)
12. Launch! (5:21)
13. Temptation (3:46)
14. Fly in the Sky (1:06)
15. Two Delusions (3:58)
16. Collapse and Rescue (8:23)
17. Ray's Theme (2:53)

Total Time ~ 60:47