Transformers: The Score – music by Steve Jablonsky
Perhaps no score album has caused as much consternation and anticipation as Jablonsky’s contribution to Dreamworks’ live action take on the venerable 1980s toys. In fact, the whole story of how the album has come to be is as unbelievable and convoluted as any summer blockbuster. Despite the fact that Jablonsky asserted that a score album was in the works…by the time the movie was released there was no word on when it was going to come out. Days and weeks passed and still nothing. It eventually reached a point where someone started an online petition to get the ball rolling…garnering over 5000 signatures. (I must admit to putting my name to it.) Thus, when it was finally released in early October (a week ahead of the DVD) getting a copy proved a challenge at best, with Amazon.com projecting a minimum two days just to get it shipped out.
So, the question on everyone’s mind right now is probably this: Was it really worth all the trouble and fuss it took to get it out? The answer is a defiant hell yeah!
Even though half the tracks on the album are a little different than what eventually ended up on film, what’s there is still worth a listen…splitting the line between character-specific and scene-specific pieces. “Autobots†reflects the nobility and heroism of the ‘bots as a whole…with a cello reflecting the power and strength of “Optimusâ€, and an electric guitar suggests the speed and loyalty of “Bumblebeeâ€. On the other end, a male chorus accentuates the menace and threat the “Decepticons†represent…with “Frenzy†sounding rather Stravinsky-esque. “Scorponok†can cause ones heart to pound as it slowly and methodically makes its’ way towards the soldiers in the film.
It’s not all big action however. “Sam at the Lake†is one of the quieter pieces, while a funeral dirge best describes the state of “Cybertron†and the war’s toll on that far away world. “Breaking the Signalâ€, meanwhile, 
struck me as being a little too similar to what often plays on similar sequences on 24, but if that’s the only fault, it’s a small one.
Bottom line: if you’re one of the many people to have caught the movie in the multiplex, you have to get this album…get it any way you can.
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- Autobots (2:33)
- Decepticons (3:51)
- The All Spark (3:34)
- Deciphering The Signal (3:08)
- Frenzy (1:56)
- Optimus (3:15)
- Bumblebee (3:58)
- Soccent Attack (2:07)
- Sam At The Lake (1:59)
- Scorponok (4:57)
- Cybertron (2:45)
- Arrival To Earth (5:26)
- Witwicky (1:57)
- Downtown Battle (1:32)
- Sector 7 (2:05)
- Bumblebee Captured (2:17)
- You’re A Soldier Now (3:27)
- Sam On The Roof (2:02)
- Optimus Vs. Megatron (3:59)
- No Sacrifice, No Victory (2:57)
Released by: Warner Bros.
Release date: 2007
Total running time: 59:56
Finally out after nine years (just one year shy of the movie’s tenth anniversary) David Arnold’s score for Roland Emmerich’s remake (a 2-CD set, limited to 3000 copies) of Tokyo’s resident bad boy displays all of the pluses and minuses of Arnold’s previous collaborations with Emmerich.
In all, this is an album that many people have been waiting for a long time and whether you like the movie or not, the score itself should be listened to at least once, since it seems unlikely, despite Arnold’s optimism, that he’ll do another job for Emmerich anytime soon.