Tron Uprising by Joseph Trapanese (soundtrack review)

Cartoons have come a long way since I was a lad. Gone are the paper-thin plots, average animation and soundtracks that could have been Casio keyboard demos and replaced with thoughtful storylines, animation work that will knock your socks off and soundtracks that are so good they deserve their own album.

‘Tron Uprising’, a cartoon series which charts the adventures of a young Grid programme called Beck who is taken under Tron’s wing to become the new leader of the rebellion against the villainous Clu and General Tesler. Critically acclaimed and carrying on the spirit of the ‘Tron’ films, the series has a lot of heart and deserves a soundtrack to match.

Composer Joseph Trapanese worked with Daft Punk on the ‘Tron Legacy’ soundtrack, so he’s familiar with the world of Tron. He does make the soundtrack more accessible to the casual listener but perhaps compromises some individuality in doing so. Some of the earlier tracks on the album are a tad passive and could do with a bit of oomph.

‘Tesler Throwdown’ is an early track of interest but it only really comes to life with ‘Tron’s Promise’ which has an industrial rock opening that would perhaps be better placed at the start of the album. It’s as if Trapanese gained more confidence as the show went on to be bolder with his tracks as it’s a definite album of two halves.

The second half of the album has a beautiful balance to it, with ‘Revenge’ and ‘Redemption’ a perfect combination of tracks. ‘Goodbye Renegade’ is another cracking score that will get the adrenaline pumping.

At one point, I even caught myself nodding along to ‘Lightbike Battle (30H!3 Remix)’ which is an achievement in itself while ‘Inferno (Opiuo Remix)’ has some nice echoes of Daft Punk that really make it stand out. More of those would have been very welcome.

With the future of the show in doubt, it may be already cancelled by the time you read this review, this is a worthy addition to the Tron universe, once you get through the first half, that should be picked up as soon as it becomes available in your region.

Aidan Fortune

January 2013

(pub: Walt Disney B00AOB76PC. 1 CD 75 minutes 20 tracks. Price: CD: $14.98 (US). Digital: $ 9.49(US)) NB: currently available in UK.

check out website: http://disney.go.com/xd/tron/