Film on Vinyl: The Amazing Spider-Man

Welcome to another installment of Film on Vinyl, Joe Donohue’s column that celebrates the blending of his love for film and music by reviewing and dissecting movie soundtracks pressed on the oh-so-sweet vinyl record. Next up on the playlist: Spacelab 9’s release of the "The Amazing Spider-Man" soundtrack.

Marc Webb’s “Amazing Spider-Man” trilogy was doomed from the very beginning. After a less-than-stellar ending to Raimi’s trilogy, and the studio ultimately forcing Raimi to leave the franchise, Sony was left with the decision of rebooting the wall-crawler’s franchise. It would be fair to say that fans were less than enthused by this news, myself included.

Amazingly enough, the reboot was actually quite enjoyable. Andrew Garfield beautifully embodied Peter Parker and finally gave us the Spider-Man that fans were wanting. Sure, the villain wasn’t perfect and another trip down origin lane was more than tiresome, but Webb and company gave us all hope for the franchise. Unfortunately Sony dipped its hand too far into the cookie jar, completely derailed Webb’s vision and quickly dashed that hope.

Now with the web-head returning to Marvel and beginning yet another franchise reboot on the horizon, I want to look at the biggest thing Webb did right … having James Horner compose the film's score. One of the most memorable things about "The Amazing Spider-Man” is the score itself. Thank the mighty nerd lord above, because Spacelab 9 has brought Horner’s score to vinyl, and made something every vinyl lover and comic book nerd would die to own.

Packaging:

The packaging is beautiful and a bit disappointing at the same time. The creative minds of the Spacelab 9 crew picked prime visuals for the front and back of the sleeve. The front is one of my favorite shots from the poster series. Spider-Man clings to the outside of the building, as a spider does, and looks down over the city he protects. And the back gives us an obligatory hero close-up to accompany the track list.

The sleeve is a beauty, but it is disappointing that they went with a sleeve versus a gatefold. Maybe it’s the huge Spider-man fan inside of me, but I would’ve loved to seen a nice spread on the inside of the gatefold. Maybe even something to showcase the duality of Parker and his alter ego. It’s a shame of course, but luckily Spacelab 9 compensates with a breathtaking poster. Not to mention two very attractive blue and red records.

Tracks:

Now that I’ve bragged on the cover, it’s time to delve into the meat of the release. Much like Hans Zimmer’s score for “The Dark Knight," Horner’s score elevated this superhero tale and created something epic. From beginning to end, each track is an important piece to a larger intricate puzzle.

The "Main Title" is a strong start to the story, and is a theme that pops up through the movie multiple times. "The Spider Room- Rumble in the Subway" is a fun track, and is one of the funnier scenes of the film. Beyond these few tracks lies many more gems. "The Bridge" is an ominous track, and "Lizard at School" is just the right mix of action-packed and funny.

While I may be excited to see Spider-man make his triumphant return in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a part of me is really sad that Webb wasn’t able to fully realize his vision. He laid out multiple pieces, ready to make his grand move, and because of studio meddling, those pieces will forever continue to collect dust.

Thoughts in a nutshell:

Spacelab 9’s library continues to grow, and “The Amazing Spider-Man” score is another grand addition. Yeah, the lack of a gatefold is a little disappointing, but I personally don’t care. I love this piece and I can’t wait to keep spinning this record right round, baby. Right round.

Until next time, make sure you’re using the appropriate cartridge. Remember to always spin responsibly.