Originally Published at Music4Games.net
Here we got the Original Soundtrack to Rockstar’s Bully composed by Shawn Lee. It’s a fantastic mixture of modern composition styles and moods that help set the backdrop for the hellish private school that is Bulworth Academy.
How refreshing really? A GAME soundtrack with an organic feel and sound that doesn’t come from an orchestra. I can see how a lot of game developers would have chosen either pure orchestral or some straightforward rock for this game, but it would have been a waste of an opportunity. Shawn Lee took that opportunity by the horns and crafted some of the coolest game tracks I’ve heard in a while.
At first listen, I couldn’t make sense of it so much. Rather, the disc sounded like it needed to be enjoyed in-game than a stand-alone listen. That’s not criteria either way for me to “like” a soundtrack, but it can make it harder to grasp the full concept. Well, I listened and listened and I liked it. Once I played a bit of the game however, it REALLY made sense, and really made an impression on me. Now I can enjoy the soundtrack on it’s own without feeling so disjointed. It’s an excellent example of music marrying gameplay properly by maintaining individuality yet coming together to make something much much greater.
Here we got the Original Soundtrack to Rockstar’s Bully composed by Shawn Lee. It’s a fantastic mixture of modern composition styles and moods that help set the backdrop for the hellish private school that is Bulworth Academy.
How refreshing really? A GAME soundtrack with an organic feel and sound that doesn’t come from an orchestra. I can see how a lot of game developers would have chosen either pure orchestral or some straightforward rock for this game, but it would have been a waste of an opportunity. Shawn Lee took that opportunity by the horns and crafted some of the coolest game tracks I’ve heard in a while.
At first listen, I couldn’t make sense of it so much. Rather, the disc sounded like it needed to be enjoyed in-game than a stand-alone listen. That’s not criteria either way for me to “like” a soundtrack, but it can make it harder to grasp the full concept. Well, I listened and listened and I liked it. Once I played a bit of the game however, it REALLY made sense, and really made an impression on me. Now I can enjoy the soundtrack on it’s own without feeling so disjointed. It’s an excellent example of music marrying gameplay properly by maintaining individuality yet coming together to make something much much greater.
So Shawn used a lot of real instruments and real gear to get these tracks up and running. In an interview he did with us a few months back he shared with us his passion for hardware and his slight disdain for software. The approach really pays off here, the tracks are infected with funk, groove, and warmth.
So what instruments? Well guitars are pretty prominent. The main bass riff you hear as traverse Bulworth is definitely catchy. Guitars abound with plenty of funky jangle and wah. There are orchestral elements, but they only serve to lift a passage or stretch out a sentiment. Some string swells and brass blares that seem to come out of 70’s/80’s cinema are also very welcome.
The time period is kind of hard to settle on here. You hear some near surf-rock from the early 70’s pop in followed by a big synth drum beat from the 80’s. The timeless quality to the music does wonders for the gameplay experience. There are a few stolen riffs here and there from 80’s and 90’s radio staples that will pop up here and there and make you smile. Did I mention that? This disc will make you smile at least once.
And there’s tons of music to listen to. The disc comes with 26 tracks though Shawn mentioned he wrote over 100 for the game. That’s a lot of composition, performance, and engineering to put in, yet the scope of Rockstar’s game warrants it and Lee delivered.
So what instruments? Well guitars are pretty prominent. The main bass riff you hear as traverse Bulworth is definitely catchy. Guitars abound with plenty of funky jangle and wah. There are orchestral elements, but they only serve to lift a passage or stretch out a sentiment. Some string swells and brass blares that seem to come out of 70’s/80’s cinema are also very welcome.
The time period is kind of hard to settle on here. You hear some near surf-rock from the early 70’s pop in followed by a big synth drum beat from the 80’s. The timeless quality to the music does wonders for the gameplay experience. There are a few stolen riffs here and there from 80’s and 90’s radio staples that will pop up here and there and make you smile. Did I mention that? This disc will make you smile at least once.
And there’s tons of music to listen to. The disc comes with 26 tracks though Shawn mentioned he wrote over 100 for the game. That’s a lot of composition, performance, and engineering to put in, yet the scope of Rockstar’s game warrants it and Lee delivered.
I will mention again (and reuse the word) how refreshing this score is. We write a ton of reviews with huge bombastic orchestral scores, and I’m fine with that. But I must take the time to underline and denote in any way I can how nice it has been to both review and promote someone taking a bit of a risk in a "AAA" commercial game like Shawn’s score to Bully has. I always worry about the musical genres that go unnoticed by developers and publishers entirely, yet when I find projects like the Bully OST my faith gets restored.