Tulsa King (2022- TV series)
I listen to Sly’s talk everyday when I’m working out. You know my generation is like “kids of Sly and Arnold” (could be kids of Rambo and Terminator), always listening to their voice when I’m struggling with something or even just not waking up.
Let’s talk about music first. I can’t hide my feeling at the moment this Tulsa King started the first episode. I was more than excited listening to Sly’s narration and the music which was so gorgeous like a cowboy film. You might have noticed that its mixing balance is different from the current soundtracks, drum sets are panned left only, other instruments are the same, left or right only which is old style mixing like 1950’s, when the consumers’ audio was monaural, single speaker set. That brings some retro color to the scene of releasing after 25 years, Dwight “The General” Manfredi talking to himself.
The first night in Tulsa, Dwight shows up in front of the bar and Luke Combs sings a nice country melody. I believe most of you agree that the whole story implies a “Modern Cowboy”, kind of “American Spirits”. As the episodes go on, you’ll feel the heart of forgotten American Hearts.
In the 2nd season, both the story and music are getting more Western like. Surprising Jerry Roll’s appearance released some unwelcomed tension to Dwight’s family (both immediate and associates) on the screen and made us freaked out. The theme music is produced by Danny Bensi, the soundtracks are produced by Saunder Jurriaans.
Mayor of Kingstown (2021- TV series)
A kind of new style of crime thriller, Mayor of Kingstown opens up our eyes to something we don’t know, maybe most people never see until we get a chance to, which is a town surrounded by many prisons, where prison is the center of residents’ daily life.
Kingstown is a fictional town in Michigan, it seems like a small city, not like Chicago or Detroit. It is interesting to compare it to Tusa King, both are stories in a small town, and are on TV series these days. The color is very different though.
The soundtracks are all dark, thrilling and slow. They create deep emotional moments that come along with the tone of pictures. It’s almost like a horror or a psycho movie. Really heavy compositions are going on. The soundtracks are produced by Andrew Lockington. Great Tracks!
Jack Reacher (2012)
While watching the TV series Mayor of Kingstown, I remember this same type of slow thriller starring Tom Cruise, Jack Reacher. As soon as I started watching the film again, I found out my memory was right. Now most fans recognize Jack Reacher as played by Alan Richson in the TV series Reacher, while Tom Cruise made two movies of the same character.
If you have read the original novel series by Lee Child, you can easily describe what Jack Reacher looks like, a big tall muscular retirement soldier. When I read the first Reacher Killing Floor around 2000, I had no idea that it could be filmed, no actors I could imagine such a big guy like a mountain.
Tom Cruise loved Jack Reacher and he bought the rights to the film. Everybody loves this hero in the novel, kinda dream of boys. However, Tom is not like the hero described in novels. Most readers felt the same, I guess. On the other hand, movies are movies. They don’t have to be just the same as novels, of course. So I enjoy watching Tom Cruise’s Reacher series.
Let’s go back to the film. Unlike Mission Impossible, this story goes on no joke, Jack Reacher runs serious investigations with his high level skills which implies how military police does.
As I mentioned, the soundtracks are going on slow, heavier and dark. They come along with the tone and tempo of the picture and the script. All soundtracks are produced by Joe Kraemer. The scene was set in Pittsburgh, however the film’s tone made it look like the middle of nowhere. That’s kinda crime thriller focusing on humans.
