Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (soundtrack)

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is the soundtrack for the Disney movie of the same title, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. It is composed by Hans Zimmer, and features additional music by Lorne Balfe, Tom Gire, Nick Glennie-Smith, Henry Jackman, Atli Örvarsson, John Sponsler and Geoff Zanelli.

Circuit City's initial retail shipments of the album included a free movie poster at checkout, with a minimum ten per store. Best Buy had an exclusive ringtone code, rather than extra tracks as in the previous soundtrack.

The soundtrack debuted at #14 on the US Billboard 200, selling about 35,000 copies in its first week. As of July 11, 2007, the album has sold 118,919 copies in the US.

Production
Composer Hans Zimmer estimated that he composed "over five hours of music" because he thought that it might be "a nice idea to throw out everything and start from scratch."

Critical reception
Critical response to the soundtrack differed greatly, though the album was generally well received by fans. On Amazon.com, it holds a 4.7/5 stars, the highest of any Pirates of the Caribbean score. A review by Mike Brennan on soundtrack.net, for example, praised the score as having "a level of thematic complexity that rivals most other franchises", praising its move from heavily synthetic in the Curse of the Black Pearl score to mostly orchestral, as well as its swashbuckling flavor that was missing from the first two entries. His overall rating for the score was 4.5 stars out of 5.

Not all critics were impressed, however. Christian Clemmensen, on Filmtracks.com, though he grudgingly admitted the score was "an intelligent merging of thematic ideas from all three films" and employed a "far wider orchestral and choral palette", feels that the score still did not live up to its swashbuckling cohorts, comparing it unfavorably to John Debney's effort for Cutthroat Island. He also complained about the anthem-like statements of the love theme in One Day and Drink Up Me Hearties, saying, "...there is no style to that music. Only power". In the end, his score was two stars out of five, a rating that several visitors to the site were incensed by on the review's comments page.

Credits

 * Music composed by Hans Zimmer
 * Score produced by: Hans Zimmer, Bob Badami & Melissa Muik
 * Executive Soundtrack Album Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer & Gore Verbinski
 * Executive in Charge of Music and Soundtracks for Walt Disney Pictures and the Buena Vista Music Group: Mitchell Leib
 * Music Supervisor: Bob Badami
 * Executive in Charge of Music Production for the Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group: Monica Zierhut
 * Music Creative/Marketing for the Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group: Glen Lajeski
 * Music Business and Legal Affairs: Scott Holtzman and Sylvia Krask
 * Director of Soundtracks for the Buena Vista Music Group: Desiree Craig-Ramos
 * Supervising Technical Music Coordinator: Thomas Broderick
 * Additional Music by: Lorne Balfe, Tom Gire, Nick Glennie-Smith, Henry Jackman, Atli Orvarsson, John Sponsler, Geoff Zanelli
 * Supervising Music Editor: Melissa Muik
 * Music Editors: Katie Greathouse, Barbara McDermott
 * Supervising Orchestrator: Bruce Fowler
 * Orchestrators: Walt Fowler, Elizabeth Finch, Ken Kugler, Suzette Moriary, Steve Bartek
 * Music Preparation: Booker White
 * Score Recorded by: Alan Meyerson, Slamm Andres
 * Album Mixed by: Alan Meyerson, Big Al Clay
 * Additional Recording by: Jeff Biggers, Big Al Clay, Greg Vines, Matt Ward
 * Featured Musicians:
 * Phil Ayling – Oboe
 * Chris Bleth – Duduk
 * Pedro Eustache – Ethnic Woods
 * Karen Han – Erhu
 * Lili Haydn – Fiddle
 * Frank Marocco – Accordion
 * Heitor Pereira – Banjo
 * Simon Phillips – Drums
 * Tom Raney – Cimbalom
 * Martin Tillman – Cello
 * Gore Verbinski – Guitar
 * Featured Vocalist: Delores Clay
 * Principal Musicians:
 * Endre Granat – Concertmaster
 * Julie Gigante – Principal 2nd Violin
 * Brian Dembow – Viola
 * Steve Erdody – Cello
 * Nico Abondolo – Bass
 * Jim Walker, Geri Rotella – Flutes
 * Phil Ayling – Oboe
 * Jim Kanter – Clarinet
 * Michael O'Donnovan – Bassoon
 * Jim Thatcher – Horn
 * Malcolm McNab – Trumpet
 * Charlie Loper – Trombone
 * Doug Tornquist – Tuba
 * Orchestra conducted by: Blake Neely, Nick Glennie-Smith
 * Featured Musician Soloists co-produced by: Jimmy Levine, Nick Glennie-Smith
 * Orchestra contractors: Sandy DeCrescent, Peter Rotter
 * Technical Music Assistants: Pete Oso Snell, Kevin Globerman, Jacob Shea, Bobby Tahouri, Dan Zimmerman
 * Digital Instrument Design by: Mark Wherry
 * Production Coordinator for Hans Zimmer: Andrew Zack
 * Sample Development: Claudius Bruese
 * Sample Development Assistants: Zain Effendi, Mark McCormick
 * Score recorded at:
 * Todd AO Scoring Stage, Studio City, CA
 * Fox Scoring Stage, Century City, CA
 * Sony Scoring Stage, Culver City, CA
 * Choir Recorded by: Geoff Foster
 * Choir Contractor: Isobel Griffiths
 * Choir Master: Jenny O'Grady
 * Choir: Metro Voices
 * Soprano: Hila Plitmann
 * Choir conducted by: Matthew Dunkel
 * UK Music preparation: Jill Streater
 * UK Music Coordinator: Nyree Pinder
 * Choir recorded at: Air Lyndhurst Studios, London and Abbey Road Studios, London
 * Score mixed at: Remote Control Productions, Santa Monica, CA
 * Music Production Services: Steven Kofsky
 * Studio Coordinator: Czarina Russell
 * Music Production Intern: Seth Glennie-Smith
 * Scoring stage crew: Chris Barrett, Alison Burton, Bryan Clementes, Andrew Dudman, Mark Eshelman, Dominic Gonzales, Tom Hardisty, Sam Jones, Tim Lauber, Adam Michalak, Francesco Perlangelli, Denis St. Amand, Jay Selvester, Tom Steel, Chelley Sydow
 * Mastered by: Patricia Sullivan at Bernie Grundman Manstering, Hollywood CA
 * Creative Direction: Steve Gerdes
 * Album Design: Sean Tejaratchi
 * "Hoist the Colours"
 * Cabin Boy Vocals by Brendyn Bell
 * Singing Gallows Pirates: Chris Allport, Lawrence Cummings, Jim Raycroft, Robert Hovencamp, Geoffrey Alch, Ned Werimer, Samuela Beasom, Jessica-Elisabeth
 * Lyrics by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio
 * Music by Hans Zimmer and Gore Verbinski