Steve Jablonsky has composed an absolute gem in the form of Steamboy. An orchestral and choral romp from start to finish, Steamboy does not fail to deliver. Ironically, Jablonsky is better known for his scores for the Transformers trilogy, which for me, was a real guilty pleasure with a mixture of orchestra and electronics. The quality of the music wasn't amazing, yet I thought the themes were simplistic yet memorable. In Steamboy however, there is plenty of pleasure on the ears but without the guilt, because the quality of the orchestral writing is absolutely sublime.
The main theme (Ray's Theme) for the film is brilliant, and is frequently occurs with different orchestrations as not to sound repetitive. The second half of the album really takes off, and the final three tracks are the perfect end to the album. The penultimate two tracks build up the finale, with "Collapse And Rescue" being the highlight of the album. It finishes off with a great reprise of the Ray's Theme.
The album duration is exactly 60 minutes and this was perfect because there are no "filler" tracks to pad the album out with, nor is over to quickly.
Overall, do not hesitate to buy this truly amazing soundtrack. In my opinion, this is Jablonsky's finest, and I wish he would be given the chance to write more purely orchestral/choral scores like this. The lack of "filler" tracks is certainly a bonus, and I thought every track was worthy of inclusion on the album. This really is a 5* album, and anyone who collects soundtracks (or if you liked it in the film) should buy this without hesitation. It's rare to come across something this good.