The Body in Davy Jones Locker

After almost two decades of hibernation under the ambient waves and dub currents of the Sargasso Sea, LSD announces the next installment of the seminal ‘Auntie Aubrey's' series, an Orb Remix Project. This 2 x CD compilation is a veritable smorgasbord of classic, new and unreleased labour-of-love remixes that span three decades yet still transcend space and time.

Master and Commander, based on the hugely successful literary series by Patrick O' Brian, chronicles the adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey of The Royal British Navy. Musically speaking, the seafaring genre hasn't lived up to its expectations in a long, long time. For a world saturated with lore, shanties, and melodies inspired by the ocean, Hollywood remains unresponsive, uninspired, and bereft of the combination to Davy Jones' locker. One would expect a bombastic, heroic, and unforgettable motif to assist our protagonist in his exploits, but composers Iva Davies and Christopher Gordon provide nothing of the sort. The original portion of the score succeeds in riding wave upon wave of tension, but swashbuckling tales of the sea require a memorable tune, not just a storm of Taiko drums and washed-out strings. The composers fare better on a recurring folk medley, lovingly rendered by master violinist Richard Tognetti – fans of the novels on which the film is based know full well that Lucky Jack is a fiddle-slinging-bard of a captain – that captures the true spirit of being miles away from home with your mates and fending off ghostly freighters. The remainder of the soundtrack yields a tad more bounty, utilizing famous classical pieces from Mozart, Bach, and Boccherini to great effect, bailing out the brackish water intent on keeping this ship permanently docked.

The thunderous roar of exploding depth charges was a familiar and comforting sound to the crew members of the USS Barb, who frequently found themselves somewhere between enemy fire and Davy Jones's locker.