for movie soundtrack enthusiasts and music aficionados, a collection of rare, hard to find, out of print, lost, forgotten and classic movie soundtracks...enjoy!
When noted Dutch director Paul Verhoeven moved to Hollywood in the mid-'80s, few could have guessed he would embrace the prevailing action film culture with such unabashed enthusiasm. The assaultive, pulp-on-steroids sensibility of Robocop made it a huge success, but came injected with critiques of American TV and pop culture that were often wrapped in the muscular irony of Basil Poledouris' driving, synth-pumped orchestral score. This new edition of the modern sci-fi classic underscores the point with bonus tracks of the film's jangly TV news and commercial parodies, but it's still the industrial crunch of Poledouris' back-to-the-future neo-modernism that take center stage on this digitally remastered deluxe edition. Powered by an aggressive performance by a then-newly reformed Sinfonia of London and recorded at legendary Abbey Road (the score's frequent metallic percussion is the studio's fire extinguisher being struck with a hammer), Poledouris' music manages to evoke themes of sacrifice and redemption that are as old as the Bible, yet infuse them with a cold detachment that suggests a future of uncertain humanity. --Jerry McCulley (Amazon review)
Robert Duvall's triple-threat (producer/writer/director) 1997 film about a fundamentalist Texas preacher whose fiery spirituality and good works are nearly unraveled by his decidedly human lusts is remarkable for a number of things--the star's non-judgmental approach to Christianity undercuts easy stereotyping and his choice in music nicely smudges the modern, artificially drawn boundaries between country and gospel. It's a collection of music that shows what rich diversity there is in music that's been largely marginalized by mainstream marketeers. Highlights include Lyle Lovett's rousing "I'm a Soldier In the Army of the Lord," "In the Garden" by Johnny Cash, and The Carter Family returning to their roots on "Waitin' On the Far Bank of Jordan". --Jerry McCulley (Amazon review) 1. I Will Not Go Quietly - Steven Curtis Chapman 2. Two Coats - Patty Loveless 3. I'm A Soldier In The Army Of The Lord - Lyle Lovett 4. Softly & Tenderly - Rebecca Lynn Howard 5. There Is A River - Gaither Vocal Band 6. In The Garden - Johnny Cash 7. I Love To Tell The Story - Emmylou Harris, Robert Duvall 8. Waitin' On The Far Side Banks Of Jordan - Carter Family 9. Victory Is Mine - Sounds Of Blackness 10. There Is Power In The Blood - Lari White 11. There Ain't No Grave (Gonna Hold My Body Down) - Russ Taff 12. I'll Fly Away - Gary Chapman, Wynonna 13. Softly & Tenderly (Reprise) - Dino Kartsonakis
Thomas Newman, one of the finest film score composers of our day, did some of his finest work with Meet Joe Black. Mr. Newman is particularly adept with scoring for large orchestra, especially the string section. With the orchestra he often mixes electronic sounds and exotic instruments, not in some gimmicky way but so seamlessly that there's no way to tell exactly what you're hearing. His forte is large-scale, adagios, slowly played by seemingly endless strings to create moods of melancholy, tenderness or triumph. In the case of this score he also has created themes that hint at the vastness and mystery of the universe, something totally appropriate to the film itself. The music of Meet Joe Black is mostly of a sweeping nature, the large orchestral forces totally engulfing the listener in long passages without any apparent pauses, the kind of music one might listen to when looking at a starry sky deep at night. But there's more than that. The "Everywhere Freesia" section plunges the listener into the world of English Pastoral music for a few minutes of delightful reverie. "Fifth Avenue" is a jaunty dancelike piece that features an almost Klezmer-style clarinet. The Finale (That Next Place) is a resoundingly triumphant movement, full of resolution and ending with a gigantic flourish of horns and strings worthy of a Bruckner symphony. The soundtrack works very well as a stand alone and can be enjoyed without any knowledge of the film. In addition, it varies it's themes often enough and its tracks are long enough to make it easily listenable. ...(Amazon review)
