Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Braveheart - The Soundtrack
Mel Gibson is perhaps one of the most unpopular celebrities at the moment, but I can't deny the fact he's the star & director of Braveheart and picked up a few Academy Awards for the effort. So when I want to talk about the soundtrack, well, here he is.Selecting the random function on my Itunes, it played back the Braveheart soundtrack and reminded me why I bought the CD more than 10 years ago. I really liked the movie, and the film's score really captivated me. While there are some tracks that are conveying the battle scenes (for example, The Battle of Stirling) with heavy drums and the sounds of trumpets, I like the more soothing cuts, such as Gift of a Thistle and The Secret Wedding. It's great music to listen to while on the computer or just taking it easy with a book.
James Horner was the man responsible for writing the score which earned him an Academy award nomination, and the rest of his resume is quite impressive. He wrote scores for almost 90 films, including Titanic, Apollo 13, Aliens, Glory, and A Beautiful Mind.
If you haven't given it a listen, and even if you didn't like the film, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.
# posted by SBP : 8:16 PM
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Where's Alex's list of the top 25 soundtracks of all time?
# posted by 
: 10:59 AM, February 22, 2007
: 10:59 AM, February 22, 2007
Okay, you got me...
Please note: I refused to put in any flashdance, footloose, Grease, or any other blatant chick-flick soundtrack on there. You want 'em, you review 'em.
TOP 5 INSTRUMENTAL SOUNDTRACKS
Star Wars - John Williams was a genius before this soundtrack, afterwards he was an icon.
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story - Underrated, string-heavy with lots of crescendos and mood. The drum portions are fantastic.
Hunt for Red October - Basil Poledouris RIP. The soundtrack was so good, it defined what the genre would sound like (take a listen to U-571's or Crimson Tide's soundtrack, total ripoffs)
Once Upon a Time in the West - Ennio Morricone INVENTED the speghetti western musical genre. Wa-waaaa-wah.
The Godfather - Nino Rota brings together a sense of the old world and America together by using traditional italian instrumentation with jazz-like arrangements. One of the most recognizable soundtracks ever.
TOP 10 VOCAL SOUNDTRACKS
Dazed and Confused I & II - Trust in Richard Linklatter's ability to bring together tunes that fit the story and firmly plant the listener in the era in which it takes place. that seems to be a theme with most of the best soundtracks ever made. Curious that Dylan's Hurricane and Aerosmith's Sweet Emotion were left off of both CD's!
Quadrophenia - If you don't like The Who, you're probably not going to bother. But I'll paraphrase myself and ask you a question that I used to ask at the video store when someone asked about a great film: Do you like music? If the answer's yes, then this soundtrack's worth a try.
Pulp Fiction - Hard to separate this from Reservoir Dogs, which gets props for having Stephen Wright as the radio DJ, but Fiction's soundtrack was incredibly strong given that most of the listeners had never heard any of these tunes. Urge Overkill could have retired after the amount of airplay they got.
Trainspotting - A soundtrack soaked in British style, it was the bridge from brit-pop to the frenetic drug-culture beats that followed. They also successfully included Iggy Pop and Lou Reed, giving you a generational feel for the atmosphere of the flick.
High Fidelity - "I will now sell four copies of "The Three EPs" by The Beta Band". You can't have a movie based on Nick Hornby's novel without a strong soundtrack. Luckily, this one's pretty good, with Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan, and Elvis Costello, how bad could it possibly turn out?
Swingers - Even though it was partially responsible for the resurgence of swing dancing in the US and Canada, there're a few once-cool and once-again cool tunes on there.
So I Married an Axe Murderer - Probably stronger in my mind as it's one of my favourite films, but the soundtrack matched the flick perfectly: light, funny and didn't require any heavy analysis. So neither does this review. Wo-man! Wooaaaaaaaah, Man!
Singles - Put your faith in a soundtrack by Cameron Crowe and you can't go wrong. An automatic introduction to the world of grunge for all of us who didn't grow up in Seattle.
Purple Rain - You can't deny the power of Prince's visions, even if they're Dali-esque at times. A
powerhouse of the purple-one's best efforts.
Last of the Mohicans - Whenever I watch or reflect on this flick, I think of the soundtrack first and the film second. But both fall into the category of "epic" for me. There's a reason that studios still use tunes from this album in movie trailers. It's THAT good.
Forrest Gump - They captured the eras pretty well, and did a fantastic marketing job with this two-disc set. One of the best selling soundtracks of all time, it did a lot to bring musical standards from the 60's and 70's to a new generation. Accessible but not as musically challenging to the listener as it could be.
Blues Brothers - If you like legends of music, you've gotta give this album a listen. Pretty much every form of modern music can trace their roots back to the songs and performers featured on this album. AND it has the theme to Rawhide!
Lost Boys - Underrated, moody, and just a little poppy, the soundtrack didn't feature much in the way of star power (okay, fine, it has 2 INXS songs), but pretty much summed up the film's essence. Precursor to modern goth-pop.
Goodfellas/Casino - God Bless Martin Scorsese. I can just picture the stacks and stacks of vinyl he must have in his basement. I wonder if he calls Mick and Keith before he starts a film just to get their input?
Just as the films cover a few different eras, each song selection is note-perfect. Only Marty could take us from Dean-O to Devo.
Commitments (I & II) - Another modern foray into classic (not classical) music, the twist being that many of the songs were performed by the actors, who were, in fact, chosen for the film based on their ability to actually perform the music. Perhaps the first instance of corporate band manufacturing, but the saving grace is that they actually produced good stuff. And remember everyone, Heroine Kills.
Please note: I refused to put in any flashdance, footloose, Grease, or any other blatant chick-flick soundtrack on there. You want 'em, you review 'em.
TOP 5 INSTRUMENTAL SOUNDTRACKS
Star Wars - John Williams was a genius before this soundtrack, afterwards he was an icon.
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story - Underrated, string-heavy with lots of crescendos and mood. The drum portions are fantastic.
Hunt for Red October - Basil Poledouris RIP. The soundtrack was so good, it defined what the genre would sound like (take a listen to U-571's or Crimson Tide's soundtrack, total ripoffs)
Once Upon a Time in the West - Ennio Morricone INVENTED the speghetti western musical genre. Wa-waaaa-wah.
The Godfather - Nino Rota brings together a sense of the old world and America together by using traditional italian instrumentation with jazz-like arrangements. One of the most recognizable soundtracks ever.
TOP 10 VOCAL SOUNDTRACKS
Dazed and Confused I & II - Trust in Richard Linklatter's ability to bring together tunes that fit the story and firmly plant the listener in the era in which it takes place. that seems to be a theme with most of the best soundtracks ever made. Curious that Dylan's Hurricane and Aerosmith's Sweet Emotion were left off of both CD's!
Quadrophenia - If you don't like The Who, you're probably not going to bother. But I'll paraphrase myself and ask you a question that I used to ask at the video store when someone asked about a great film: Do you like music? If the answer's yes, then this soundtrack's worth a try.
Pulp Fiction - Hard to separate this from Reservoir Dogs, which gets props for having Stephen Wright as the radio DJ, but Fiction's soundtrack was incredibly strong given that most of the listeners had never heard any of these tunes. Urge Overkill could have retired after the amount of airplay they got.
Trainspotting - A soundtrack soaked in British style, it was the bridge from brit-pop to the frenetic drug-culture beats that followed. They also successfully included Iggy Pop and Lou Reed, giving you a generational feel for the atmosphere of the flick.
High Fidelity - "I will now sell four copies of "The Three EPs" by The Beta Band". You can't have a movie based on Nick Hornby's novel without a strong soundtrack. Luckily, this one's pretty good, with Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan, and Elvis Costello, how bad could it possibly turn out?
Swingers - Even though it was partially responsible for the resurgence of swing dancing in the US and Canada, there're a few once-cool and once-again cool tunes on there.
So I Married an Axe Murderer - Probably stronger in my mind as it's one of my favourite films, but the soundtrack matched the flick perfectly: light, funny and didn't require any heavy analysis. So neither does this review. Wo-man! Wooaaaaaaaah, Man!
Singles - Put your faith in a soundtrack by Cameron Crowe and you can't go wrong. An automatic introduction to the world of grunge for all of us who didn't grow up in Seattle.
Purple Rain - You can't deny the power of Prince's visions, even if they're Dali-esque at times. A
powerhouse of the purple-one's best efforts.
Last of the Mohicans - Whenever I watch or reflect on this flick, I think of the soundtrack first and the film second. But both fall into the category of "epic" for me. There's a reason that studios still use tunes from this album in movie trailers. It's THAT good.
Forrest Gump - They captured the eras pretty well, and did a fantastic marketing job with this two-disc set. One of the best selling soundtracks of all time, it did a lot to bring musical standards from the 60's and 70's to a new generation. Accessible but not as musically challenging to the listener as it could be.
Blues Brothers - If you like legends of music, you've gotta give this album a listen. Pretty much every form of modern music can trace their roots back to the songs and performers featured on this album. AND it has the theme to Rawhide!
Lost Boys - Underrated, moody, and just a little poppy, the soundtrack didn't feature much in the way of star power (okay, fine, it has 2 INXS songs), but pretty much summed up the film's essence. Precursor to modern goth-pop.
Goodfellas/Casino - God Bless Martin Scorsese. I can just picture the stacks and stacks of vinyl he must have in his basement. I wonder if he calls Mick and Keith before he starts a film just to get their input?
Just as the films cover a few different eras, each song selection is note-perfect. Only Marty could take us from Dean-O to Devo.
Commitments (I & II) - Another modern foray into classic (not classical) music, the twist being that many of the songs were performed by the actors, who were, in fact, chosen for the film based on their ability to actually perform the music. Perhaps the first instance of corporate band manufacturing, but the saving grace is that they actually produced good stuff. And remember everyone, Heroine Kills.
# posted by : 3:22 PM, February 22, 2007
: 3:22 PM, February 22, 2007
Alex, you rock!!
By the way, are these in order? Because I'm never going to stop bugging you about having Star Wars first. Are you going to play the soundtrack and wave your new Obi-wan light sabre around?
By the way, are these in order? Because I'm never going to stop bugging you about having Star Wars first. Are you going to play the soundtrack and wave your new Obi-wan light sabre around?
# posted by : 3:31 PM, February 22, 2007
: 3:31 PM, February 22, 2007
Nope, no order... I would have put numbers in front of 'em if it was.
# posted by : 6:45 PM, February 22, 2007
: 6:45 PM, February 22, 2007
Oh, by the way, you can bug me all you like about Star Wars and Lightsabres (still don't own one, but I hear it's been shipped!), just man-up and put your name on this blog. Your anonymous bullshit's getting tired.
# posted by : 12:39 AM, February 23, 2007
: 12:39 AM, February 23, 2007
A few sleeper soundtracks but worthy of a listen.
24-hour Party People - It spans the Manchester music scene from pre Joy Division to post Happy Mondays. Genius.
Sexy Beast - South (a fave of Plan-B and Stan's) team up with James Lavelle (aka U.N.K.L.E). Crazy beats.
Garden State - "It's indie-tastic" (seek out the hipster record store clerk sketch on youtube to see why I'm kidding)
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24-hour Party People - It spans the Manchester music scene from pre Joy Division to post Happy Mondays. Genius.
Sexy Beast - South (a fave of Plan-B and Stan's) team up with James Lavelle (aka U.N.K.L.E). Crazy beats.
Garden State - "It's indie-tastic" (seek out the hipster record store clerk sketch on youtube to see why I'm kidding)
# posted by : 11:51 AM, February 23, 2007
: 11:51 AM, February 23, 2007Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
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