This site was conceived as a side project by a "tekkie" friend of mine who suggested I use my journalistic experience to write about something I love. We bandied about some ideas before settling on this one - largely because I had collected movie soundtracks for much of my life and thought I could write about them. We wanted the site to be user friendly, well-written and reliable.
Over time, I hope to attract other writers keen to contribute to the site, who don't mind foregoing the financial benefits they may be used to in the short-term for something that may, or may not, be profitable further down the line.
The gradual demise of the cd format, re-emergence of vinyl, along with the expansion of blu-ray dvd and downloads translate to an ever-changing market place; despite this, most of us still buy cd's and dvd's and I hope that you will use the Amazon links on this site to buy online.
We have also included mini YouTube video links that accompany the reviews, so that you can listen to your favourite theme music while watching a related trailer or clip from the movie; because film is a visual medium, there seems no better way of presenting it.
Finally, a note on the type of soundtracks featured. Though purists generally view albums such as "Top Gun", "Flashdance" and others like them, as unworthy of coverage on a film soundtrack site, preferring instead to focus on orchestral scores, we have taken the view that these albums have earned their place based on their continued saleability and affection with a large section of cinema-goers. We wanted to reach as broad an audience as possible and have developed the site with this in mind, without forgetting those fans for whom composers such as Bernard Herrmann and Jerry Goldsmith, among many others, are considered on a par with the master composers. We hope you can find your best movie soundtracks on this site.
Get Shorty.
1995, MGM.
John Lurie/Various.
Antilles/Verve, CD, 1995, 529 310-2. Rating:
Scott Frank’s adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s comic crime novel stars John Travolta as loan shark Chili Palmer, who agrees to loosen his grip on movie producer Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman) in exchange for a shot at the big time. John Lurie’s breezy jazz-infected score matches up well to the films slick, stylish neo-noir feel, with a well chosen roster of songs as support from the likes of Booker T. & The MG’s and Morphine, whose ‘I Had My Chance’ is reminiscent of a less polished Chris Isaak. The light, summery, rhythmic funk of Grayboy’s ‘Panacea’, is a highlight, lined up alongside jazzy organ, making quite a few appearances, most prominently in Medeski Martin & Wood‘s ‘Chubb Sub‘ and Lurie’s ‘To Be Alive And In A Covertible’. The harder beats and electric guitar of ‘Chili At The Airport’ and Booker T’s ‘Can’t Be Still’, shake things up a bit, taking the material away from its acid-jazz roots, though this is essentially a laid back, well compiled collection with an understated slice of cool.
Get Shorty Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. Chili Hot (Us3).
2. Green Onions (Booker T. & The MG’s).
3. Nose Punch (John Lurie).
4. Stink (John Lurie).
5. I Had My Chance (Morphine).
6. To Be Alive And In A Convertibe (John Lurie).
7. Panacea (Greyboy).
8. Chili At Airport (Part 1.) (John Lurie).
9. Vesuvius (John Lurie).
10. Bo’s Veranda (Morphine).
11. Can’t Be Still (Booker T. & The MG’s).
12. Bo AT Airport (John Lurie).
13. Romantic Walk (John Lurie).
14. Chubb Sub (Medeski Martin & Wood).
15. Chili At Airport (Part II) (John Lurie).
16. Chili And Karen At Sunset (John Lurie).
17. Stink (John Lurie).
Scarface.
1983, Universal.
Giorgio Moroder/Various.
Geffen, CD, 2003, 0602498613634. Rating:
Giorgio Moroder (‘American Gigolo’, ‘Flashdance’) was hired to perform his usual synth/pop magic for Brian De Palma’s stylish gangster flick starring Al Pacino, as a Cuban refugee turned drug kingpin. The soundtrack may be dated and suffer from a couple of dud songs; particularly bad is ‘I’m Hot Tonight’, one of two by Elizabeth Daly; but the punchy main theme ‘Scarface (Push It To The Limit)’ sets the tone for a generally adrenaline-fuelled series of power pop numbers that really deliver, while capturing some of the film’s drug-fuelled energy. A couple of Moroder’s instrumental cues are also included but this is essentially an album that plays to the masses with a fair amount of gaudy style and bucket loads of 1980s attitude. Scarface Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1.Scarface (Push It To The Limit) (Paul Engeman).
2.Rush Rush (Deborah Harry).
3.Turn Out The Light (Amy Holland).
4.Vamos A Bailar (Maria Conchita).
5.Tony’s Theme (Giorgio Moroder).
6.She’s On Fire (Amy Holland).
7.Shake It Up (Elizabeth Daly).
8.Dance Dance Dance (Beth Anderson).
9.I’m Hot Tonight (Elizabeth Daly).
10.Gina’s And Elvira’s Theme (Giorgio Moroder).
An offbeat, contemporary film noir, ‘The Grifters’ stars John Cusack as a petty conman, drawn into the complex and dangerous life of his estranged mother (Anjelica Huston) who works for the mob. Elmer Bernstein created an offbeat score, with woodwind and piano and punctuated it with electronic high notes, particularly effective in the film’s main theme ‘The City’ and the darker ‘To The Hospital’. ‘School For Grifters’, melancholic and lonely, flickers with underlying threat, while ‘Roy Gambles’ is a jaunty reminder of the films darkly comic origins. Arguably one of Bernstein’s finest later scores, if you discount the terrible pop track tacked on the end. The Grifters Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. The City.
2. The Racetrack.
3. Roy In Trouble.
4. School For Grifters.
5. To The Hospital.
6. Troubadour Race.
7. Lilly’s Argument.
8. Bobo.
9. Carhumba.
10. Roy Gambles.
11. Madness.
12. Myra’s Blues.
13. Roy And Lilly.
14. Chase.
15. Fright And Flight.
16. Endings.
17. Credits.
18. Do Ya, Do Ya Love Me? (Dream World).
