Michael Nyman

This is a wonderful movie soundtrack. Some soundtracks have selections that are not as good as others and you wish they didn't even include them in the album. But this whole cd is great with beautiful piano music.

You would think that a CD about the film The Piano would feature, (dare I suggest it!)um, piano music but instead, this CD featured some wierd chamber music that really should stay there--in a chamber. Discordant, directionless and eerie, I was very dissapointed. The film was terrific but the CD was not.

For eleven dollars you get 17 relaxing tracks of piano. Michael Nymen is one talented composer. The movie was great and combined with the soundtrack, supergreat. When I play the CD I can see the scenes and feel the drama and power of the screenplay. I'm looking for more music in this vein.

Nyman at his most excellent best! This piano intrumental has it's own heart warming unique musical soul. Like the birth and life of a tiny bird it is born of its own right, grows with great stength and love and takes flight into heavenly sound! They keys and violins will find your deepest sorrows and then release you with an angel's dream.

If you love piano music, you'll love the music from this movie. The movie was great as well.

Forget Gladiator; this is, by far, the best score ever written for any movie. No other score has so fully reflects the feelings running through its film; this score not only accomplishes this to an astounding, even haunting, degree, but it also immeasurably deepens those feelings. In a way, each piece of this score seem to contain all human emotions simultaneously: it bleeds sorrow, it strengthens hope, it stirs anger, it both tranquilizes and agitates. Listen for it and you will find it. This holism, this completeness, makes the music, as others have said, inexplicably haunting. But beyond emotions, this music will prompt you to think, as if ideas flicker subtly beneath the melodies and the harmonies: ideas about human potential, ambition, sacrifice, and strife.

This OST Is powerful and memorial. A few of the selections are a bit busy and to happy , but the over all work is grand. Very emotional and motivational!

I first saw this movie five years ago, and to this day it is still just as captivating, with a beautiful haunting score.

Michael Nyman wrote a feast of music for this haunting sci-fi film. It's wonderful to have a soundtrack that is this good, one that you don't have to be hovering nearby in order to skip a track or two (or five!), because each track is equally lovely. A musically majestic piece of work---Bravo!

To be honest, I didn't get this movie the first few times I saw pieces of it on television (I never had a chance to see it in the theaters). But once I saw the complete movie, my feelings about it changed. It's a movie about hope, about never giving up, about not saving anything for the way back... Michael Nyman's score gives depth and poignancy to the story and characters, and a resonance. During the viewing in which I was finally reached by this story, I started hearing the music for the first time. It's incredibly moving and strong. I had to order the album online, as the record stores don't seem to carry it anymore. I'm so glad I did. The music is affecting, sorrowful, uplifting... perfect. And I'm glad the soundtrack only includes Michael Nyman's music-- it's the emotional core of the movie, and what I hungered to feel inside. A masterpiece of human feeling.

This is very unique piano music, kind of like a mix of folksy and classical. Some of the songs are soulful and moving, others are playful and uplifting. I loved this music so much, I bought the book of sheet music. It is above my limited skill as a pianist, but I want to play these songs so badly, I am motivated to practice.

I've loved Michael Nyman's film scores since 1988s "Drowning By Numbers". Whenever I watch a film that he has scored I have to buy the soundtrack, so I guess that makes me a fan. You don't have to see the movie, but who wouldn't want to see a work of such profound visual and auditory cinematic beauty?
The track "The Heart Ask Pleasure First" which returns as "The Promise" conjures up images of crashing waves and Ada's sad determination. I don't believe Harvey Keitel would have been nearly so scrumptious without the aid of this gorgeous score.

"The Piano" is one of the most powerful soundtracks of the '90s. It's no wonder that Nyman played excerpts from the soundtrack for Live Earth in Japan. In "The Piano", music is the movie's language. Ada uses her piano, at first stranded on the New Zealand beach, to communicate her deepest desires.

"To the Edge of the Earth" is a mysterious, eerie sonic description of Ada's journey with her daughter from Scotland to the enigmatic Land of the Long White Cloud. "A Wild and Distant Shore" again describes the New Zealand wilderness. "The Heart Asks Pleasure First" is the simple love theme that returns in many forms. "Deep into the forest" has an urgency, describing Ada's husband spying on her and her lover. "The Embrace" and "Bed of Ferns" are incredibly erotic. There is melancholy in "The Sacrifice" and "I clipped your wing." "Dreams of a Journey" is more joyous than the opening song, bringing the story full circle.

The only weak song in the whole score is the clunky "Here to there."

"The Piano" is a classic soundtrack;without the movie, it stands on its own. Forbidden love never sounded so beautiful.

Has no-one ever remarked on the similarity between the piano theme of this movie and the piece Opening on Philip Glass' Glassworks? I too love the music on this CD but every time I hear the piano theme I hear the opening of Glassworks.

I saw the film, The Piano, many years ago. I loved the music very much. I listened to this album over and over. I then lost the CD a couple of years ago. I recently purchased it again. I turned it on, to have some music to relax to while I took a bubble bath. I pressed play, got in the tub, and began to listen. I had to get out of the tub and stop it from playing, otherwise my tears would cause the bathtub to overflow. In other words, this goes beyond normal relaxing piano music. The emotion it evokes is pretty raw. But when you're in the mood, it's a great album.

This truly is Michael Nyman's best works over an extensive period of time. This collection shows the range of his compositions and it is beautifully recorded. For any Michael Nyman fan this is a "must have"!

The films of Peter Greenaway are the perfect sum of craftsmanship : text , painting , photography , a minimalist script and frenetic exuberance . All the imaginable beauty and the unthinkable ugliness ; the hidden fears of the human being the timeless evilness . Greenaway films are made such a great symphony . You can identify the four movements in every single movie of this original film maker.
The happy joining with Michael Nyman was a very successful encounter . Because Nyman with his fertile creativity makes possible the most intimate motives and depicts with precision the right feeling and the implacable fate of the characters in the play.
From the draughtsman' s contract . to the sinister A zed and two noughts , passing for the cynical Drowning by numbers , the merciless vengeance in The cook , the thief , his wife and her lover and finally Prospero books based in the Tempest of William Shakespeare .
This album is a summation and digest of ten years of progress in the performance of musicv by a composer whom evidently is gifted and identified in his commitment , and joyous enthusiasm..

Michael Nyman first got my attention with his most popular score to date, The Piano. Nyman's music in the film The Piano, I believe, has yet to be surpassed by any piano score to date. An accomplishment very well recieved by the composer himself, who's redone the score over and over again(I would too if I wrote it). Nyman's other works are not too familiar to me but they all sound very good. His work in Gattaca, although, is another one of Nyman's better scores. The score to Wonderland is probably the closes work to The Piano, feeling wise. Very intense and emotional. I give Michael Nyman 5 stars for his 21 years of composing music for film.

Welcome to the word of minimalist classical music by Michael Nyman, the composer who has been credited with the birth of the minimalist movement. If you haven't heard of him before, chances is that you have heard his music already, since his compositions do get used in numerous film soundtrack, most notably in , which brought him numerous recognitions. Minimalist music can be quite fickled, you either get it or you don't. It owes its root to the folk music traditions, hence the emphasis is less on technical brilliance and more on the music's emotional impact. In this sense, this collection is a real mix. There are some tracks that are emotionally inspiring, such as 'fly drive' in disc 2, others struggled to make impact on me, but that might have to do with the mood I was in.

If you haven't bought his album before, this album is a good start, because it does give you a good overview of his past work. I would also highly recommend soundtrack, which should ease you into the world of Michael Nyman.

This CD is not what it claims to be. It's the Scottish National Orchestra re-doing themes from several movies, and the themes have definitely lost their flavor -- not to mention their tempo. I'm very disappointed. When I want the soundtrack to something, I want the actual soundtrack!

These are not bad renditions if you hadn't seen the movies -- but it's almost as bad as hearing a midi of some song you like: it's just what's on the page, not the incredible flavor of the version in the movie.

Haven't been this disappointed with an album since my penny-pinching little brother bought me "101 Strings Play Simon & Garfunkel". ;)

This would be an excellent background music album if it wasn't for the harsh, unmusical sound in the highly modulated sections. This is most noticable in the RHAPSODY ON A THEME OF PAGANNI, all though it is throughout the album. It is similar to listening to music through speakers that are "over driven" or damaged.
I had no problem with the inclusion of END CREDITS. I thought they worked well for background (as opposed to concert) music, as all the major themes of the movie can be reintroduced in the END CREDITS.

Okay, so I thought I was buying "Great Movie Love Themes." I was familiar with the list, so I thought I would be getting the perfect compilation of melodies. Wrong. This CD should be titled, "Great Movie End Credits Themes," because four of the 12 selections are End Credits music, the stuff no one wants to listen to as all the technical information rolls at the end ot a movie (you know, exit music). The trouble with End Credits is that few carry the actual love theme music or they carry only a small snippet. Most End Credits music is boring. "The English Patient," "Shakespeare in Love," "Sabrina," and "Braveheart," are all End Credits music. Don't expect to hear predominant love themes in these particular selections for which the movies are known.

On the plus side, "Unchained Melody," "Somewhere in Time," and "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini," are beautiful renditions. And the End Credits music for "Sabrina," is better than expected. I'd give "Unchained Melody," "Somewhere in Time," and "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" five stars, "Sabrina" four stars and the other eight selections two stars.

Just be aware when you buy this album that you are not getting exactly what is described. You have to read the fine print on the back of the CD cover.

I love any movie themes, especially the unsung tracks such as the music for opening or closing credits. This is a terrific CD and keeps me happy at work!

This CD is one of my new favorites. The music is just beautiful. Very relaxing soundtracks for in the car or at home.

This CD is a sort of mish-mash of a bunch of seemingly random songs. She goes all over the map from Bach to Braveheart to Linkin Park to Beethoven to Gladiator to Bedingfield and beyond. It's sort of like how I have a bunch of random songs locked in my brain that come out on the keyboard - this album makes me think that I could just take all these songs I know and make an album out of them and hope people understand or care about their significance to me.

I would've given this album 3 stars because 3 tracks will appeal to movie score addicts, 2 tracks will appeal to pop fans and 3 tracks will likely insult classical purists, ETC. I gave it 4 though because even though there are some tracks I will skip on a regular basis, the ones that DO appeal to me are really a pleasure to listen to.

Others have commented on the technical aspects of this; I'd like to talk about the cultural aspects of contemporary classical music and Miss Klass' interpretations (which are very beautiful...).

Myleene Klass is doing something the traditionalists have abandoned: she's making classical music accessible to a contemporary audience. With many kids, you say the words "classical music" and they turn off. They're not interested. But Myleene Klass, Vanessa Mae and others are trying to reverse that trend.

Classical traditionalists are missing the fact that classical music will cease to be a viable art form if new listeners and artists aren't attracted from each generation. Most classical musicians these days are working in the entertainment industry, producing soundtracks for games, movies and TV. There's not much market for classical composition outside of these industries. Fortunately, that's where today's budding musicians are getting exposed to classical music. But Beethoven and Mozart are not accessible to many people.

That's only one reason why artists like Myleene Klass are important. (The fact that she's technically competant and an excellent compositor is an added bonus.) Art must evolve, too...

Besides, Mozart and Beethoven were the hipster bad-boy pop stars of their day. They were sexy, cutting edge and daring. They would both hate the pillar they've been put on, and throw screaming tantrums at the dusty way they've been turned into inviolate idols. They jammed on other composer's music (AKA variations), just as modern electronic artists mash and mix contemporary work. I think they'd be happy to have Miss Klass and her wonderful versions of their work.

i wish people like this would stop "making music." this chick, charlotte church, and andrea bocelli is WHAT"S WRONG with classical music. dumbing down bach for the masses is disrespectful to all true classical musicians, composers, conductors... etc. this is such crap.

When I first heard this amazing collection of both classical music and a little but of hip-hop, I was mesmorized. I listen to this day in and day out. Beautiful songs, consisting of Toccata and Fugue, For the Love of a Princess (From Braveheart), Allegretto, If You're Not the One, The Heart Asks Pleasure First, Moonlight Sonara, Krwling (From Linkin Park), Pavane- Moving On, Adagio (Edgar Cello Concerto), Sarabande, Now We are Free (From Gladiator), Gymnope`die- Live the Dream and a BONUS TRAK, the classical version of Moonlight Sonata. Each and every one of these songs has a little twist on it, by Myleene Klass. As a classical music lover, and a hip-hop fan, this is the perfect CD for everyone wanting to listen to something new. I myself am a classical music player, I have played the piano for 14 years and have never heard anything like this. So take it from me, this will be loved by children and adults alike.

Formerly of the now-dissolved British bigender pop group Hear'Say, Myleene Klass turned from post-Spice type pop to classical, a big shift considering the genres involved. Her instrument's the piano and she does have a symphony orchestra backing her up. Her selections straddle classical, pop, and even soundtrack scores, with arrangements done by herself and Nick Patrick, and bolstered by the Telephilmonic Orchestra.

"Toccata" is Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Accompanying the symphony and Myleene is a light drum machine not as boisterous as Massive Attack.

Myleene next gets the ivories around the sad but romantic "For The Love Of A Princess," the love theme from Braveheart, one of three soundtrack themes she does. The orchestra's backing helps the atmosphere of this song, as does the light drum machines towards the end. "The Heart Asks Pleasure First" from The Piano, and Michael Nyman's score, is truly a showcase for Klass for the first minute before the orchestra kicks in. And I never saw Gladiator, but she does a Myleene Mix of "Now We Are Free", meaning some light drums and a Benedectine-type choir.

"Allegretto" is from Karl Jenkins' Palladio and this is more conventional than the way left-field version done by Bond on their second album Shine. Done with lots of feeling and uptempo without the oontsa-oontsa techno beats.

Myleene does an instrumental arrangement of Daniel Bedingfield's hit single "If You're Not The One." Her piano playing matches Bedingfield's falsetto in the chorus section. I like this better than the original due to the lush string arrangements. I like her rendition of Linkin Park's "Crawling," titled here "Krlwng," but then again, I haven't heard the original and never intend to. I'll bet it's way better. Light drum machines present in this one.

"Pavane-Moving On" is taken from Gabriel Faure's Pavane, Opus 50, a melancholy and reflective piece, that is until the orchestra takes over in the second minute.

"Adagio" is taken from Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor, Opus 85 and "Sarabande" from Georg F. Handel's Suite No. 11 in D Minor. The strings oft-times sound like what Bond did with Zeppelin's "Kashmir", a fierce jerking back and forth of strings.
There are two versions of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata," one which the light drum programming, the other, a bonus track, without. Both showcase Klass's piano work.

"Gymnopedie-Live The Dream" is taken from Eric Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1, which Charlotte Church used for "From My First Moment" on Enchantment. However, Klass whispers some words as she plays in the beginning: "Did you ever stop to think what gives you strength to live another day? The breath in your body, the kisses you feel. It's all so simple, but never real. Maybe the strength you strive to show is so deep within. But it's true, I know. Welcome love, however far it seems. Go live the dream."

I've devised a Cartesian system for the wave of neo-classical music prevalent right now with two dimensions, vocal/non-vocal and progressive (mixed)/conventional. Despite the brief spoken words in "Live The Dream", Klass is more on the non-vocal/conventional quadrant but due to her covering soundtrack scores and popular tunes and the use of drum machines, she's not as far to the right of the quadrant as Eroica Trio, whereas neo-classics like Brightman, Church, and Hayley Westenra would be in the progressive/vocal quadrant, diametrically opposite Eroica Trio. However, Klass has the looks of a Maxim or FHM model, so if we use that in the measure of progressive vs. conventional, that might move Klass more left of the axis.

A worthy debut from Myleene Klass, helping to define the face of neo-classical today, and that's not just Hear'say (or do I mean hearsay?), that's plain truth.

It is good driving music, it is a breath of fresh air in a hectic world.

This CD was all that I hoped for. Beautiful, evocative music just made for a relaxing evening at home.

This compilation of movie themes is one of the most pleasurable CD's you'll ever own.

I say "probably," since it's hard to outdo its "Beethoven Adagios" set. I've only bought a few of these "Adagios" sets because, looking over the track listings of so many, there's just so much overlap. Here, you get the best single collection of the bunch. Here, I was introduced to Addinsell's "Warsaw Concerto," and for that alone it was worth the price. But let's not forget a significant number of other gorgeous classic adagios: Beethoven's "Emperor" concerto (used in a gorgeous film, "Picnic at Hanging Rock"), Bach's "Air on a G String," Mahler's Adaghietto from Symphony no. 5, some obligatory Mozart, the Barber adagio, Debussy's Claire de lune, and - oh lovely! - Schubert's String Quintet in C. Then there are much-appreciated entries (Cinema Paradiso, Gabriel's Oboe) from a personal favorite composer, Ennio Morricone, one of the actual official film composers (as distinct from long-dead composers whose music was used in film) used for this collection, along with a couple from another personal favorite, John Barry. (You'd really need to get Barry's own set of "adagios," titled "Moviola," to get his best, e.g., the title theme to "Out of Africa" and to "Somewhere in Time." For Morricone, the master of the romantic adagio in the past century, go with "Itinerary of a Genius" or individual soundtracks like "Legend of 1900," "Lolita," "Once Upon a Time in America," "Once Upon a Time in the West," and others.)

A couple drawbacks to this set: (1) The adagio from Rachmaninov's 2nd is truncated to a mere 4 minutes. For this, one is well advised to purchase a CD with the entire concerto, or get a full version of just the adagio elsewhere (Decca does include a full version on its "Romantic Adagios" collection). (2) So much from so many composers is included, that there is too little room for more Beethoven. I'd prefer the adagio from the "Pathetique" sonata to the "Moonlight" one which was included here. For Beethoven adagios, you need the "Beethoven Adagios" set as an accompaniment (where you get, among other things, adagios for the op. 130 string quartet, the 6th symphony, the violin concerto, piano concerto no. 3, the 7th symphony, and the romance for violin no. 2, op. 50). If you're a fan of Mozart music often used in the movies, there's the "Mozart Adagios" set and/or the "Amadeus" soundtrack.

I'm a "purist" as to a few works; I'd rather hear the entirety of the "Emperor" concerto than merely the adagio, for instance. In plenty of other cases, an adagio movement is heard just fine as a stand-alone work; plenty of the most beautiful music is used for adagio movements, as these sets make clear enough.

This is an excellent selection of music. I listen to it every chance I get. It is great just to put in your CD player on "repeat" and allow it to soothe and inspire you for a few hours, for an evening, or an for entire day.

One reason I chose it was that I was looking for music that could simply be a nice background noise for when I'm working on things that require reading and concentration. I wanted music that would not be a distraction, and this does a good job. It is also great to listen to when doing almost anything, like even cleaning the house or doing laundry. I will admit though, that listening to the selection from Swan Lake might make you want to dance around the living room.

Also, besides the obvious ones that everybody knows (Beethoven's 5th, or Canon in D, etc.) I do not know enough to distinguish specific songs from their composers, which is why I was hesitant to buy a classical CD soley of one artist because once I got it I may not have liked it or been familiar with any of the songs. That is why I picked Movie Adagios because I knew it would be a selection of some of the best classical music from the movies, which it is.

Since I am a self proclaimed movie fanatic and avid movie score purchaser, I have many of the albums and songs in their original format. I looked at Reel Chill as being a good way to bring them all together on one album. These are the original compositions - but NOT the original music as heard and performed for the movies.

I was looking for that emotion you feel when listening to the music from a significant film, and it just wasn't there when it's a 'remake' from another orchestra.

I won't knock the music - it's beautifully performed, but if you're looking for that 'exact' sound as heard in the movie (A.I., Chariots of Fire, etc) - this is NOT the album.

What a crowning achievement to bring "Reel Chill:Cinematic Chillout Album", released by Silva America and featuring The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and the Crouch End Festival Chorus ~ conductors are Mark Ayres, Paul Bateman, Rick Clark, James Fitzpatrick, Nic Raine and David Temple director of the chorus ~ one can only expect the highest quality of performances and quench the thirst of all "film-score-buffs".

Sit back and unleash the first disc with composers ~ Albinoni, Craig Armstrong, John Barry, Vladimir Cosma, Enya & Nicky Ryan, Handel, Francis Lai, Ennio Morricone, Sean O'Riorda, Nino Rota, Ryvichi Sakamoto and Vangelis ~ taking each film score cue "BILITIS", "CHARIOTS OF FIRE", "CINEMA PARADISO", "DIVA", "GALLIPOLI", "THE LORD OF THE RINGS:THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING", "BARRY LYNDON", "MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE", "MIDNIGHT COWBOY", "THE MISSION", "ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA", "ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST", "ROMEO & JULIET" and "ROMEO + JULIET", with arrangements that soar and then simmer into pure meditation of grandeur ~ classic film music prevails, as orchestration comes to the surface with pure originality ~ one masterpiece after another is long last presented as it should have been, is cause for celebration ~ each cue is a distinctive gift for striking modernism, touching on the transition of the period in this planets history.

Second disc is waiting in the wings are composers ~ Samuel Barber, John Barry, Patrick Cassidy, James Horner, Mahler, Mascagni, Stanley Myers, Thomas Newman, Michael Nyman, Howard Shore, John Williams and Hans Zimmer/Lisa Gerrard ~ take a musical ride with "AMERICAN BEAUTY", "A.I. ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE", "DEATH IN VENICE", "DEER HUNTER", "GLADIATOR", "HANNIBAL", "THE LORD OF THE RINGS:RETURN OF THE KING", "ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE", "OUT OF AFRICA", "PATRIOT GAMES", "THE PIANO", "PLATOON", "RAGING BULL", "SOMEWHERE IN TIME" and "YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE" ~ our composers with passion and skill for exploring human emotions, coupled with a unique gift for striking exotic orchestral colors, make this with all it's splendor unforgettable ~ themes that ring with familiarity as each film comes to mind through music.

Silva America gives the collector a treasure of thirty film cues that any "film-score-buff" would die for ~ in the past James Fitzpatrick (producer), Reynold da Silva (executive producer), mastered by Rick Clark and David Stoner (release co-ordinator) have given us compilation with such expertise and this one is no exception ~ keep up the outstanding limited editions and deluxe package releases, with your signature tidbits for all film music fans that's in all of us...gotta love it!

Total Time: 2-CD-Set ~ Silva America 1161 ~ (8/10/2004)

Tracks 9 (Pirates) & 10 (Earring) on disk 4 are indeed reversed. I hope that Amazon will take a look to fix this.

I bought this as a gift for my husband. He wasn't expecting this; usually he gives me a list and I choose from it. I saw this while looking for one of his other selections and thought he'd like it. I figured, even if he doesn't, I will. We both love it! Great for listening on long drives up the turnpike!

Over the past thirty years, my father and I have been collecting film music on various formats--vinyl, tape, reel-to-reel, CD, recording it from the movie, even. This collection is a great starter for someone who wants to start owning movie music. Lots of big hitters, including Hermann, Barry, Conti, Mancini, and Goldsmith as well as some contemporary scores that are great, too. This is the type of collection I would make for a friend who asks "what scores should I start with?"

This is film music for the classical music lover. The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra presents excellent arrangements of a number of classic film themes (although several pieces of the 56 film classics selected for this 4 CD set are not orchestral arrangements, but rather specialty arrangements). Besides great film composers such as John Williams, Elmer Bernstein, Ennio Morricone, and James Horner, classical composers such as Richard Strauss and Pietro Mascagni make an appearance. On several of the numbers the Crouch End Festival Chorus adds the human voice to the power of the full symphonic orchestra to create true movie magic. If you like the sound of a full symphony orchestra playing some of the most recognized themes ever written, you'll love these CDs.

Silva Screen Records, based in England, has been issuing some fine collections of film scores, more in one box than we have the right to expect. This four-CD box contains scores by many of the best writers, including Max Steiner, Bernard Herrmann, Dimitri Tomkin, Kenneth J. Alford (The Bridge on the River Kwai), Elmer Bernstein, Maurice Jarre, Ennio Marricone, John Barry, Nino Rota, John Williams, James Horner, and more. We can all think of additional film scores we wished were included, but then there's no way this collection could be all-inclusive. The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, supplemented by Crouch End Festival Chorus on some numbers, does a very competent job...The liner notes give the basic information without any commentary, and as far as I can see, contain only one error. Am I wrong or are tracks 9 and 10 on the fourth CD mislabeled? Track 9, which runs 7:33, seems to have the excitement of "Pirates of the Caribbean" (which I did not see) and track 10, which runs 4:22, the more sedate "The Girl with the Pearl Earring (which I also did not see). Listings seem to have them reversed.

What can I say, the album really helped make this fantastic movie for me. I purchased the album maybe eight years after the film was released, and it still sends chills and excitement through my body when I listen to it. Great film and Soundtrack, Highly recommended!
Enjoy!

Without a doubt, Ravenous is the most deliciously ingenious and bizarre and maybe even original score I've ever heard, and I've heard many many of them. What Nyman and Alburn have done here is essentially do for movie scores what Tarantino did for films - take all the essential rules and fundamental guidelines, throw them out, and then do the exact opposite.
How else could you explain this album? Plucking banjos, furious strings, bizarre whiny horns, and even accordians? And yet....they make it work so well! This is truly both a haunting and terrifying score. It's one that lingers in your mind, love it or hate it. Strange, how it distracts you from the film on purpose, and completely deserves to. And that's probably the best compliment I can give this score - it's one of a kind, and will always be unforgettable.
You'll notice I haven't actually described the album or specific music on the tracks in any substantial way. That's because it's impossible to describe. It has to be experienced to believe. If you like experimental music or are a fan of film scores, run and pick this up right away. Wether you do indeed love it or despise it, you will be looking at it with a shudder on your CD shelf for many years to come.
cheers
KZ

Many scores/soundtracks don't seem to cover all the basics that a movie requires. They oftentimes seem to go for the marketing tool that works "after the fact" feel, hoping to sell more albums instead of help out the movie. This hurts quite a few films, too, because it allows certain table settings to slip through the cracks. Too often there is opting that instead takes faces that an audience knows, giving them that flavor of the moment instead of letting the levity and the sounds of situations shine through. Ravenous was an exception to that rule, however, making something that captured the bizarre blends of horror depicted in the moment.

When I first saw the movie, I was actually moved by the score and I thought that it accented many of the moods all too well. The frantic situations, the ones that were almost funny but that shouldn't be, and the horror was something I thought was fantastic. Atmospherically the films was a work of art, and I found later on that it wasn't simply the pictures that were making the film. It was instead the brooding sounds circulated through the scenes, making moments like the one captured in "run" applaudably funny instead of horrific, that made me like it so much. So I went out and bought this work by Nyman and Albarn and I've had it in my listening lineup ever since.

Even if you really aren't a fan of scores, you might want to give this work a go. I'm not normally one to pick up tracks of this nature, normally staying away from soundtracks of any sort altogether, but this is a versatile piece with real potential. It works as interesting background sound, making walking through the park or eating lunch with your discman on an interesting experience. That and the conversation highlights it can spawn make with friends makes it well worth looking into.

In a webzine interview Michael Nyman explained that while the score is attributed to "Damon Albarn & Michael Nyman", none of the individual pieces were actual collaborations. Albarn wrote about 60% entirely by himself, then Nyman came and wrote the rest.

That said, there are no "dodgy" tracks on this soundtrack. They're all excellent, and very unique. My favourites - Colquhoun's Story, Let's Go Kill That Bastard and the end titles - have complex layered melodies and strong rhythm. Keep in mind though that this was for a movie about cannibalism. Some tracks are particularly tension filled, but even the whimsical band pieces, like the flavoursomely off-key "Welcome to Fort Spencer", have a distinctly sinister tone.

And can I say that it's fun trying to guess who wrote which track.

How good is this score? As three or four reviewers have already mentioned, I'm sitting here listening to it even as I type. You couldn't get a more odd combination than avant-garde composer Michael Nyman and former BLUR frontman Damon Albarn if you tried, but considering the schizoid nature of the movie it was composed for, it TOTALLY works.

The photos in the liner notes make me wonder how somebody didn't have the presence of mind to immortalize this collaboration on video...a documentary about the making of this soundtrack would've probably been as oddly engaging as the movie itself.

But let's just stick with the album: music hasn't been this "visual" since John Williams score for JAWS, or Bernard Herrmann's classic work on PSYCHO. Hearing it out of context would probably a VERY strange experience, so if you can stomach the gore, I would recommend viewing the film first. As a stand-alone work it may seem like a very odd duck, but even then I think it will grow on more adventurous listeners. It is without a doubt one of the two most overlooked scores of the decade, (the other being Carter Burwell's THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER.)

"Hail Columbia" is a great way to start the disk as in the movie, with a queasy discordance underscoring the tune in a way that perfectly complements the scene it was written for (Boyd's "promotion"), as does all the superb work here. "Boyd's Journey" describes the entire movie in less than five minutes, with a strangely grand theme that can only be described as "tragically heroic."

Definite highlights: "Colquhon's Story"; from "Trek to the Cave" up to "Ives Return" which I have come to consider a kind of "RAVENOUS Suite," where it's a song cycle that won't make sense unless you hear every song in between in one sitting; "Manifest Destiny," and of course, "Saveoursoulissa," one of the most chilling "death struggle" themes to appear in recent years, mostly because of the subtle way it plays on your spine, understating the final confrontation between Boyd and Ives.

But what are you listening to me for? Buy this for your collection NOW!