HOLLYWOOD HITS THE HIGH NOTES
Our pick of a bumper crop of film music
WiTh the Oscars just a month away, 2014 has already produced a string of excellent soundtrack albums, to go with the exceptionally strong field of films.
Some, dominated by old hits, are like great playlists. Others, featuring new songs penned for the big screen, are brilliant records in their own right . . .
12 YEARS A SLAVE (Columbia)
SuPERBLY curated by soul man John Legend, the soundtrack to Steve McQueen’s masterpiece starring Chiwetel Ejiofor (pictured) features 16 tracks recorded for the film. highlights include Alicia Keys’s Queen Of The Field ( Patsey’s Song), a stunning piano ballad, and Laura Mvula’s Nina Simone-inspired version of the Rodgers and hart standard Little Girl Blue.
The album also features musicians happy to step outside their comfort zones: Legend performs an acoustic guitar number with British singersongwriter Fink; grunge icon Chris Cornell, of Soundgarden, joins singer Joy Williams, of The Civil Wars, for a haunting country duet.
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (Virgin EMI)
ThE fast-paced soundtrack for Martin Scorsese’s blockbuster has the feel of a party album. There is good-time blues aplenty, with Elmore James’s signature tune Dust My Broom sitting alongside standards by howlin’ Wolf and Bo Diddley.
Soul queen Sharon Jones delivers a gritty version of Goldfinger, while there are welcome slots for Jimmy Castor’s classic Latin-funk single hey Leroy, Your Mama’s Callin’ You and Malcolm McLaren’s Double Dutch.
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (Nonesuch)
iNSPiRED by the Greenwich Village folk scene of the early Sixties, this album reunites the
by team behind 2000’s memorable O Brother, Where Art Thou? — and it shows.
With directors the Coen brothers assisted by Americana figurehead T. Bone Burnett, it boasts an authentic feel.
Marcus Mumford and actor Oscar isaac feature heavily, and Justin Timberlake is a revelation. The former boy-band star excels as a rustic troubadour, reiterating the depth of his musical talent. As with last year’s Les Miserables, the new songs were sung live, and the resultant album bristles with freshness
and immediacy.
DALLAS BUYERS CLUB (Relativity)
ThE backdrop to this Oscar-nominated drama, about Texan Aids sufferers driven to find alternative medical treatment, serves as a guided tour to America’s best indie-pop and alternative rock, with contributions from My Morning Jacket, Cold War Kids, Neon Trees and brother- sister duo Blondfire.
Two of the best tracks were penned for the film, with Canadian duo Tegan And Sara supplying quirky keyboard pop on Shudder To Think, and The Airborne Toxic Event combining anthemic rock with synth-driven shades of Gary Numan on hell And Back.
Two glammy T. Rex numbers add a nostalgic touch.
AMERICAN HUSTLE (Legacy)
WiTh Donna Summer’s i Feel Love along - side Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and harold Melvin’s Don’t Leave Me This Way, the accompaniment to David O. Russell’s darkly comic crime drama ( starring Jennifer Lawrence, pictured right) doubles as a great Seventies pop playlist with a disco and Philly soul edge.
There is woozy jazz, too, in Duke Ellington’s instrumental Jeep’s Blues, plus Mayssa Karaa’s stunning Arabic version of Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit.
AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (Sony Music)
WiTh Kings Of Leon and Bon iver prominent, there is a heartland-rock feel to the music accompanying this comedydrama about a spectacularly dysfunctional Midwestern family.
Written for the film, the Kings’ Last Mile home is lilting and acoustic, while Bon iver’s himmon, TX is delicate and haunting.
There is a reprise, too, for Eric Clapton’s country-blues hit Lay Down Sally — and a stark, plaintive ballad sung by Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch.
FROZEN (Walt Disney)
WiTh its core ballad, Let it Go, in the frame for best song at the Oscars, this Disney cartoon soundtrack is a more traditional offering.
Sweeping strings and narrative lyrics lie at the heart of songs crafted by husband and wife team Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson- Lopez (sample title: Reindeers Are Better Than People).
Let it Go appears twice, belted out with gusto by Broadway diva idina Menzel and given a pop makeover by Demi Lovato.
AND TWO IN THE PIPELINE . . .
WiTh a score by Arcade Fire and an Oscarnominated contribution by Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O (The Moon Song), the soundtrack to Spike Jonze’s her — still awaiting a release date — is one for the wish-list. So too is the album from forthcoming Brit pop - inspired film Svengali, which is out on March 17.