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| SONIC DEATH MONKEY SOUNDTRACK REVIEWS - Honey & Cold Mountain |
Sonic Death Monkey is seen every Saturday |
by Michael Collins
It's pleasant surprise time this week where SDM looks at the soundtracks for the hip-hop-no-way film, Honey, and give-me-an-Oscar-I'm-begging-you Cold Mountain. Both soundtracks surprise because one is actually decent and the other goes into interesting and unexpected territories. The Cold Mountain soundtrack is full of little surprises. You'd be expecting some sort of sweeping delicate orchestral arrangement for the Kidman-lead romantic tragedy, right? That's the sort of music you get at the official web site so the soundtrack CD will be the same, right? Wrong.
Nosireebob, that's ain't watchya goin' get here. Instead we have, unbelievably, White Stripes main man, Jack White, providing some proto-blues and folk to give input to the first half of the soundtrack CD. So instead of thinking a symphony over-emoting it's way for an hour or so, think more O Brother Where Art Thou. The music isn't quite the same, mind, yet if you were in the mood for O Brother then you'd be in the mood for Cold Mountain. It's a pleasant surprise.
The White Stripes have shown an interest in the blues. Here on the soundtrack Jack White gives a lesson in where the blues came from.
The old Howlin' Wolf number, Sittin' On Top of The World leaves us no doubt where the blues came from.
There's mournful fiddles aching their way through old old blues/folk tunes from the civil war period .
You Will Be My Ain' True Own True Love is a modernised folk tune, or a folk-esque modern performance if you like. Actually penned by Sting, it's not unlike Lorenna McKennit or Sarah McLaughlan. A fiddle floats in and out of the top and the melody is as old as the civil war battle fields. Yet the production is glossy over the lot of it. That can be a recipe for disaster, but things are kept from being overblown so they mercifully haven't ruined the old feel to the song. Similar results are made with Alison Krauss singing The Scarlet Tide.
Christmas Time Will Soon Be Over (written by White) is another one of those wonderful old folk tunes lead by wonderful violin playing. You really want to get up and jig to this one as a chorus of male singers belt out the repeated lines. It's the sort of song that you find yourself singing along to even though it's the first time you've heard it.
Cassie Franklin, singing unaccompanied, belts out Lady Margaret. The lone voice brings out the wonderful sense of emotion that's contained in the song. It's quite a treat. It's the standout track for the album.
There becomes a bit of a problem about half way through. It gets a little, well, monotonous. It starts to feel the same songs are being played over again. Perhaps the album could have been interspersed with the orchestral tracks that make up the second half of the CD. Just to break up things a little.
Instead we wait a little while longer, but once the more traditional score tracks come along they are as beautiful and as wide as one would hope. To counter point the folk, Ada Plays is a joyous delicate little piece with the first half of the track being a beautifully and delicately played piano with an orchestra with lead oboe joining in the second half. The final effect being a great little piece of music.
And just when you think you've heard it all we are treated to a rousing gospel choir with The Sacred Harp Singers in their rendition of Idumea. Really enlivening and yet another example of the originality at work at producing this soundtrack.
Very impressed with this soundtrack - It's been the most interesting and inventive one I've heard for a while. It delves into the spirit and music of the time of the film's setting to great effect.
The Honey soundtrack was also going to be a surprise. Unlike the film where the entire plot could be predicted from the opening credits, the soundtrack was to prove surprisingly good.
I tend to like compilations of any type if there is a strong theme or a strong genre that goes well beyond just pop headliners with a few filler tracks to make up the numbers. While the Honey soundtrack does fall into headliners and fillers method, since it stays with a strong genre it's able to maintain interest and make a good compilation.
The genre featured here is of course modern R&B. A genre I can take or leave, but it is effective in setting a mood. And a damn good mood it is. It's the mood of late nights and low lights and perhaps the perfect person to accompany you . . .
Yeah, well before we get all depressed wondering where those moments have all gone let's get back to the soundtrack.
Let's shake our collective asses to some slick commercial hip hop. Yeah it's not really what hip hop is about (indeed it's the complete opposite), but these beats are fine. Missy Elliot lends her big name to launch things (to add to her amusing cameo in the film) with Hurt Sumthin'. It's funky, gleaming and it's up to the not-so-big-anymore Missy's usual solid standards. She also helps out with Tweet while Fabulous nearly lives up to her name with Now Ride.
Sean Paul gets a little annoying on his track, Gimme The Light. I instead was thinking Gimmie The Ear Plugs. Next!
For the party beats then it's Tamia with It's A Party and Mark Ronson's Ooh Wee (now that's getting deep) that will have the party flowing. There's a-nice party beats ovah 'ere. They're use once and throwaway kind of things to be sure, but hey, so are condoms. Use these.
Amerie and Goapele go a long way in establishing the late night mood and do a damn fine job at that. The beats are slow, heavy and sexy. If getting the whole soundtrack scares you then at least search out these tracks.
And if your searching out Nate Dogg's Leave Her Alone then look else where than the censored version that appears on this CD. Not that you would want to be listening to this track twice, mind.
Ruining the mood is the final track, I Believe by Yolanda Adams. It's all that positive thinking and we-gonna-work-it-out nonsense. Sick of all this positive thinking! What's wrong with some good old negativity and low self-esteem?
The movie itself does feature some notable DJ mixes and it would have been nice for a mini-mix or two from those DJs. Those guys and gals are the experts. Alas no.
The Honey soundtrack is as sweet as it's name sake, and so spreading some of it on top to make the party pumping should produce the desire effect. Another example of the soundtrack being far better than the movie.
link directly to this feature at http://efilmcritic.com/feature.php?feature=911
originally posted: 01/11/04 10:48:42
last updated: 02/01/04 08:42:18
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