Cold Mountain
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Free Music Notes for Cold Mountain
Free Music Review: All I can say is...
Hit: 5 Stars
Stunning. Thats all you need to know: That the music from this movie is jaw-droppingly **stunning**Free Music Review: Cold Mt Soundtrack
Hit: 5 Stars
Excellent music, if you liked the movie you'll love the soundtrack. Read the book its excellent.Free Music Review: Great Soundtrack
Hit: 5 Stars
I watched the film and while it was enjoyable,the soundtrack was the amazing part.
Free Music Review: Cold Mountain soundtrack
Hit: 4 Stars
This is an interesting mixed-bag of a soundtrack, ranging from devastatingly good to kinda boring. Overall, it is marred by a certain restraint and tentativeness which is displayed by many of the artists, enough to suggest that it is intentional on the part of the producers.Devastatingly good is the only way to describe the two songs by the Sacred Harp Singers at Liberty Church, which shake off this general restraint and in fact are so intense they suck you closer and closer to the speakers, to get a better sense of what's going on and pick out more detail among the voices.
Alison Krauss sounds slightly tentative on "The Scarlet Tide," but "You Will Be My Ain True Love" shows her beautiful voice off to better effect, with Sting's harmony vocal lending texture. To be honest, these are far from the strongest songs I've heard her do -- they're a little too sweet and impersonal, lacking the soaring emotion and joy of some of Krauss's songs on (to invoke the inevitable comparison) the "O Brother Where Art Thou" soundtrack.
In fact, the truly revelatory woman's voice on this CD is Cassie Franklin doing "Lady Margret." It's an unaccompanied ballad but Franklin's subtle phrasing and pure, affecting tones render it anything but stark. It leaves you wanting to hear more, not just because the song is beautiful but because the delivery is so redolent of meaning that you can't help but feel that there's more to know.
I'm not a big Jack White fan in general, but here he does a decent, unmannered job with his several songs. His voice isn't big or beautiful, but in his case the general restraint of the CD is helpful, as he seems content to sit back a little and let the songs do their work (less on "Wayfaring Stranger," more on "Never Far Away"). In general he's stronger on the songs where he's back by harmony singers, such as "Christmas Time Will Soon Be Over" and, for me the high point of his songs, "Great High Mountain," which has a gentle, building momentum that leaves me wanting more.
Then there are a number of songs by musicians who have recorded previously but are less famous than Krauss and White. None are as striking as the Sacred Harp Singers or Cassie Franklin, but most are easily as good as Krauss and White's songs -- "I Wish My Baby was Born," sung by Tim Eriksen, Riley Baugus, and Tim O'Brien, is beguiling and effectively wistful; "Like a Songbird that has Fallen" by the Reeltime Travelers is lovely but a bit too laid-back for my taste, leaving me wanting to hear more and wondering what their live show is like. The excessive laid-backness is perhaps most clearly a problem on "Am I Born to Die?" as sung by Tim Eriksen, which sounds mournful and introspective but never breaks free. The version of the same song done by the Sacred Harp Singers at the end of the recording shows the song's potential, and it's too bad Eriksen's version of the song (and other songs throughout the CD) don't show similar intensity and freedom.
The boring, finally, is the four Gabriel Yared tracks. As background music in a movie I'm sure they're excellent. As music to listen to on purpose, they sound a lot like every other Serious Movie score you've heard. I'm not sure why they were included on this soundtrack, which is in every other way so unique and special.
Free Music Review: Cold Mountain Soundtrack
Hit: 4 Stars
As soundtracks go, the Cold Mountain soundtrack did a pretty good job of encompassing the music that's in the film while making it good to listen to as a CD. Not all soundtracks can say that. I think that, in part, this comes from the strength of the old tunes that were used for this CD. Even in their watered-down, once-or-twice removed versions (i.e., except for the Sacred Harp songs, they are not being sung by people who have grown up with them and lived with them their whole lives, but by performers who sing them on stage), they shine through. I'm not a fan of Jack White's singing voice, but even he can't wreck "Wayfaring Stranger or "Great High Mountain."
Actually, most of White's songs were pretty good except for one he wrote himself: "Never Far Away." This was a truly mediocre song, sung in a very mediocre way, and the 3-note accompaniment to it reminded me of "Three Blind Mice." This song should have been left off of the album.
I enjoyed all of the other songs, especially those sung by Tim Eriksen and Cassie Franklin. "If fine lead crystal could sing, it would sound like Cassie Franklin," said someone who is familiar with her singing. I think this is a fine and accurate description of her voice. Tim Eriksen has a wonderful voice too, in my opinion, and I liked his rendition of "Am I born to die?" which also happens to be the tune, unharmonized, of "Idumea" which is featured last on the album.
Allison Kraus sounded far too tentative to my ears; I've heard her sing much more confidently on other albums and in person. I do wish that she had sung out more, so that her lovely voice would shine forth. It didn't on this album. Still, I liked her songs.
For sheer power, in my opinion the Sacred Harp singers steal the album. If you like your music served up with intensity, you will be delighted with these selections.
A word here about Sacred Harp singing: Unlike all the other selections on the album, which are performances, Sacred Harp is the real thing -- first generation, not watered down, sung by a mixture of those who have had it in their families for generations and those who have just discovered it. The people on the album are not a choir but a small group assembled from a larger community of singers who love this music.
The good news here is that, if you loved the tracks on this album, you too can get involved in Sacred Harp singing. It is participatory music, meaning everyone is there to sing for each other or, if they can't sing, to listen (but it's not a concert). Everyone is welcome; there are no auditions. You don't have to have a trained voice; you just have to have the voice you were born with. Just show up and you will be welcome. There's likely a group in your area; to find one, go to a search engine and type in "Sacred Harp."
All in all, I enjoyed this Cold Mountain CD. It will be one I listen to many times.