Meet Joe Black: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
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Free Music Notes for Meet Joe Black: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Free Music Review: "JOE BLACK" Soundtrack,the genius of Thomas Newman
Hit: 5 Stars
Thomas Newman is just simply too much: Hollywood's 2004 Composer of the Year,Grammy Award Winner American Beauty: Original Motion Picture Score,Emmy Award Winner for Six Feet Under,8 time Oscar nominated and multiple BMI winner for Finding Nemo, Erin Brockovich: Motion Picture Soundtrack as well as 11 other films;let us not forget his 1998 score to the romantic 3 hour film MEET JOE BLACK.Newman seems to be an expert at "other-world" films that involve death such as Angels in America,Six Feet Under - The Complete Series Gift Set,Phenomenon,The Green Mile (Two-Disc Special Edition) and my personal favorite Oscar & Lucinda for which Newman won the Australian Oscar. MEET JOE BLACK also deals with the subject of passing to the "other world" and Newman again uses his open forths and fifth's on the piano (signifying eternity), and his sweeping Orchestral underpinnings in order to make death palatable and gently welcoming. Also on this CD are the 1930's standards 'Cheek to Cheek','Let's Face the music and Dance',What a Wonderful World' and 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' which were all used to great effect in the film starring Brad Pitt as "Death", Joe Black, and his target Anthony Hopkins. Once you become acquainted with the music of Thomas Newman,like John Williams etal,he has an unmistakable style all his own.Newman's scores go back all the way to the 1978 television series 'The Paper Chase', and in 1984 he broke onto the silver screen with Revenge Of The Nerds: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.Since then,74 movies later, Thomas Newman's music,alone, makes a film worth a view for me!Free Music Review: "Meet Thomas Newman" - The best album of his works so far !
Hit: 5 Stars
I admit I'm a little late concidering the release date and this soundtrack is way too good to have never heard of it. But with score it's like with everything else: You must make the experience yourself! And so will the movie of "Meet Joe Black" has been recently shown on television. And I cannot begin to tell how amazed and sad at once I was -- amazed by the talent a composer can ever carry (Thomas Newman turns out to be a god) and deeply sad about how I could ever miss this beautiful composition for so many years (that's inexcusable)! This truly is - without exaggerating anything - one of the greatest and most affecting orchestral scores ever written for a movie!!! Everyone who listens to the score, even without having watched the movie at first, will know what I mean! This beautiful album of instrumental tracks I would highly recommend to try for yourself with no need for the DVD at all! The movie is a typical fantasy romance with Mr. Death sneaking in someone else's body and our stereotyped Barbie, who both fall in love with each other, but cannot be together forever, so he breaks her heart, kills her father and then sends back the old inhabitant of this body, and so on... <---this plot must not meet everyones taste or expectations to a 08/15-US-movie-romance! But in the center of focus for now is the score and this one I can only recommend as mostly scores completely drown within the intenseness of a movie; but in this case the movie wouldn't be what it is without those soft violin strives and the sensitive accompaniment of the piano sounds.
To mention a couple of them, I mostly liked the main theme and its variations:
3. Walkaway (main theme) 8.5/10
6. Whisper Of A Thrill (the sex scene between Barbie and Death) 9/10
8. Cold Lamb Sandwich (main theme - but only with violins and piano) 10/10
17. Someone Else (soft violin strives) 10/10
19. That Next Place (the big finale in the midth of the fire work show) 11/10
There is nothing else left to say about this, one must make the experience for himself! This is unequivocal a work of art; a so far not reached masterpiece, which captures the whole beauty of the movie marvellous good with its harmonic ecstatic melody. I don't know what other references Thomas Newman has as a composer, but I'm looking forward to listen to some more of his works...something a lot of other people should do as well! You won't regret it! ;)
Free Music Review: A little-known gem in the Thomas Newman catalog
Hit: 5 Stars
The score for "Meet Joe Black" is a perfect example of why Thomas Newman is one of my favorite composers. It lacks the high profile of some of the other movies he has composed for, such as "Finding Nemo" or "American Beauty," but it is one of Newman's shining moments, and one of the favorite soundtracks in my collection, by any composer.Filled with music expressing gentle beauty, classic drama, and even a sense of wonder, this is a great CD to play when you want to relax. More than that, however, it is deeply moving and highly evocative of the emotions of the heady film.
"Meet Joe Black" is a movie of subtlety, but when it comes down to it, it never flinches from expressing deep and honest feeling. The music goes a long way towards helping it toward that goal, as it also never fails to convey feeling to the audience in Newman's signature style.
Newman is a highly adaptable and original composer, and while his style is often recognizable, it is always tailored well to the specific themes of the film. In this case, Newman eschews his use of modern ambient sounds and backgrounds and instead opts for powerful brass arrangements and a rich background of strings prevalent throughout. It's a classic musical treatment for a film which hearkens back to the era when films were more honest and less flashy than they are today.
Other than Newman's music, which is enough in itself to recommend the score highly, the special treat on the soundtrack of "Meet Joe Black" comes at the end: a medley of "What a Wonderful World" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" sung by the late Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. Regular watchers of the television show "E.R." will recognize this song from Mark Green's final episode on the show. It's an absolutely beautiful song, and the perfect coda for this album of lovely music.
The music for "Meet Joe Black" is perfectly-suited to the film, but it is also a joy to listen to on its own. It is as near to a perfect movie score as I've ever had the pleasure to listen to, and it has my highest possible recommendation.
Free Music Review: Captures the Tender Tragedy Of An Impossible Love
Hit: 5 Stars
While the movie does seem to be far too long in duration given the storyline, Mr. Newman's musical score is the outstanding feature of this opus. The film deals with the vicissitudes of life, love and death - themes which many, many films grapple with. But a singularly essential difference is that "Meet Joe Black" deals with the beautiful and bittersweet love that occurs between an Immortal and a mortal. Newman's spare yet emotionally evocative music brings out the heartbreak that accompanies such a transient and impossible love. This core theme is first enunciated in "Whisper Of A Thrill" but it is developed and amplified throughout the film. Quite frankly, and I do not exaggerate or make facile comparisons, the only other musical opus that expresses both the pain and the joy that accompanies a "star-crossed" love as well as Mr. Newman's score is Wagner's "Tristan Und Isolde", especially the ending melodies. Aside from this romantic masterpiece by Wagner, the only other musical opus that inevitably brings tears to my eyes is this one.
I cannot believe that anyone who is even mildly musically literate will fail to be moved so profoundly by this score that each and every note will haunt them forever. For who among us has not at one time in their life had an "impossible love," be it a childhood crush on a favorite teacher or something similar? And Mr. Newman's score will serve as the soundtrack for that particular wistful memory that each of us has tucked away somewhere.
If you have a pure and vulnerable heart, do yourself a favor and get this CD, for its precious offerings shall teach you much about love and about yourself.
Free Music Review: An overlooked masterpiece that slipped under the radar.
Hit: 5 Stars
Though the film itself may have left some viewers itching to leave the theater (with a rather gratuitous running time of 178 minutes), the score alone from "Meet Joe Black" makes it one of the more memorable films of 1998. In fact, Thomas Newman's score makes such an impact that it is able to stand out as a separate work of art all on its own. Hell, I would even go so far as to say it's a masterpiece.
Personally, I think Newman does some of his best work here. Specifically with tracks such as "Walkaway" and "Cold Lamb Sandwich", both of which are beautifully seasoned with the film's main theme. Other tracks like "Everywhere Freesia" and "Peanut Butter Man" showcase Newman's ability to compose vivacious and spirited pieces. Newman is more well-known for his moody and haunting "dark" themes, so it's nice to hear the occassional "quarky" track every once in a while, such as the previous two.
Other highlights on the soundtrack include "Whisper of a Thrill,", "Death and Taxes", and the stunning closing track, "That Next Place" (one of Newman's best compositions to date).
Granted, this may not be for every avid film score lover out there. I think Thomas Newman fans more than anyone else will tend to lean more towards it and appreciate it a little more. It is a prime example of Newman's distinguished style, and proves why he is one of the most widely respected and talented film composers in the industry today. I just find it to be such a shame that this little gem seemed to have slipped under the radar.