Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil: Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture
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Free Music Notes for Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil: Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture
Free Music Review: Johnny Mercer meets Clint Eastwood
Hit: 5 Stars
What ever you think about Clint Eastwood's acting or directing, he has great taste when it comes to jazz. On this soundtrack, you'll hear the wonderful lyrics of Savannah's first son of song, Johnny Mercer, performed by gifted musicians. Many of these tunes you won't hear in the movie, which is really too bad. There's only one song on the whole recording that wasn't done especially for the soundtrack, Tony Bennett's "I Wanna Be Around." Highlights include pianist/vocalist Diana Krall on "Midnight Sun", the late Joe Williams on "Too Marvelous For Words", singer Kevin Mahogany on "Laura" and bluegrass violinist/vocalist Alison Krauss on "This Time the Dream's On Me". Great instrumentalists as well with guest appearances by tenor saxophone greats Michael Brecker, Joshua Redman and Ernie Watts, pianist Brad Mehldau, bassists Charlie Haden and Christian McBride, and arrangements by Clint's close friend Lennie Niehaus. You'll be pleasantly surprised by kd lang on "Skylark" and even more surprised by actor Kevin Spacey's singing on "That Old Black Magic". I'm not crazy about daughter Alison Eastwood's Billie Holiday impression on "Come Rain or Come Shine", Paula Cole's "Autumn Leaves" or especially, Clint's singing on "Accentuate the Positive" (though the jazz musicians backing them up are great). But Rosemary Clooney makes you forget their performances with her "Fools Rush In". I only wish that Clint would have had Margaret Whiting sing Johnny Mercer and Jerome Kern's "I'm Old Fashioned". Otherwise, a great recording of music by one of the greatest lyricists of all time.Free Music Review: A Great Great Soundtrack Album
Hit: 5 Stars
If you could buy only one CD this year, I have NO IDEA what it should be. Maybe you should get a second job, you deadbeat. But if you buy two CDs (without having to work in a salt mine, or sell Uncle Bob, piece by piece, for experiments), it should be two soundtracks: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and L.A. Confidential.
Dark, ethereal, and moody, these albums have an incredible presence, and hold together on their own as great albums, able to stand apart and peer out from beneath the long, great shadows cast by their respective, impressive film counterparts.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a Johnny Mercer 'songbook' as done by mostly modern artists, including Clint Eastwood, Midnight's director. This, of course, proves that Mr. Eastwood is a great ... director.
Actor Kevin Spacey fairs better, pulling off "That Old Black Magic" without a hitch. Tony Bennett's "I Wanna Be Around" and Rosemary Clooney's "Fools Rush In" = Fabulous. But the stand-outs are Alison Krauss and k.d. lang. Krauss' "This Time the Dream's On Me" is absolutely, ... well, ... dreamy. "Skylark" as sung by Bobby Darin, is one of the great Croon Tunes, but when done here by k.d. lang, Darin gets the spanking he so richly deserves. lang's full, resonant voice fills the song with a warm, rich majesty.
Majesty, my friends.
It's good to be the king. And this album is king.
Worth the price of admission itself.
My suggestion: get both CDs, dim the lights, pour yourself a beverage or four, and listen to these two albums back to back.
Repeat as necessary.
Free Music Review: A Touch of Savannah
Hit: 5 Stars
I began my love affair with the book of the same title by John Berendt, then later visited Savannah and did the "tour by the book." So when the movie came out, I was eagerly awaiting it and there was little that Clint Eastwood could have done to spoil it for me. In the theater, I was instantly transported back to Savannah, I was there, watching the book coming to life with John Cusack and Kevin Spacey brilliantly performing their lead roles, I remembered my own strolls through the tree-lined squares of downtown Savannah, or Spanky's Chicken Fingers with Ben Richey - but I'm digressing. Obviously, I bought the CD. Its evocative music (particularly the shining performance of Marc Antoine and Paula Cole on Autumn Leaves) not only bring back the movie and its romantic setting of Savannah, but wonderfully showcases the everyday appeal of Johnny Mercer's lyrics, whether they come from the mouth of a seasoned professional or an amateur singer. From deeply melancholic to joyously upbeat, this CD contains a wealth of melodious songs, excellently arranged and performed by top-notch musicians. With all this perfection, I feel the amateur vocals add a touch of nitty-gritty realness to the record and complement the trained voices for a satisfying, well-rounded whole.
This CD is a worthwhile buy.
Free Music Review: Possibly my all-time favorite movie soundtrack.
Hit: 5 Stars
I watched the movie and enjoyed it, would give it three stars, maybe four. Listened to the soundtrack and absolutely LOVED it. This is one of the classiest collections of songs I have ever had the privilege to feast my ears upon.
Generally speaking, this is a compilation mostly of songs written by the venerable Johnny Mercer, performed by some accomplished jazz stylists and the likes of Rosemary Clooney, k.d. lang, and Alison Krauss. It also includes "I Wanna Be Around" by the great one himself, Tony Bennett (his own performance). Although several of the songs are on the light side, I would characterize the overall flavor of this CD as quiet, mellow, maybe even a little somber at times, but all great jazz hits -- and I'm usually not a big fan of jazz.
This is also one of the most relaxing collections I know. Serve it up with a rich cabernet and it's guaranteed to bring your stress level down a few notches. The only hiccup on the way is a rather uninspired performance by Clint Eastwood -- with that voice he really should stick to tough-guy acting. But don't let that turn you away from an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable soundtrack. My ears have devoured it more times than I can count, and I don't plan to stop any time soon.
Free Music Review: The only thing lacking was "moon river" great collection
Hit: 5 Stars
First of all, this c/d introduced me to Alison Krauss, whose music I adore. I own several of her c/d's, but her version of "This Time the Dream's On Me" is absolute perfection, and it is a worthy introduction to the ever-so-talented Ms. Krauss. I wish they'd have found a place for Mercer's all time classic, Moon River, and I am a bit disappointed in Cassandra Williams' version of "Days of Wine and Roses". Having said all of that, I find the rest of this compilation to be "Too Marvelous For Words" - pardon the obvious pun. I was not famliar with much of Johnny Mercer's music, so some of this has been a learning experience for me. I love K.D. Lang's "Skylark", and not only do the vocals shine throughout this collection, but also the wonderful instumentalists. I liked the film and was interested in knowing more about the legendary Mr. Mercer. Beautiful music that ranges from happy and upbeat to soft and sad.