Original Soundtrack - Once
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Free Music Notes for Once
Free Music Review: Perfect compliment to a magical film...
Hit: 5 Stars
If you've seen the magical film `Once' then you've already had the privilege of hearing most of these tracks, and most likely you've sought out the soundtrack for you leisure listening. I know that that is a broad assumption, but I personally can't understand how anyone would not want to listen to this beautiful musical compilation over and over again. I think it helps that I am smitten with a very similar act, Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan, and so listening to Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova feels comfortable and warm like. Listening to this album brings back memories of the splendid film (truly `Once' is a magnificent cinematic experience) and that also makes each and every track dear and special and well worth multiple listens.
The album opens with the musical catalyst for the film; `Falling Slowly', a song that drives home the pure emotions of the film. That feeling of falling is manifest in each line of the song. There are a few songs here that tap deep into the emotions of the singers and in effect illicit genuine reactions from the listener. Another like this is `Lies', a song that Glen sings in the film while watching home videos of his ex-girlfriend, one he trusted and loved deeply only to be hurt beyond repair. Having seen the film the song strikes a deeper chord with me. Probably the most heart touching track here is Marketa's `The Hill', a song sung with such pure emotion that I was brought to tears while watching her perform this in the film. It's a beautiful song about loving someone who doesn't seem to understand what you need, who doesn't seem to try as hard as you'd like to make the relationship work. It's utterly mesmerizing.
Songs like `Leave' and `All the Way Down' (one of the best tracks on the album) are stripped down and beautifully performed. They dig into the skin and leave a lasting impression. `All the Way Down' is such an emotionally resonant piece of music that I can't see how anyone wouldn't be touched by its soft spoken (or sung) words. Irglova's `If You Want Me' feels like silk on the eardrums.
Tracks like `When Your Minds Made Up', `Trying to Pull Myself Away' and the masterful `Say it to Me' are all heavier than the rest of the album. It's not that they are `heavy' songs but they are not the soft, delicate tracks that litter the majority of the album. Especially on `Say it to Me Now' Hansard really gets behind his lyrics with a force in his voice not seen in the majority of the tracks. There is a scene in the beginning of the film where Glen Hansard is standing alone on a deserted street in a early stages of night belting out this track and it's utterly mesmerizing; a truly commanding performance.
That leaves us with `Once', the title track that truly showcases the beauty of this pairing of Hansard and Irglova. They have such chemistry together; magical. `Gold' is probably the only track here I don't really care for. It doesn't mesh well with the rest of the album and makes me wish it were omitted. It's a small snag, but a snag to say the least. `Fallen From the Sky' is the most unique of all the tracks here. I enjoy it, even if it feels slightly out of place. And then we have the hilarious `Broken Hearted Hoover Sucker Guy', a short clip from the movie of a song that was a spontaneous inclusion to the film, something Glen Hansard made up on the spot and was so funny it was included in the film.
So, in its entirety `Once' is as magnificent a soundtrack as it is a film; both moving and masterful experiences that compliment one another effortlessly. This is not an album you'll regret owning. I highly recommend you seek out both the film and the soundtrack for a complete and magical experience. One without the other just isn't the same.
Free Music Review: You cry, you laugh, you cry again; this is such a joy
Hit: 5 Stars
There are movies that friends tell you about, and if those friends are forceful enough or more people make the same recommendation, you rouse yourself and buy a ticket, and if the movie turns out to be terrific, the next thing you know you're telling everyone about a film they just have to see.
This is called "buzz," and it's a very good thing indeed --- media companies hire consultants, often for impressive sums, to create that initial spark.
But "Once" starred Glen Hansard, lead singer of a terrific Irish band --- The Frames --- that's sadly unappreciated outside of Ireland. His co-star was Markéta Irglová, a 17-year-old Czech high school student who had never acted before.
And it was filmed, in 17 days, for $150,000.
For the longest time, the future of "Once" looked bleak: straight to DVD.
Then the film was invited to Sundance. It won the Audience Award. Fox Searchlight bought it. And as "Once" went out into the world, audiences took to it like a beautiful orphan --- they cherished it and made it a cause.
That's how I came to see it; many people prodded me. What they knew: I'm a sucker for emotion that feels authentic, and so I was absolutely enchanted by this little film.
And I do mean little. He's a singer. His girlfriend has left him. He'd like to make a record and get out of Dublin. Right now, he repairs vacuum cleaners and sings on the streets. Her situation's just as dim. She may dream of music, but she's in an alien culture, separated from her husband; she sells flowers and cleans houses to support her kid and mother. He and She (they are nameless) get together to make music; they become collaborators and friends, their songs propelling the plot. But the big question --- for the audience, anyway --- isn't how their demo tape will be received. It's whether they'll become lovers.
"Two people, a few instruments, 88 minutes and not a single false note," A.O. Scott wrote in The New York Times.
And what people! At the start of the movie, Markéta Irglová seemed like her character: a young woman of modest charms and uncertain talent. By the end, I was convinced she was the most beautiful woman in the world, a great talent and a deep soul. Love? I was besotted. And Glen Hansard was the ultimate admirable guy: smart, resourceful, realistic, emotionally aware.
And what music! Hansard started strumming his guitar, and I got weepy. Then he started singing, slow as a nursery lullaby:
I...don't...know....you
But...I....want...you
All...the...more...for...that
Words...fall...through...me
And...always...fool...me
There are, I think, only two responses to feelings this directly expressed: cynicism and acceptance. Friends, this cynic was overcome: I blubbered. And I wasn't the only one.
You may have heard some of the soundtrack; it pops up on better radio stations. If it's considerably more "professional" than the film, there are reasons. Some of the songs were among the greater hits of the Frames. Hansard and Irglová had recorded a CD together. And the film's director, John Carney, was savvy about music --- he had once played bass in The Frames.
Though this is music like no other --- not folk, not rock, mostly just two people literally singing their hearts out --- it's not just for emotional slobs like me. You can listen to it as you work. You can play it at dinner. It's great for a quiet evening.
And, if you must, you can cry --- for happy.
Free Music Review: Falling Slowly...Listen Deeply...a Most Emotionally Resonant Soundtrack
Hit: 5 Stars
Unsurprisingly, John Carney's intimate 2007 boy-meets-girl musical, Once, has spawned an accompanying soundtrack disc. The nice surprise, however, is that a closer listen to the music yields even more dividends than the already rewarding movie itself. Similar to recent releases by David Gray and Damien Rice, a halting emotionalism and hopeful yearning informs many of the songs here but not at the expense of a certain pop sensibility that is both immediate and passionate. Most of the credit belongs to the film's two stars, Markéta Irglová and especially the Frames' Glen Hansard, who either jointly or individually composed all the tracks except one, Fergus O'Farrell's "Gold", a guitar-strummed jig played by the Irish band Interference and marked by a mournful violin.
One of the most accomplished songs on the album, the Beatlesque "Lies" transitions through a variety of emotions from poignant hesitation to cruel revelation with an unerring fluidity guided by Hansard's near-falsetto. For a marked change of pace, "Fallen from the Sky" provides syncopated pop fluff backed by the Frames' seamless harmonies, while "Trying to Pull Myself Away" carries a propulsive beat over a catchy, string-laden groove. True to the onscreen portrayal of a busker, the melancholic bitterness of "Leave", the more pensive "All the Way Down", and the primal desperation of "Say It to Me Now" rely solely on Hansard's searing vocal and guitar. Evoking Björk's plaintive but touching vocal style, the Czech Republic-born Irglová shines on the forlorn ballad, "The Hill", and especially on the Gallic-sounding, otherworldly "If You Want Me" backed by Hansard's aching voice.
Yet for all those choice cuts, the most magical moments aurally come when Hansard and Irglová duet, the same as in the film - the haunting title tune, the searing confessional of "When Your Mind's Made Up" punctuated by Graham Hopkins' persistent drums, and in particular, the shimmering beauty the co-stars achieve on the breakout hit, "Falling Slowly", which works off a simple sing-song structure (akin to "Frère Jacques") and then builds powerfully into its heartbreaking chorus. It's no coincidence that the song represents the film's defining moment, an emotionally transcendent scene when the characters bond musically in a piano shop. There is such an unforced beauty with the music presented here that I find the entire disc irresistible and a perfect reflection of the unbridled and sometimes pained romanticism that the movie was trying to achieve.
Free Music Review: This is spellbinding music
Hit: 5 Stars
This is [perhaps] the greatest music themed movie ever created. Quite simply, it's about the joys of making music.
A driving force of the movie are the songs...and they are very strong songs! There is a mutual reciprocity between the film and the soundtrack since the songs carry the movie and the movie showcases the songs. Because the songs are so imperative to the movie, it is impossible to judge the tunes on their own...they must be regarded in the context of the picture.
For instance, "Falling Slowly" is a great song, but when thought of as the song that the two characters first meld their chemistry, it's becomes a fantastic song.
"When your minds made up" is a beautiful and uplifting song. It's the most musically complicated song of the soundtrack which makes perfect sense since this is the song used to demonstrate the characters' getting access to a recording studio and feeling the joy of laying down their tracks.
A very aggressive second chorus in "Say it to me know" acts as the introduction to the main character in the movie. The song is played in a very passionate manner which constitutes exactly what that character is all about. It's a rendition that makes perfect sense.
All of the songs on this soundtrack are excellent (they are great songs on their own probably because the two actors are real musicians and, I think, many of these songs existed before the movie) but the magic of these songs only come through when they are juxtaposed with scenes from the movie.
The two characters created a group called 'The Swell Season" and perform these "Once" songs regularly.
This movie was made on a shoestring budget and there were no hitmakers creating the music. Between the songs, movie and two actors. "Once" is a perfect example of lightening being captured in a bottle
Free Music Review: So much emotion
Hit: 5 Stars
I love love love this movie and I love love love the music. It is one of my top favorite movies for so many reasons, one of them obviously being the music.
Glen Hansard's voice is so full-bodied and powerful. It really complements and contrasts well with Marketa Irglova's haunting (in a good way) voice. All of Marketa's emotions lay just below the surface of her voice when she sings. She doesn't just flat out give you all the emotion. She gives just enough and makes you, as the listener, work/feel for the rest and I love this. I love that the complete package of emotion in her songs involve the listener actually feeling the song, linking the lyrics, tempo, melody, etc. all together. I really don't know how to explain it very well and I'm sure I just confused everyone. One last try: It's like Marketa gives just enough emotion in her singing, not giving it all away for free, and leaves the listener salivating for just a tiny bit more, in a good way. And to me, this is perfect.
All of the songs on this album are truly amazing. If I had to choose a favorite, it would be the song from scene at night where Glen first meets Marketa, Say It To Me Now, simply because it is so powerful. When I first saw it in the movie, it left me speechless. That scene between Glen and Marketa marked the point when I knew this movie would make it into my top favorite movies of all time.
So a little bit of background on me. To me, life would not be life without music. I write and produce music of similar style (powerful, climatic, sometimes haunting), so I really relate to Once.
The emotions of the music (and movie) is really what draws me in. If you love powerful music this is for you.