Walk the Line
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Free Music Notes for Walk the Line
Free Music Review: a terrific soundtrack album
Hit: 5 Stars
The soundtrack to the movie Walk The Line showcases excellent singing by Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon and other artists on this CD who all perform to perfection! This is the perfect complement to the movie for people who enjoyed it and own the DVD in their collections. The quality of the sound is excellent and I like that artwork, too.
"Get Rhythm" starts the CD with Joaquin Phoenix (who played Johnny Cash) singing and playing his very best; he sings this wonderfully--who knew he could sing like that? The electric guitar works very well for this number and it's also a strong start to the album. "I Walk The Line" is essentially the title track for the movie and this CD; and Joaquin Phoenix performs this without a hitch. I can really hear him singing from the bottom of his heart and he pulls this off faultlessly! Again, the arrangement for the guitar is flawless and "I Walk The Line" is easily a major highlight of this CD. I love it. Then we get treated to Reese Witherspoon's rendition of "Wildwood Flower;" "Wildwood Flower" showcases her fine ability to sing and play the guitar along with the best of them. "Wildwood Flower" is very pretty and the melody also keeps Reese squarely front and center--which is quite all right by me.
"Lewis Boogie" is performed by Wayne Malloy Payne; Wayne does this one up right! The piano rocks and this early rock number sounds like it was tailor made for Wayne Malloy Payne. I'm very impressed; and the guitar work only serves to enhance the number. Payne also plays Jerry Lee Lewis in the movie Walk The Line.
"You're My Baby" rocks hard even up against today's standards; Jonathan Rice does this with loads of positive energy and it's another major highlight of this soundtrack album. Jonathan Rice plays Roy Orbison in the movie Walk The Line; and his way of playing Roy's song surely would have made Roy proud! In addition, there's "Cry Cry Cry" done by Joaquin Phoenix; he sings this wonderfully just as he does more than his best on "Folsom Prison Blues." I really like "Folsom Prison Blues" and just one listen will tell you why.
"It Ain't Me Babe" is a wonderful country tune performed by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. They harmonize very, very well and the music fits in perfectly with their vocals. "Milk Cow Blues" by Tyler Hilton also shines; the music is loud but it never actually drowns out Tyler who plays Elvis Presley in the movie Walk The Line. "I'm A Long Way From Home" gets the royal treatment from Shooter Jennings who plays Waylon Jennings in the movie; Shooter sings this passionately and it's a terrific number. The album also ends very well with Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon performing "Jackson." "Jackson" is a marvelous duet with so much positive energy that it leaves you wanting more!
The soundtrack album from the movie entitled Walk The Line gives us so much awesome music I can't tell you just how much fun it is to hear these grand tunes. I highly recommend this CD for fans of the movie; and people who like Johnny Cash may also want to get this album.
Thank you, everyone! Great job!
Free Music Review: Not One False Note.
Hit: 5 Stars
How rare for Hollywood: "Walk the line" proves that with sensational script-writing, huge acting talent, excellent direction, and gripping cinematography, that, yes, Hollywood CAN produce drama that is pitch-perfect. This biopic of Johnny Cash and his true love, singer June Carter, recounts a familiar tale. Growing up with his brother on a dirt-poor cotton farm, Cash endures a depressing childhood--a hard-scrabble existence under the lash of a seriously abusive father.
A comparison to "Ray," the life of Ray Charles cannot be avoided. Both movies describe a kid who grew up on a dirt-poor Southern farm. Both lost a brother at an early age; both struggled to be heard as artists, and-once on the way up--succumbed to serious drug abuse. The major differences: Ray was (allegedly) brought up by a tough-love mother and quickly gathered about him a coterie of exploitive promoters. Cash suffered from the life-long enmity of his cold, bitter father, played with Oscar-worthy meanness by Robert Patrick.
"Ray" can be faulted for glossing-over a major inconvenient fact (i.e., standard Hollywood, after all)--the fact that Ray Charles had 13 children by 12 women!! "Walk the Line" makes no such concession. Johnny Cash is never depicted as having special artistic insights, or riding above the fray of the common hoi-paloi while his muse sustains him. There is not a single moment in "Walk the Line" that strikes you as false. At no time do you bump against scripting devices, crudely required to push the story in a particular direction that reflects some transitory sociological fad.
It is the music that saves the film from a depressing (and overly long) wash of down-and- out. There are great side scenes of Cash's contemporary artists playing-Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis, Roy Orbison. But the most satisfying aspect of the film is the close-up sight and sound of the Cash and Carter actors-each themselves singing (not dubbed!) in the style of the person they were emulating--really belting it out--that drive the film to its tremendous climax--the live concert at Folsom Prison (the recording of which outsold anything put out by the Beatles). Wow--what a film. What a great sign that yes, Hollywood can still produce a pitch perfect production. Bravo!
Free Music Review: Dare to Compare: The TRUTH is Stranger than Fiction
Hit: 5 Stars
After seeing this great film and buying the soundtrack, I never would have entertained the thought or let alone imagined that Joaquin Phoenix has a much better voice than Johnny Cash ever did.
Phoenix's voice is richer, fuller, vibrant, and more emotive than Johnny Cash's voice ever was. Go buy this soundtrack and compare the two singer's voices side by side...song by song and you will be amazed and surprised that an actor clearly outshines a legend.
Also, worth mentioning is the performance by Reese Witherspoon. Not only does she make her mark in this film, but her stunning performance as June Carter makes "Walk the Line" feel complete and whole. Recently, I compared Carter's music to the renditions that Witherspoon sang. And again, much to my surprise, I must say that an actor (actress) cleary outshines a legend.
I know this was NOT the filmmaker's intent (at least I hope not) to make these so-called legends sound quite ordinary musically-talented-wise. But, I think what happened was a magical transformation that took place during the production by two very talented film artists that were deeply inspired by Johnny Cash's story. What clearly happened was that Phoenix and Witherspoon made Cash and Carter's music sound rather lame by comparison.
*(One final note, I have to agree with a writer in a previous critique who got it right by mentioning the fact that the music label missed out on the best duet of the film, "Times a Wastin'"...that song is surely missed on this soundtrack).
Free Music Review: INCREDIBLY ENOUGH, THIS ALBUM IS VERY GOOD!
Hit: 5 Stars
Oh oh oh, I heard the stories myself, about why these recordings were made for the movie. The director, a passionate Johnny Cash fan, did not want to dub the real songs for a very important reason. The actors needed to feel the songs, in order for the roles to work, they couldn't impersonate, they needed to be. Now of course nobody can match the talents of J.CASH, or JUNE, or for that matter JERRY LEE LEWIS, and I'll even say ELVIS (even though I hate that jerk) but incredibly this album is really good. These are fresh, natural tributes to all of the previously named.
Listen to the first track, thats JOAQUIN PHOENIX, the troubled teen actor. Thats actually him singing! I'm impressed! The June Carter songs are actually that cutie REESE WITHERSPOON, wow!, Pretty damned good. Jerry Lee Lewis is potrayed by actor WAYLON PAGE and Waylon Jennings is potrayed by his son, SHOOTER JENNINGS. The only tunes I didn't like were the two Elvis songs done by TYLER HILTON, but its not because he didn't do a good job, its just because I hate Elvis.
The liner notes to this say it all, if you want to hear Johnny Cash, buy one of his albums. (FOLSOM and SAN QUINTEN albums highly recommended by me) but if you've seen the film, and liked the music (many have raved) buy this soundtrack.
I personally have heard the soundtrack but not seen the movie. I can't wait though, I believe these performances must be Oscar worthy simply from the interpretations of the songs.
Free Music Review: PHOENIX AND WITHERSPOON EVOKE CASH AND CARTER!
Hit: 5 Stars
The Fox 2000 Pictures movie "Walk the Line" is a well-made film that chronicles the early life and career of music legend Johnny Cash. For the film's soundtrack, the filmmakers chose to have the actors themselves sing and play instruments, instead of dubbing them with the original recordings. The results of this endeavour have come off remarkably well, both in the film and on this CD.
Joaquin Phoenix does an excellent job as Johnny Cash, and his renditions of these classic Cash songs are well-done. Reese Witherspoon also does a fine job as June Carter. While Phoenix and Witherspoon don't sound 100% like Cash and Carter on these songs, they come dang close.
Also featured are actor's renditions of classic songs from other legendary artists. The best among the bunch is Waylon Malloy Payne, whose performance as Jerry Lee Lewis is fantastic. Shooter Jennings plays his own father, Waylon Jennings, in the film, and does a commendable job.
The only snafus are Tyler Hilton as Elvis Presley, and Jonathan Rice as Roy Orbison. Hilton does a good job of playing Elvis on screen, but his singing doesn't come close. Rice's performance feels more like Buddy Holly than Orbison, though his performance is fantastic in its own right.
Overall, the soundtrack to "Walk the Line" is a fantastic album that pays tribute to the legends of Johnny Cash and June Carter. Fans of the film, and of these two artists, will not be disappointed.
Grade: A