City Of Angels: Music From The Motion Picture

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
This soundtrack to City of Angels has a mighty tall order to fill. The film is a remake of Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire, and the German director is known for his effective use of music. But where Wenders can call on his friends such as R.E.M. and Elvis Costello to contribute songs, City of Angels feels more like a marketing device. No less than half the selections are by Warner Bros. artists, including some new music by Alanis Morissette, her first since Jagged Little Pill. That song, "Uninvited," is the album's highlight, a restrained modal ballad in the mode of Zeppelin's "Kashmir." The rest alternates between other female stars such as Paula Cole and Sarah McLachlan and bluesy selections from Hendrix, John Lee Hooker, and Eric Clapton. --Steven Mirkin

Customer Reviews: Read 261 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

Mixed Styles - Blues, Pop, Progressive and Instrumental October 15, 2004
26 out of 27 found this review helpful

Soundtracks traditionally mix styles of music and the end result may be unusual. This soundtrack has such a mixture from blues to the mellow style of Gabriel Yared and there is much of this music that is excellent, but the incongruity of styles can also yield some rather bizarre transitions from one song to the next.

U2 opens the CD with the mellow ballad "If God Will Send His Angels." This quality song has a pop beat with Bono's typically excellent vocals requiring this song to be played loudly to hear the words well. U2 is eclipsed by one of Alanis Morissette's best songs, "Uninvited." The stark contrast of her voice with the piano and percussion at the beginning of the song contrasts again with the power of her voice and the instruments as they rocket from the quiet take off into a high-power ascent. Few singers could have vocalized this song as does Alanis Morissette.

Jimi Hendrix is up next with the bluesy "Red House." For those who like Hendrix you will find this song to be representative of his style. For those who do not like Hendrix, you may want to pass this song by. The Paula Cole song "Feelin' Love" follows with another change of pace. The song has a blues flavor, though very different from the style of Hendrix or the following John Lee Hooker song, "Mama, You Got a Daughter." While all three songs have a basis in blues, the style and pace of all three are very different, as well as the music that supports them.

Sarah McLachlan's aerie and haunting vocals on "Angel" keep in tune with the theme of the movie. Sarah has a vocal style that is as unique in its own way as Alanis Morissette. The pace then picks up with "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls. This oft-played radio song was a huge hit for the Goo Goo Dolls and secured their commercial success. This song also has soaring vocals and powerful instrumental moments that provide the emotional power of this ear-pleasing song.

Peter Gabriel once provided the progressive drive for Genesis. His song "I Grieve" has unique moments of new age-flavored progressive rock. I can believe that this melancholy song will be played at wakes and memorial services for years to come. However, watch out for the change in tempo at five minutes into the song as the style changes as well. Peter Gabriel fans will appreciate this class and style of this song.

I was unfamiliar with Jude prior to listening to "I Know," but I am very impressed with this song. The style is mellow and poignant. The vocals echo within my soul and appeal to my ears and emotions, signs of a well-crafted song.

The last vocal on the CD is Eric Clapton's "Further on Up the Road," another blues-flavored selection. This seven minute selection retains a strong club-played blues style. It is the length of this selection that allows you to imagine you are in a jazz club listening to Clapton play. All you need to do is turn the lights down, turn the music up, and pour yourself a cold one.

The last four selections on the CD are instrumentals by Gabriel Yared that provide the background music in various places in the movie. Yared's music can be as melancholy as the theme of the movie and some of the other music on this CD, as in "An Angel Falls." Yared also provides music that is more introspective and upbeat in "The Unfeeling Kiss." Yared's music takes on a more ethereal and haunting in "Spreading Wings." The final selection, "City of Angels," has elements of the previous songs and can give you a feeling of ambiguity that matches well with the powerful end to the movie.

I usually avoid soundtracks because they sound too much like, oh, a soundtrack. However, while there are a couple of selections that I tend to pass over because I am not a fan of hard-core blues, there is a lot on this album that I find enjoyable and excellent. I was fortunate not to have seen and thus be influenced by the movie that inspired this movie, so I found this movie and the soundtrack to be artistic and awe-inspiring in places. The theme and the execution of the movie appeared to me to be the visual equivalent of progressive rock. Given the nature of the subject, the often soaring and bombastic vocals in instruments were a perfect fit; airy, ethereal and powerful music for a similar subject. I suspect that fans of pop music will skip over the more challenging music on this CD, and fans of blues will skip over the pop and instrumentals, if either purchase the album at all. However, this soundtrack is an excellent opportunity to sample and appreciate a very broad selection of quality music. I recommend this CD for those who enjoy good music regardless of the style.

5 out of 5 stars

LIVE EACH DAY AS IF IT IS YOUR LAST; ONE DAY IT WILL BE. May 21, 2000
10 out of 13 found this review helpful

First of all I loved this movie. When I heard Sarah McLachlan's song "Angel", I knew I was buying the soundtrack. I love the entire CD. My least favorites are John Lee Hooker's and Eric Clapton's songs; however, with the Great Jimi Hendrix on there, he makes them fit in. I do agree with another reviewer about Eric Clapton, his song should have been "Tears in Heaven!"

My favorites are: "Angel", "Feeling Love", all of Gabriel Yared's 4 songs at the end, "Uninvited", "Iris", "If God will send His angels"...each and every song on the CD is awe inspiring! I think some of these artists must have experienced OBE'S and/or NDE'S (out of body and/or near death experiences) because they have taken their music to a higher level than most.

I have to admit I think the CD would be better without JL Hooker's track, and replacing Eric Clapton's track with "Tears in Heaven." I would really like to give it 4 1/2 stars but since I can't I will round up to 5.

5 out of 5 stars Awesome Music   March 8, 2000
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

If you like variety in your music, buy this CD. I especially love the songs by Alanis Morisette, Sarah MacLachlan, Peter Gabriel, and the Goo Goo Dolls. I really love the instrumental pieces by Gabriel Yared at the end of the CD. They are soul-stirring in their emotional intensity.

5 out of 5 stars A classic "keeper" for the soundtrack lover.   November 10, 1999
6 out of 9 found this review helpful

The music is eclectic, yet wonderful to listen for hours on end. I never leave home without it! It would have been wonderful to also have a cd of the score for this movie , just like in Message in a bottle...Gabriel Yared is a classic romantic of music for the screen. His cuts on City are my absolute favorites. The music compilation on this cd leaves much room for thought and pondering of what could have been in one's life. Get it and love it too!

3 out of 5 stars Simply angelic!   October 11, 2000
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

The soundtrack from this memorable movie contains some really great songs. First, I mention Alanis Morissette, one of my favorite singers, and her song "Uninvited", which was released before her second CD (Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie) and had everyone clamoring for it. I love this song for its musical simplicy and unique lyrics, and it is the number one reason I bought the soundtrack, because this song is not any of Alanis's other CDs. But there are a few other gems on this album, such as the Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris", another popular radio hit, Jimi Hendrix's classic "Red House", U2's "If God Will Send His Angels", Sarah McLaughlin's "Angel", and Paula Cole's "Feeling Love". I think that each song is a good representation of the movie's theme, and it is worth buying because it is one of those albums I think people will listen to and love, then put away for awhile, and later dig it up again as an old treasure they're glad they remembered.

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