A Lesson in Ambience
Out there, beyond the radio, beyond the underground circles of music discussion even here on Sputnik, lies forgotten strand of music " The Soundtrack, with its much overlooked relationship with its dominant host " The Movie. The soundtrack is an element on its own, another driving centerpiece of what should be a key part of any movie. Craig Armstrong, fresh out of writing a song for Baz Luhrman"s Romeo + Juliet, most certainly realized the power of the soundtrack when writing the score for Plunkett & MacLeane, a period film following the exploits of "The Gentlemen Highwaymen" set in 1748 London, with contemporary elements sown in all over the place. No where is this more evident than in the music " melancholic neo-gothic choirs mixed with electronica tied in nicely with some dazzling string sections, provided by the London Session Orchestra.
The movie itself is an interesting mix of comedy, drama and suspense. Directed by Jake Scott, Ridley Scotts son, Plunkett & MacLeane is an amazingly arty film " the huge sets, Victorian costumes and tasteful direction are all beautifully done. Its score however, undoubtedly notches this movie up beyond the usual. It"s only so often that upon watching the credits roll by, that you think yourself " "I"ve got to get myself that soundtrack!" Plunkett & MacLeane was one of those movies " and for good reason too. Despite its short lived cinema life (Anywhere between one and six showings per cinema wouldn"t be too far off a guess, really), this movie achieved somewhat of a cult following after it was taken off the reels. Again however, prevalent among the discussion among fans is its great score.
So what is all the hype about anyway? Well first of all, this was Craig Armstrong"s debut compositional project. Craig who? While you may not recognize the name, this is the genius behind the soundscapes of Moulin Rouge (For which he won a Golden Globe for in 2001), Ray, Love Actually, The Quiet American and, Kiss Of The Dragon. Secondly, and most importantly, is that the music is a stunning artistic achievement. Unlike many soundtracks, which end up sounding all the same after a while, this is a real
album, rather than a collection of similarly themed songs. Furthermore, it"s an original piece of work " as original as a movie soundtrack can be (similarity between songs here is inescapable), unlike the work of many contemporaries such as Rachel Portman or Carter Burwell.
Just like a movie has changing pace and action, this album comes in two parts:
Part I: Hymn " Business Pt. 3
This part of the soundtrack is the mellower, less climactic part of the album. Starting with
Hymn, as it sounds, a soft gothic choir singing no less, a Hymn, in no particular language, just a chorus of voices to envelop the listener and introduce him to what to expect. The next track,
Unseen is one of the better songs on the album. Beginning with a haunting string melody on top of what seems like the sounds of men marching in the background; this chilling piece builds up to a full orchestra with a cascading chorus of voices, led, by, would you believe " a techno beat, giving a sence of urgency and action that would not be there without it, before succumbing to a soundscape of random ambience that trails off into"
The four R"s of the album "
Ruby,
Rebecca,
Rochester and
Robbery. Ruby continues with the melodic strings before the music introduces us to Rebecca (a piece filled with wonderment), Rochester (a sort of 1700"s ballroom dance piece) and Robbery, which showcases Armstrong"s ability to branch out and try something new, with effective use of what seems to an Eastern string instruments together with a Tabla and strings. The next song
Ball is considered to be the crux of Part I " A modern dance tune with baroque origins that can"t help but get you moving. Ending with
Chance and
Business Pt. 1-3, these slowing ease you into the masterpiece that is:
Part II: Chances Men " Childhood
This is my favroute part of the album, simply because the songs here are basically a humongous build up to what I consider one of the greatest and most beautifully composed tracks of all time "
Hanging/Escape. The darker tone of these tracks draw you in like no other and invoke emotion like nothing else can. From the chaotic
Chances Men to ominous
Disaster, there are some musical gems in here, if you"re willing to appreciate the depth of the music. Nevertheless, all these tracks pale in comparison to
Hanging/Escape, which is an absolute mind blowing" experience. Not a song, but a true experience I have had these two songs on repeat for almost the whole time while writing so as to give a decent description of the tracks, which although are separate blend into each other and keep the basic melody throughout, so I keep them as one:
Beginning with an ostinato of string notes, a snare drum sounds in the background before a choir melts its way into the music, all the time rising in an epic crescendo, then pulling back, as if afraid to go too far " Rising and falling, slowly but surely, as the music gains it confidence, it builds like a rising force waiting to burst forth, but waiting for the right moment. The mood is tense with a sort of impending doom, as the breaking point finally reached and the beat of percussion begins and a the chorus members, like a wave of sound, become unstoppable. These an epic nature of unbound proportions here as
Escape makes its entrance, cutting though with cascading strings and voices that will stop at nothing to reach its pinnacle. After the intensely climaxic high point, the music drops away, having achieved its goal of total confusion.
If anything off this album,
Hanging/Escape is a song that should not be missed by anyone, no matter what music you"re into. The rest of the album is a rest. Resolutions sounds like it just got everything sucked right out of it right after H/E and it"s a perfect track to go after it with a sort of indian/trance vibe to it. And now for something completely different"
Houses In Motion is a hip/hop rendition of the
Talking Heads original song, done by Lewis Parker & Helen White. It"s a good song that gets pretty damn catchy with a hella cool bass line.
Childhood, the closer, brings you back to what this soundtrack is, a journey into a new place with hope and peace " a beautiful piano composition over a tiniest of tinkling percussion and strings.
So there is the Plunkett & MacLeane OST, composed by Craig Armstrong. It"s always a dilemma " to rate this as a soundtrack or a collection of songs? If done right, it should be a combination of both. It"s hard, not to fall into the trappings of a coherent soundtrack, and although Armstrong does it well, many will get lost in the similar sounding soundscapes, because of the simplicity of its elegance. It helps of course to have seen the movie. If you can appreciate it, this
album ranks in at around a 4. As a soundtrack, having seen the movie, its first-rate (5) stuff, and if composed by any other person would have given a completely different feel to it. So we"ll go in for the middle ground:
4.5/5
EDIT: I'm not going to change this review, but I should just note that I was more or less infatuated with the music at the time, and that i really think a 4.5 is too high, so my personal rating is now lower than when i wrote this.
