...or so I'm ready to argue as a 30 year devotee of this sorely under appreciated genre. So, in an effort to do my part, each week I'll be making recommendations of soundtracks current and vintage, make a fuss over long awaited soundtrack scores finally getting a well deserved release, and in general, make some noise about this often overlooked category. Beyond my long experience as a listener and as a pianist and songwriter, both of which I've put to use in writing a quarterly soundtrack column for the Chicago Tribune, I can only offer my recommendations. You'll discern my taste soon enough and upfront I'd like to make it clear that I'll focus most heavily on SCORE soundtracks. In the end, all criticism is subjective but if I can point a listener toward a little heard soundtrack or strongly advise you to either ORDER IMMEDIATELY or SKIP ALTOGETHER, all the better.
Just time for a quick recommendation this time:
Unusual for me, it's for a song heavy compilation. But with the arrival of spring and the car windows being rolled down, nothing could be finer than cranking up the soundtrack for Hot Fuzz, which contains a plethora of great, obscure 80s cuts.
The movie is a hysterically funny parody of buddy action pictures and in addition to the songs that accompany it, the disc includes a suite of the perfectly ratcheted up music of film composer David Arnold (who also composed Casino Royale). I had some more specific things to say about the disc and several other soundtracks in my recent roundup for the Chicago Tribune. Click HERE to read the full text of that and enjoy Hot Fuzz along with the newly arrived warm weather!