Customer Reviews

Blow-Up: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Amazon review does a great disservice to this score by putting the focus on the pop cuts by the Yardbirds and Tommorrow, and I much prefer the original vinyl release that deleted Tommorrow altogether. It is Hancock's sassy, melancholic piano and organ tracks that fuel this CD, and jazz and acid-jazz fans would do just as well to program 'out' the pop cuts for a seamless experience of cool, dark blues. Cuts like "The Bed" and "Thomas Studies Photos" rank high, and the title cut has been heavily sampled by mixmasters already (DeeLite's "Groove is in the Heart" stole the opening bass line). At the risk of sounding like a druggie (which I'm not!), BLOW-UP is the consummate opium CD: dreamy, disjointed in a coherent way if that makes sense, and certainly not confined to its 60s origins. It's neither camp nor kitsch, but a form of organ-based jazz that has finally come around to appreciative ears again. It's almost a must for any music fans who favor the 'Easy Tempo' soundtrack lounge series, and my favorite relic of pre-synthethic Hancock.

This is one of Herbie's best albums. With an all-star lineup and a terrific independent movie to go along with it, this is one of my favorites. It goes from funky jazz-pop like "Bring Down the Birds" to raw rock and roll from the Yardbirds back to super-chill lounge straight out of that wood-paneled rumpus-room your parents had in the finished basement.

If you're already a jazz buff and you think you have everything, you need this album. Just the personnel on this one should be enough for you. If you're new to jazz, this is a good place to start, too. It's extremely accessible and stays closer to earth than some of Herbie's more popular work from the 70's.

Either way, this is a must-have for any jazz collection, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

This is one of the most enjoyable soundtracks I've heard. Many of the songs have a bluesy-jazz feel, with a few cuts going into an either more jazzy or more poppy style. It's great for relaxing, as background music, or to get in a groovy mood. I hate the word groovy (probably Austin Powers' fault), but I guess it's the best word to describe the music on this album. The sound of the recordings is incredibly clear and crisp, especially for a 35 year old recording. Like the two other reviewers, I would have to disagree with the Amazon editor who believes Hancock's compositions are dated and the pop tunes are the highlights; I have a completely opposite opinion - the pop tunes, especially those by Tomorrow, sound much more dated than Hancock's compositions. I have no problems with The Lovin' Spoonful song (credited to its writer John Sebastian) and the Yardbirds song which are both great and fit in well with the rest of the album; it's the two Tomorrow songs that just aren't very good, and don't really fit in with the rest of the album. Luckily, they are at the end of the album, which means you can stop the cd before their songs begin. Don't get this for the Tomorrow songs (which are unavailable elsewhere), but get this for the great music by Hancock, etc. that were actually used in the film.

Great mod movie, great make-out music, and Hancock's a fab jazz genius, but I just have to take issue with the Amazon editor who had the cheese to mention Austin Powers in the review above. Yea yea yea, Austin Powers borrowed from Blow-Up, and a hell of a lot of other sixties sillies, but please baby, don't even try to compare a parody to the real thing. Blow-up has so much more to offer in the way of fashion photography and bad British teeth. Mod on!

For those of you who are fans of old Blue Note and Verve records, the music in this film will really groove for you. Hancock is a great composer, and the music not only fits into the film, but stands on its own tremendously. And the song by the Yardbirds is built around a catchy riff that foreshadows Jimmy Page's later work with Ledd Zeppelin. This is an all-around great set of music.

The soundtrack is excellent and is a great example of the groovy and modal music Herbie Hancock made in the '60s. The other playing musicians are great as well (Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Jim Hall, etc...). The album would be a masterpiece and it's a pity that due to the fact that it is a movie soundtrack the tracks last just a few minutes and then fade just when you are starting to have a hint of the great pieces they would been (or they are, in case there are tapes of the whole sessions). It would be an idea to try to recover the tapes and give possibility to listen to the entire pieces as they were recorded...not alternate takes but the whole and original takes (if they exist...), it would be a '60s masterpiece together with other Hancock albums of the period...

Blowup is one of my favorite movies - maybe I'm a bit nostaligic for the 60s and in love with Jane Birkin. Of course the Redgrave girl is wonderful as well. The movie is set in 'Mod London' and features a bunch of fashion models. The theme? Appearance and Reality! (What else?) Anyway the music is mostly smooth breezy floaty jazz from Herbie Hancock. It really gets under your skin. Great mood music -- which is not to insult it. It's wonderful jazz and bears repeated listening. Naturally the movie has a scene in a rock club with - guess who? - No, not the Guess Who - the Y'birds replete with Jeff Beck and a cherubic Jimmy Page on double lead guitar. If you like early fuzztone and feedback blues rock it doesn't get any better than Stroll On, which manages to bundle every hook and flourish known to the idiom into two minutes of foot-tapping bliss. I love the way the feedback almost sounds like your stereo's malfunctioning. The first time I play this track for people they often do a double take. So I have to disagree with the reviewer who said to program out the pop cuts. But I haven't heard this expanded version of the album - maybe the added tracks aren't all up to snuff. Anyway, worth getting for either Hancock or the Yardbirds (just one cut but a classic)or both!

My brother asked me to buy this for him...I started to watch it and then I had to leave. I never finished watching it...I love the London 60's..I am going to have to borrow it to watch the rest because he won't tell me what happpens at the end!! But..so far...it's good!