Customer Reviews

Bodysong (Music from the Film)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I ran out and bought this album after listening to the samples on this site. As soon as I heard the beautiful piano of "Moon Thrills" I knew I had to have it. However, I should note, this is not a pop album, nor does it have any music you can sing along to in your car. This is a musical score, the album is an instrumental.

Anyway, if you're reading this, I'm going to wager that you're a Radiohead fan. You probably know that Jonny Greenwood is in Radiohead, possibly one of your favorite bands, and you're wondering if it's worth your hard earned cash to pick up this album.

This is certainly no Radiohead album, however, there is a bit of a Radiohead flavor in some tracks. It really depends on what makes you like Radiohead if you'll like this album. If it's Thom's voice or the emotional feeling radiated in their songs, you will probably find yourself dissatisfied. However, if you like the atmospheric aspect of their music, you'll probably like this a lot. This makes for great background music for when you're just sitting at your computer working on something. It's one of my favorite albums to put on when I have to write a paper or when I'm just up late surfing the net.

Also, as a side note to one of the other reviews, going platinum does not mean 1,000,000 copies have been sold, it means 1,000,000 copies have been shipped to stores.

In the tradition of Koyaanisqatsi, Bodysong is simultaneously an ugly, gorgeous, riveting, and appalling study of human life. And like Philip Glass' astounding musical visions of the images in 'Qatsi', Jonny Greenwood's score is wholly engrossing and a creative realization of the subject matter of the documentary, not to mention the first true testament to Greenwood's ambitious but remarkable compositional skills.

Technically, the music on this album is clearly first-rate. What is most impressive is the fact that Greenwood, the lead guitarist for one of the most popular rock bands today, is also such a deft composer. As it turns out, however, Greenwood was classically trained in viola at Oxford Poly and has picked up a fair share about composition. He recently signed on to be the BBCs composer in residence, indicating both his skill and his continued interest in writing and conducting. Musically, each song on this soundtrack is a standout. Together, they make one of the most sublimely beautiful instrumental albums I've ever heard. Even without watching the documentary, one can be taken away by the mysteriously inhuman moods the music invokes.

Anyone buying this album and expecting Radiohead-esque music will likely be disappointed. That said, there are musical elements common to Greenwood's compostions and Radiohead's songs (makes sense, since Greenwood does a good deal of writing for the band after frontman Thom Yorke). While no member of Radiohead appears on the soundtrack except Jonny Greenwood, his composing and orchestrating skills alone create the same brilliant kind of sound-images that float through particularly Radiohead's most recent songs. However, until this soundtrack, Greenwood's musical presence has been balanced out and - dare I say - muted by his four band mates. Guitar riffs or no, the music Jonny Greenwood has created on Bodysong is a pure translation of image to sound, and an impressive step into the world of composition.

Johnny Greenwood's soundtrack to Bodysong is terrific. It should be said, however, that if you are buying it expecting Radiohead songs (as others on this site have said), you're barking up the wrong tree. Songs contain singing by definition. I hear now from listening to this record how much a large portion of Kid A/Amnesiac was Johnny Greenwood's creation. I can hear elements of RH's "Pyramid Song", "National Anthem", "Dollars and Cents", "Hunting Bears", and "Trans-Atlantic Drawl" specifically. There is a haunting and eerie beauty to this record and I've listened to it exclusively on repeat since I've bought it. Perhaps seeing the film along with it would make the music more enjoyable, but it stands up on its own quite well. This is noisy, mysterious, sad, hypnotic, and challenging music. Being a lover of experimentation i embrace it and I believe any true fan of Radiohead's sonic experiments will appreciate it immediately.

If your a radiohead fan and loved Kid A as much as I did then this cd is for you. The EMI protection is a pain but its worth it. Jonny has mixed old and new in this cd from techie sounds to blues guitars. One of the years best for sure.

The contention that this album has NO MUSICAL VALUE is a most bewildering and preposterous one. Surely if you like Radiohead, you probably won't like this album, but then again, is Radiohead the standard of what Music should be? Radiohead is fine, but there are many other things in the world besides angst-ridden pop/avant-rock.

This is a very beautiful album, and Mr. Geenwood shows he has musical range, something most of his peers would only dream of having. This is a journey through different musical styles and approches to music-making, with VISION. But not for the non-adventurous and near sighted

This soundtrack is experimental and odd; sometimes the result is not music, but simply pure and wonderful sound. The first track, "Moon Trills", would be the perfect companion to "Pyramid Song" by Radiohead. "Iron Swallow" stands on its own as an elegant and simple classical work, designed to evoke a different time. Later on, things become more experimental; "Convergence", for example, uses drums entirely to build to a insane crescendo; this stuff is not for those expecting some form of Radiohead, (Greenwood is their Guitarist) unless you were into b-sides like "Kinetic." Samples dominate for rhythm, using odd sound effects or drum loops. The styles on this disc go from abstract experimentation to free jazz. The gems are "Moon Trills", "Splitter" and "Bode Radio/Glass Light/Broken Hearts", and "24 Hour Charleston".

I wish we could have more CDs like this, but labels don't like experimentation to this degree, because it's not safe and bland like so much pop music out there.

A creepy and essential disc.

If you're anticipating this as another Radiohead album to add to the collection, be warned that Jonny Greenwood's music for the Bodysong soundtrack is really not much like Radiohead. This will not appeal to all Radiohead fans.
I haven't seen the movie yet, but this music is great. Violins, electronic beats and noises, and an array of various other sounds blend really well together on this album.
I fell asleep with this on repeat last night, and the only disturbing thing was waking up to a very finnicky, repetitive electronic noise that is in one of the songs. It's quite nice when you're already awake though. I recommend this album.

I have never seen "Bodysong", the movie by Simon Pummell on the journey of life from conception to death. And I hold on to the possibility that you must, in order to fully appreciate the composition that Mr Greenwood of Radiohead has cooked up to accompany the ingenious filmwork. Being a huge Radiohead fan myself, I was, and still am, surprised at what I heard. I followed this solo project of Radiohead's beloved 'abusive' guitarist practically from day one. Yet whatever it was that I was expecting to hear, this was anything but.

Bodysong the album is not pop. It's not an album packed with 'songs', for singing along to. Melodies are most often not the key here. Indeed, many of the tracks feel like very violent sequences where something visual is the key (prime examples 'Trench' and 'Convergence'). Even if you are a Radiohead fan, that is no golden ticket to your falling in love with Jonny Greenwood's first solo project.

There are, however, and very notably, jewels to be found such as no one but a Radiohead member could invent. "Clockwork Tin Soldiers" starts out sounding like the title, but then strolls into a haunting, glockenspiel-supported electro-track. "Peartree" is a delightfully reflective track with plenty of room for self-interpretation. The melody, one of the few, is a soaring journey through an indescribable sonic landscape. The three-part track "Bode Radio/Glass Light/Broken Hearts" flows together so seamlessly that you can't tell where one `song' ends and the other begins. If, indeed, that is what Greenwood meant by the title. For the first minute or so, there is no real melody; like a movie you keep moving on. But the initial electronic sound effects soon vanish to allow for what I can safely say is the most heart-tremblingly stunning piece of music that this album has to offer; a synthesiser leading into multiple violins and a cello, playing a melody that words can not describe.

As you can see, Bodysong is not for everybody. I still don't like it as a whole. Apart from the tracks I especially pointed out in the last paragraph, of course, which to this day kill any doubts I might have as to whether the purchase was worth it. But, of course, the three tracks are those that appeal to me, especially. The remaining melodies have a kind of jazz ambience to them, like "Milky Drops from Heaven" and "Splitter". "Moon Trills" is a nice melody, no doubt... I don't know. This is not an album made together of songs, but a soundtrack built up by scenes, whether musical or otherwise. For the former, I strongly recommend this cd if you are curious. It is certainly good.

There's probably nothing you can do to imagine how this album sounds, except of course seeing the film. Jonny has managed to play around with flirtacious melodies, fragmented movements, and chaotic rhythms to create 45 minutes of tense, dark and somewhat spiritual music. It's sort of a string quartet, jazz ensemble, and electronic stir fry. If you praise creative music, then you must give this album a shot.

I bought this disc so I could have the track "Convergence" after hearing it used so effectively in "There Will Be Blood." I was quite surprised at the whole disc; it will be very enjoyable to anyone who has an appreciate for instrumental music.