Customer Reviews

The Bucket List [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

While the previous reviewer stated that the songs in the movie were NOT on this CD, please keep in mind that SCORES are USUALLY instrumental - The trumpet playing of Chris Botti is spectacular!! Of course, Chris has a number of great CD's, however, if you enjoy the haunting trumpet playing in this movie, along with the others, you will be delighted with this CD.
(The song "SAY" is not included)

This arrives on the eve of my brother's-in-law funeral and I immediately ripped it to my computers and took it with me on that saddest of days. Its peaceful, pensive quality lent the atmosphere of appreciation for the poignancy of a life cut short by illness without being depressing. TRULY a beautiful work I would recommend to anyone who appreciates quiet dignity for difficult times as well as anytime a thought-inspiring, unobtrusive background is desired or needed. I've not ever gotten to the second half of the album that includes other works, but will soon.

It's been a while since the world had an original score by Marc Shaiman since he went off to write Hairspray and subsequently become the new darling of Broadway, but when Rob Reiner comes calling, Shaiman usually responds - and so we have The Bucket List, the latest cinematic collaboration between the two. The film stars Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as two old men - both diagnosed with terminal illnesses - who make `the bucket list', outlining the things they want to achieve before they shuffle off the mortal coil and kick the bucket. And so, the film follows their various misadventures as the pair escape from their cancer ward and subsequently tick off all the items on their list by going skydiving, driving stunt cars, traveling the world, and living their lives to the fullest before time runs out on them. Shaiman's score is sensitive, generally understated, and short, dancing around the more obvious opportunity to layer on the sugar, and instead revealing itself to be a quiet, but sentimental reflection on the dreams and regrets of old age. There's an unexpected jazz element to much of the score, notably through the instrumental performances of trumpeter Chris Botti and saxophonist Dan Higgins. Cue such as "Like Smoke Through a Keyhole" and "Best in L.A." have an interesting, sultry vibe completely at odds with kind of music you would expect in a film like this, although the slight sense of melancholy is actually quite appropriate for the subject matter. The final few cues - "Life and Death", "The Mountain", "End Credits" - adopt a more orchestral approach than the others, and although they never quite reach the heights of the likes of The American President or Patch Adams, they still have that kind of sweeping beauty that Shaiman does so well. Because the score itself is so short - less than half an hour - and being such a wit, Shaiman padded out the album with some `junk from his trunk': a series of piano variations on themes from his own old movies like City Slickers, The Addams Family and Sleepless in Seattle, as well as a couple of songs, including the hilarious "Printmaster", which features Shaiman himself lamenting the fact that the score he slaves over is being drowned out by car chases and explosions in the dubbing mix. Priceless!

I have to say I agree with the majority of other reviews. The radio has advertised many many times that you can find John Mayer's Song on the Bucket List soundtrack. This is misleading because it's completely wrong. If you want the song, you either download it yourself, or buy John Mayer's album. The music on this album is good in the sense that it was composed well for the movie itself. But to sit and listen to the music without the movie is pretty senseless. If you want "Say" by John Mayer, buy "Continuum" the album.

a very warm & mellow listening experience, wonderful to contemplate your next relaxing book, or vacation. well done , good tone. also nice to listen to, in your car, when stuck in traffic. it will take off all tensions from your mind. & body. i would highly reccomend it for everyone .

I purchased this soundtrack thinking I would be getting the songs performed in the movie (by the original artists). Instead you get a soundtrack album where most of the songs are performed by someone other then what was presented in the movie. Rip-off!!!!

There should be a disclaimer on this album. It's not about the movie. I wanted the album for the song at the end - "Say" by John Meyer. Rather than a soundtrack of the movie "The Bucket List", this is a compilation of Marc Shaiman. Who cares? Now I've got to order the single from John Meyer's website.

It has been two years since this movie was released and it came on HBO again recently, so I decided to watch it all of the way through. Over the past 2 years I had seen most of it, coming in at the begining then having to leave, or catching it towards the end of the movie... GREAT MOVIE by the way if you have not seen it, but this is a review for the soundtrack...

I do not understand some previous posters who claim the CD is a rip off and does not contain the song SAY, which is played when the end credits are rolling. (And it does not) If they bought this item on AMAZON (I "assume" they did) then the songs on the CD are clearly listed and you can preview listen to them.

I did EXACTLY the same thing, saw the song list, noticed SAY was not there, typed in SAY in the search box and downloaded the single from Amazon into iTunes! Simple, easy and convenient! After listening to the preview I thought I'd also buy the soundtrack which is already well written about more eloquently by people above. I think that you will enjoy the CD even more, once you have seen the movie. Enjoy!

yes, of course this is not an usual soundtrack with full of songs, it's an excellent score from one of the greatest and undoubtly underrated film composer, Marc Shaiman. emotional motifs, great heart-breaking music. highly recommended!

It is hard not to find both Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicolson wonderful in this movie about living. As much as it is about them dealing with death, the real message is in how they learn to live. And the ending to this is priceless - even as you are crying, you'll be laughing, too. And that is never a bad thing.

I always recommend anything that makes one think and this really does make one think.

The music in this movie will make you think fondly on it.