Customer Reviews

Drumline

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Yo band geeks! This review of the Drumline soundtrack album is for y'all who have ever strapped on a pair of marching spats for countless halftime shows and parades!

First of all, if you haven't seem Drumline at least once, get yourself down to the local multiplex at running cadence so you can experience this soundtrack in digital sound, from stadium seating (how appropriate), with big-screen visuals that will put you down on the field in the middle of the band, where (as you know) the sound is the best! And you'll enjoy winning peformances from Nick Cannon as Devon and Leonard Roberts as Sean, and the unexpected quiet intensity of Orlando Jones as Dr. Lee (some characteristics of whom some will recognize in their own band directors). (At this writing, the movie is still in theatres and I'm waiting for the DVD.)

Now that you've seen the movie, you're wondering, "How much band music is really on this soundtrack?"

The Drumline soundtrack opens with a 28-second snippet of the D&K Cadence, performed by The Senate, a.k.a. The Atlanta A&T drumline. The cadence opens with the tight click-click rhythm of drumsticks on rims from the snare section, adds the toms, and then the bass drums jump in...and it's over.

The middle section features party music from the movie, including Monica's "Uh Oh" and "Shout It Out" by Too Short and Bun B, which are performed later in the album by the bands.

The two-part finale of the album features a 4:04 Marching Band Medley from the 2002 BET Southern Classic that unfortunately takes longer to itemize than to listen to. They're exciting arrangements and all-out performances by gold-standard bands of the South, but like the cadence that opens the album, they're just excerpts that are over much too soon (remember this all happens in four minutes):

* Let's Go, performed by the Bethune Cookman College Marching Band
* Uh Oh, performed by that big, bad Morris Brown College Marching Band (it sounds like they have about fifty Sousaphones growling out the bass line -- my former band director loved that sound)
* Bouncin' Back, performed by the Grambling State University Marching Band
* I Told Y' All, performed by the Morris Brown College Marching Band and guest rap artist Petey Pablo
* In the Stone, I Want You Back (two goosebump-inducing fanfares, the latter with a rich and powerful trombone multi-part harmony under a high trumpet melody), and Shout It Out March, all performed by the Atlanta A&T Marching Band

The album concludes with a 4:04 excerpt from The Classic Drum Battle between The Senate and the Morris Brown drumline:

* Destruction, Morris Brown
* No Draws, Atlanta A&T
* X-Factor, Morris Brown (listen closely or with headphones to catch that brief swishy snare drum effect about halfway through)
* Hot Sauce, Atlanta A&T

It all adds up to eight-and-a-half minutes of our beloved band music and tight Pearl drum heartbeats on an album that clocks in at an hour long.

The jewel case insert includes many images from the movie, and complete album credits, but curiously, no movie credits.

The Drumline soundtrack will bring back some favorite moments from the movie, but marching band members and alumni will hunger for more from Atlanta A&T and their rivals. Perhaps we can look for a follow-up album, "More Marching Band Music from the Movie Drumline," or a compilation from the real-life 2003 Honda Battle of the Bands this spring. Or you can seek out your favorite university or college marching band's most recent CD.

ONE BAND, ONE SOUND!

"Sundance"
A-Rank Captain
Lincoln High School Marching Band
"The Showband of the Midwest"

Whoever put this soundtrack together forget the whole subject of the movie: great marching bands. There is only ONE track for all four marching bands featured in the movie! I wanted the soundtrack because I loved the performances of Morris Brown, Bethune Cookman, Grambling, Clark Atlanta and the fictional A&T. What I got is 14 tracks of hip-hop, most of which I don't even recall hearing in the movie.

I wouldn't have minded if they split up the soundtrack into half marching band tracks and half hip-hop tracks. Splitting it like this would make it equally enjoyable to hip-hop fans and marching band fans. I don't know what producer Dallas Austin was thinking when he put this togther, but he really missed the boat. Once again, talented marching bands get shafted, just like on college football telecasts.

The soundtrack to "Drumline," which is an excellent, clean and fun movie in its own right, boasts a good deal of good beats in it, which is fitting considering the film's plot.

The reason most people will by this album, I'm guessing, is the absolutely fantastic, catchy first solo single from NSYNC's J.C. Chasez, "Blowing Me Up." The song was produced by Dallas Austin, who also served as an executive producer on the film. The song switches tempos about a dozen times, boasts an incredibly good hook that gets you singing and dancing whenever you listen to it and manages to work both its pop and hip-hop roots effectively. Not to do an unfair comparison, but J.C.'s song accomplishes everything Justin Timberlake's initial single attempted and failed at. It's a surefire hit.

The soundtrack, though, also works as a proper reflection of the movie, too. It's fun, and it also manages to convey the fun of college marching bands. It opens with a traditional drumline piece and closes with two of them, the last one being the impressive "showdown" finale of the film.

The rest of the CD, alas, is your usual R&B dance music, which is decent but, by no means, remarkable.

But with four worthy pieces on the track listing, this is definitely worth a purchase.

Compared to the DVD Movie, this cd is a complete misrepesentation of the Movie, the sound tracks were not in the movie. On a scale of 1 to 5 stars I give it a minus 20

If you're into the excellent beats played by the percussion and/or bands found in this movie, then don't waste another second on this CD.

Out of the 15 tracks on this album, only two had ANYTHING to do with the actual MUSIC played in the movie. The first of these two, track one, can hardly be called a song as it is less than 30 seconds long. The second of these two is the collage of songs played by the different bands at the BET contest, exactly as it is in the movie. Not elongated, not messed with, just as it was.

That is it.

All the other tracks are nothing but the mediocre hip hop or rap songs played throughout the movie that really had nothing to do with anything. Drumline was about marching bands, and playing real MUSIC, and that's exactly what you DO NOT get from this soundtrack. Don't bother purchasing it unless you're only interested in the crappy, unimportant background music found in the rest of the movie.

Also, as a side note: It's very obvious that the top two comments (at least) were not posted by the consumers, but by the vendors.

i think this soundtrack was pretty good. i liked the cadences and band medley kuz im a band geek. if you like r & b and rap with a lil bounce here and there, then i think you might be interested in this CD. The movie was pretty awesome too. You can feel the competition through out the movie. "ONE BAND, ONE SOUND"

I was truly disappointed with the soundtrack selection on this CD and I'm glad I waited and bought it used and at a relatively inexpensive price.

This soundtrack has very little to do with the movie. How could they have such awesome music in the movie and then add the most insignificant music to the soundtrack?? I'm caught between finding this humorous and extremely disappointing.

Great soundtrack featuring some hot performers like JC Chasez (who knew he was so talented - forget Justin!) and Monica "Uh-Oh", etc. Even Nick Cannon has a good track here. I do wish more songs from the marching bands could have been included or at least longer versions of their movie performances. I must say my favorite track was Monica's "Uh-Oh" and then also hearing the Morris Brown marching band's version of her hit song. Pick it up if you loved the movie!

I don't listen to R&B/Hip Hop music much but I am in love with the Drumline music. There is so much skill presented in it that I can't deny its appeal. Sadly, I was expecting more of the drumline music but only got roughly 10 minutes worth. The rest of the CD is alright. I don't hate the music but it's not my 2nd choice of stuff to listen to. That being said, I still gave the soundtrack 4/5 since the drumline music was exceptional.