Customer Reviews

Great Expectations (1998 Film)

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When asked if I have an all time favorite "album" this is it. I have purchased it three times due to scratches, losing it, loaning it to friends that never give it back, etc. Would highly recommend it to everyone. It surpasses all genres of music and takes one for a quite a ride.

Like many soundtracks, I bought the soundtrack to the film 'Great Expectations' because there was a brand new Tori Amos track on it, and I *love* her. I had done the same with the 'Higher Learning' soundtrack, and was extremely disappointed due to the vomitory rap songs that surrounded Tori's gems. 'Great Expectations' pleasantly surprised me. Tori's track, the curious "Siren," is a piano-laced euphoria, her crystalline voice and Bösendorfer treading through a dreamy drum-driven soundscape (how 'bout that alliteration!) It is truly a masterpiece. "Wishful Thinking," a sullen, truthful tune by the ever-wonderful (and native New Jerseyan) Duncan Sheik, is the other masterpiece on the album. Highlights include the shocking ballad by former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell ("Sunshower") and the poppy sunshiny splendor of "Today" by the smoky-voiced Poe. Overall, the songs, ranging from Iggy Pop to "Bésame Mucho", are journeys themselves in music.

I didn't hesitate in the least when I saw this CD for cheap at a used bookstore. With previously unavailable songs from some of my favorite artists and a list of other artists that I enjoy hearing from every now and then, this soundtrack was a great buy!

As a Tori Amos fan, I love the way the album opens. The song "Siren" is just beautiful and was a taste of things to come for her. "Life in Mono" is one of the most haunting bits of electronica that you'll ever hear and this is the single that got me into Mono the group. "Today" by Poe is another highlight for me; new Poe material is hard to come by. "Walk This Earth Alone" is another bright spot; Lauren Christy material is also hard to come by since she started writing songs for today's teen pop stars. The solo tune from Scott Weiland is great too; not really a song you'd expect to hear from him.

It's also great to listen to the tracks from other artists that I enjoy but don't listen to often. Chris Cornell, Pulp, Duncan Sheik, and The Verve Pipe all have strong tracks featured here. I also really love the song by Fisher. I'd never heard of her before, but her voice is so lovely. I know I'll be getting more from her in the future.

The music from this film was much better than the film itself. Not that the movie was really bad, but as a fan of the original novel, I find this film to be lacking in emotion. I also don't care for Ethan Hawke. That's hard to overlook. But I recommend this album if you want to hear an eclectic mixture of sounds made by some of music's most respected artists. You might even hear something new!

This soundtrack is one of the most beautiful collections of music I've ever heard. Life in Mono and Siren have to be 2 of the most passionate songs I've ever heard. They comsume you with their twisted melodies and when you listen your mind goes on a rage and your heart fills with desire. This soundtrack moves me to levels of passion, desire, and romance hardly anything or one can do. I can liten to it constantly and be filled with the same emotions and excitement as the first time I heard the songs in the movie. (which by the way is one of the best movies of all time) If you have any suggestions of other cds or soundtracks with this kind of intensity. Email me @ BellaAngel@bolt.com.

Like that sleak image of Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover, the soundtrack to this mediocre Dickens adaptation is sexy and sophisticated, for the most part. Tori Amos starts it out with loopy solipsism, but most of the songs on the record are joyous surprises - Reef's "Resignation" and David Garza's "Slave" are great fun, Mono does a subtly devastating update on Abba's "Life In Mono," and Pulp finds charm and pulse in "Like a Friend." I think most are agreed the true hero of the soundtrack winds up being Scott Weiland, whose "Lady, Your Roof Drags Me Down" is jazzy, unexpected, and threatens to explode in 100 directions at once.

I was completely stunned at the beautiful music on this soundtrack. It is an absolute must for your CD collection.

Tori Amos' song, "Siren," is gorgeous, and it leads right into "Life in Mono" by Mono. This song has an incredibly unique sound due to the harpsichord, and the voice is nothing short of dreamlike. These are, I would say, my two favorite songs on this CD.

One of the greatest things about this soundtrack is that it is as eclectic as it is beautiful. Tori Amos, as was already mentioned, is present, but also is the fun, singalong "Uncle John's Band" by the Grateful Dead and Iggy Pop's "Success." There are also a couple of artists with songs on the CD that entice you to explore them more thoroughly because their contribution to this CD was so good.

I own about 250 CDs (last time I counted--many more now, I'm sure!) and this CD is in my top ten. It is hands down the best soundtrack I have ever heard.

I bought this CD initially for the Tori Amos and Mono tracks, but was pleasantly surprised by the rest of the album. Pulp's 'Like a Friend' is pure glitter rock, and Poe has a new song on here that exhibits her butterscotch voice perfectly. The only question I have is, why are so many of the songs on this CD not in the movie? That's extremly unusual, but I'm glad they did it, because it improved the album overall. Even jailbird Scott Weiland gives us a pleasantly kitschy-Paris like song in 'Lady Your Roof Brings Me Down.'

the first time i saw the movie previews i fell in love with the music and asked my parents to buy the cd for me surprisingly they said yes but it took about a month to get it because there were not more in the store now i listen to it all the times my fave songs are:wishful thinking, life in mono, siren, sunshower and i do not remember the other ones but buy this cd as soon as you can. P.S the movie is also great see it.

Regardless of one's feelings about this film, it is nearly impossible not to appreciate the soundtrack, which is brilliant and nearly flawless. The first 'real' song is a restless, powerful piano and vocal piece by Tori Amos, reminiscent of her strongest 'fitful' writing and composing (i.e. pre-1997). This song, along with Pulp's brilliant and maddeningly catchy "Like a Friend" were probably the two most likely 'reason I bought this album' songs for many who own this CD. However, to isolate these two songs is to do an injustice to the overall cohesiveness and intelligence of the musical selection. The eclectic playlist does not seem the least bit contrived (The Grateful Dead, "Besame Mucho," and Chris Cornell all work pretty well together) and the thematic strengths of the many of the songs complement each other perfectly (hint: this is an all-time favorite wallowing-in-self-pity-because-of-unrequited-love album for many people I know). In general though, the soundtrack is energetic without being unnerving, catchy but not-quite sing-along, and all the tracks which slip by with tremendous kinetic energy are balanced by an almost equal number of mellower ones: buy this CD, recline in your favorite chair, and relax. It's active, non-drowsy listening without the mosh pit... as long as you keep your brother out of the room.

I've been listening to this cd for 7 years now and it continues to remain one of my favorites. While the Tori Amos song is good and has definately grown on my since I heard it, it is not the best song on the album. Duncan Sheik's "Wishful Thinking" is truly a masterpiece, beautiful lyrically and musically. The cd is so emotional, every song has interesting lyrics and what makees them great is that they relate to the movie so well while also relating to your life as well. "Breakable" and "Walk this Earth alone" are other great songs. But honestly, I thik all of them are great and I find myself wanting to simply list all of them right now. But instead of boring you, I just want to highly recommend this cd to anyone who is very interested and open about music. It is so different from anything else I've heard but its so great. I can't say enough good things about it!