Customer Reviews

Love Happens

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

 

 

I wanted to suprise my wife by purchasing the sound track from the movie "Love Happens." We both enjoyed the movie and the songs. Unfortunately, there were no lyrics and the songs played all sounded the basically the same. I don't understand why this CDs is listed as a sound track, when the orginal music performed for the movie is not on the CD. I called a local vender and he said sometimes that happends and counldn't explain what the industry does this. We feel we wasted our time and money in getting this CD.

Romantic scores can become incredibly overdone and fall into saccharine territory very easily. It takes a skilled composer to evoke real emotions without going the cheesy route. Christopher Young succeeds with Love Happens. The music is simple and guitar based. It's light and doesn't overpower. Young had decent material to work with in that he was able to venture into sadness. Tracks like "Past Isn't" and "Vodka Logic" embrace a solo piano with soft strings to achieve that.

This isn't a one dimensional score. It has a playful side to it but knows when to get serious. The main theme echoes throughout and it works because it's simple. The track "It's MMM. . . Good" playfully uses the title of the track as a lyric. Young also brings in the strings more heavily in later tracks to get a full bodied sound that resonates more.

All in all the score doesn't break any new ground in the genre, but it succeeds. It's heartwarming and has a flow of energy that is present throughout. Elements of it reminded me of John Powell's terrific score to P.S. I Love You. Christopher Young knows not to overpower with melodrama or cheesy arrangements.

I saw the movie on cable and enjoyed it. What I enjoyed most were the songs from the movie. I never heard of these songs before but I liked the style of music I heard. I bought this CD expecting to get some of that music. Instead all you get is incidental music. I understand if some of the score was included like in the Forrest Gump soundtrack, but the whole CD is the score! It's a waste of money and I wish I had read the other 1-star review and I wish I didn't open this so I can return it.

As I posted in comment to another review here:

This is one of the things I don't get, after all the time Amazon has been around--people still can't figure out what a movie's 'original score' actually is. This is indeed the original music written for the movie. Film scores aren't for everyone, but how anyone is shocked, shocked that there are SONGS in a movie and BACKGROUND MUSIC aka score, when this is the case in literally thousands of movies and television shows, is beyond me.

Why anyone orders a CD without making sure the music he or she actually wants is on it, I have no idea.

Christopher Young is a fine composer, and this is a good score--I prefer his darker scores, but I love such scores as THE SHIPPING NEWS and CREATION. This kind of music is not for everyone--fine. But if people would learn to read and not get angry because THEY chose the wrong product to buy, they wouldn't have to post such embarassing revelations like this one.

It's not Christopher Young's fault that some people can't read.


As for the music, it is in the style of some of the quieter orchestral scores of the past decade. So much of that kind of scoring just seems to play because people are used to music playing in a movie, and something has to be going on in the backround. I'm not a fan of the style, but in such non-horror scores as BRIGHT ANGEL and HAUNTED SUMMER, Mr. Young has shown how one can be creative within any musical style. The more I listen to this score, the more I enjoy it. It may be 'background music,' and it's hard to escape some of the cliches of that type. But if one is a fan of Young's music, as I am, you will find this very enjoyable and light, with real feeling.

I'm so glad Mr. Young's scores are released and I can enjoy his fine compositions.

Christopher Young has composed a number of soundtracks for movies of various genres. Love Happens is primarily performed by acoustic guitar accompanied by string section (violin, viola and cello), piano and marimba. There are a few standout tracks on this album (primarily Tracks 1, 14, 16, and 23) and a number of solid supporting tracks that fill out this lengthy release. The music is largely calm and mellow and may tug at your heart strings with the more somber tracks.