Customer Reviews

Meet Joe Black: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

5 star:		(103)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There is no doubt that this is one beautiful album. I'm in total agreement with all the 5 star ratings for this perfect score of the "Meet Joe Black" film. Thomas Newman composed and conducted most of these orchestral instumentals that take you scene by beautiful scene of the story. You will relive from beginning,"Yes", to end, "That Next Place", all the heartwrenching moments.I could only go with the 4 stars though, as I am reviewing the total product. The CD seems to have been recorded very low.If I have 5 discs on my changer this is the one I always have to turn up about 5 notches, and then back down when the next one starts. If this is not a problem for you(and it really isnt for me) and you love this film, then you'll love the CD.

The tracks also include two wonderful songs by Irving Berlin, "Cheek to Cheek", and "Let's face the Music and Dance".And then there is the mesmerizing end credits music.Performed by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. This vocal rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" makes me stop whatever I'm doing and just listen for a while.

So even with having to adjust the sound for this one, it still ends up on my changer 9 out of 10 times. It's well worth it!

dvd - Meet Joe Black
I Love It!..........Laurie

more beautiful music from the movies:
Stealing Home: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Music for the Movies of Clint Eastwood

Red: Bande Originale Du Film

Oh, what a wonderful soundtrack this is! 'Meet Joe Black' was a thought provoking and captivating movie and the soundtrack is no less so.

Thomas Newman is a genius! I especially enjoy 'Everywhere Freesia'; 'Walkaway'; 'Meet Joe Black'; 'Whisper of a Thrill'; 'Cold Lamb Sandwich'; 'Served its Purpose'; 'Someone Else' and the capper - 'That Next Place'

Also, equally enchanting and nicely filling out the album are Irving Berlin's classics: 'Cheek to Cheek' and 'Let's Face the Music and Dance'; the well known 'What a Wonderful World' written by George Weiss and Bob Thiele; and the medley performed by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World'. This last song is a beautiful and winsome addition!!

I listen to this album often!!! It calms me and soothes me (I tend to get easily wound up!) Many times I will put it in to relax me into a nap... or I'll listen to it at bedtime for a lullaby into dreamland!!

I zealously recommend this soundtrack!

While waiting for the video of Meet Joe Black to come out, I bought the soundtrack on a whim, and I am so glad I did! The music is so beautiful and completely takes me back to the film. I can't help but visualize the corresponding part of the movie when I hear each song. The first time I listened to "Someone Else" and "That Other Place", I started crying, but since then I've trained myself to think of the happy aspects of the film and not well up. My one complaint is that many of the songs (especially "Peanut Butter Man" and "5th Avenue") are much too short. The final song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World", blends both songs together well and is a perfect finale for the soundtrack and the film. I highly recommend this soundtrack to anyone who appreciates beautiful music!

I am an avid fan of movie scores and soundtracks, and the "Meet Joe Black" soundtrack truly is one of my all-time favorites. The music itself seems to tell the story, it is that powerful. The depth and intensity of "That Next Place" are unparalleled. The use of "What a Wonderful World" also evokes the feelings of nostalgia and truly exemplifies what is occurring on screen all the more. The final track by Israel Kamakawiwo`ole is enough to buy the cd as it is an indescribable work of art. It fits so well to the movie and the rest of the soundtrack. Even if you are not a fan of listening to classical music, I guarantee you will enjoy listening to this cd as it not only takes you back to the movie, but will evoke emotions in you as well.

I have heard hundreds of different scores, and personally own well over 50 scores from different movies. Out of all the of the scores I have listened to, Meet Joe Black rises to the top. Thomas Newman is ingenious in the scoring of this film. His soft and mysterious tracks carry your heart, soul and mind to strange and exotic places.
The best track on the score is "Whisper of a Thrill." It disarms you emotionally goes right to the core of your heart. It is seductive, yet sorrowfull. You are curious, yet cautious. A plethora of emotions arise when listening to this beautiful soundtracks. Thank you Thomas Newman for your brilliant work. Purchase this soundtrack - you will not be sorry.

I have over 100 film scores and a cd player that has a five disc rotation, this score is almost always in there.

If you like its haunting melodies, I reccommend the Human Stain, the Village, Angela's Ashes, and the Last September

Here's a CD that really gives you your money's worth. The orchestra pieces are wonderful, moving. There are three updated older songs that are just delightful to hear. And of course, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, who died in 1997 at age 38, with his touching version of Over the Rainbow.

I can't say enough good things about this CD.

The soundtrack to Meet Joe Black is one of the best soundtracks I've ever had the privilege to listen to. It forms a satisfying balance of music by combining pieces from Thomas Newman's hauntingly lovely score with several light but emotional big-band hits. The addition of the Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World medley performed by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole is the perfect finishing touch. If you liked the movie, by all means, get this soundtrack; it recalls all the emotion and beauty of the film. However, even if you haven't had the chance to see Meet Joe Black, or if it didn't affect you that deeply, still, give the soundtrack a try. What else can I say? It is beautiful.

I admit I'm a little late concidering the release date and this soundtrack is way too good to have never heard of it. But with score it's like with everything else: You must make the experience yourself! And so will the movie of "Meet Joe Black" has been recently shown on television. And I cannot begin to tell how amazed and sad at once I was -- amazed by the talent a composer can ever carry (Thomas Newman turns out to be a god) and deeply sad about how I could ever miss this beautiful composition for so many years (that's inexcusable)! This truly is - without exaggerating anything - one of the greatest and most affecting orchestral scores ever written for a movie!!! Everyone who listens to the score, even without having watched the movie at first, will know what I mean! This beautiful album of instrumental tracks I would highly recommend to try for yourself with no need for the DVD at all! The movie is a typical fantasy romance with Mr. Death sneaking in someone else's body and our stereotyped Barbie, who both fall in love with each other, but cannot be together forever, so he breaks her heart, kills her father and then sends back the old inhabitant of this body, and so on... <---this plot must not meet everyones taste or expectations to a 08/15-US-movie-romance! But in the center of focus for now is the score and this one I can only recommend as mostly scores completely drown within the intenseness of a movie; but in this case the movie wouldn't be what it is without those soft violin strives and the sensitive accompaniment of the piano sounds.
To mention a couple of them, I mostly liked the main theme and its variations:

3. Walkaway (main theme) 8.5/10

6. Whisper Of A Thrill (the sex scene between Barbie and Death) 9/10

8. Cold Lamb Sandwich (main theme - but only with violins and piano) 10/10

17. Someone Else (soft violin strives) 10/10

19. That Next Place (the big finale in the midth of the fire work show) 11/10

There is nothing else left to say about this, one must make the experience for himself! This is unequivocal a work of art; a so far not reached masterpiece, which captures the whole beauty of the movie marvellous good with its harmonic ecstatic melody. I don't know what other references Thomas Newman has as a composer, but I'm looking forward to listen to some more of his works...something a lot of other people should do as well! You won't regret it! ;)

The score for "Meet Joe Black" is a perfect example of why Thomas Newman is one of my favorite composers. It lacks the high profile of some of the other movies he has composed for, such as "Finding Nemo" or "American Beauty," but it is one of Newman's shining moments, and one of the favorite soundtracks in my collection, by any composer.

Filled with music expressing gentle beauty, classic drama, and even a sense of wonder, this is a great CD to play when you want to relax. More than that, however, it is deeply moving and highly evocative of the emotions of the heady film.

"Meet Joe Black" is a movie of subtlety, but when it comes down to it, it never flinches from expressing deep and honest feeling. The music goes a long way towards helping it toward that goal, as it also never fails to convey feeling to the audience in Newman's signature style.

Newman is a highly adaptable and original composer, and while his style is often recognizable, it is always tailored well to the specific themes of the film. In this case, Newman eschews his use of modern ambient sounds and backgrounds and instead opts for powerful brass arrangements and a rich background of strings prevalent throughout. It's a classic musical treatment for a film which hearkens back to the era when films were more honest and less flashy than they are today.

Other than Newman's music, which is enough in itself to recommend the score highly, the special treat on the soundtrack of "Meet Joe Black" comes at the end: a medley of "What a Wonderful World" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" sung by the late Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. Regular watchers of the television show "E.R." will recognize this song from Mark Green's final episode on the show. It's an absolutely beautiful song, and the perfect coda for this album of lovely music.

The music for "Meet Joe Black" is perfectly-suited to the film, but it is also a joy to listen to on its own. It is as near to a perfect movie score as I've ever had the pleasure to listen to, and it has my highest possible recommendation.