Customer Reviews

Nixon: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD]

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

 

 

Here is one of those cases when the music works well in the film but when one wants to listen to it in a CD, then for some people will find it very dull and boring.

The music here is very unusual for John Williams to composed (even Oliver Stone was confused). Most of John Williams music always has this exicting cues to it. But the music here a is mostly in a dark and quiet mood. But that is what the film is all about. For it deals with Nixon's inner torments. This is for all of John Williams fan here. Enjoy.

For Williams fans 5/5
For casual listners 3/5

Note: there are two lovely tracks that are not in this CD.
The first one bring the "Battle Hymm of the Republic" the chorus version that is. You hear it when Nixon visits the Lincoln Memorial Hall.
Another good track is called "Shenandoah". It covers the end credits of the film. Very beautiful very moving track, it has just voices and no orchestra.
But you can find the very same tracks on another CD called "God bless America the ultimate Patriotic Album" under Decca records (Just type "God bless America" on Amazon.com and you will find it).

There are several stand-out cues on this disc that make Nixon worth having. Track 1, used in the theatrical trailers, is a really powerful piece of music that sums up what the score and the movie is about. It's incredibly dark, yet emotionally powerful. Track 3 features a great wistful trumpet theme performed by the great Tim Morrison. Track 10 is another dark, turbulent piece of music, really bombastic. Track 11 is a terrifically mysterious, sinister, and sweeping theme all at once. The finale of the score is likewise great, recalling the grand, heroic aspect of Nixon. The rest of the score consists of a lot of brooding atmospheric cues that can be a bit dull on CD. Hence the score has moments of greatness but is far from Williams' best work. The moments of brilliance on this CD make the album worth having--every Oliver Stone-John Williams score is worth it, as a matter of fact. by the way, Nixon is an "enhanced" CD. I was able to view some of the enhanced features, including some amusing interview clips with Williams and Stone, as well as the terrific trailer. The enhanced-ness of this CD is screwy though... you may have trouble accessing these features. :(

John Williams' score to Nixon is another great score in his collaboration with Oliver Stone. The powerful main theme for Nixon is a driving and angry piece, Williams' reflects not only Nixon's inner turmoil in the music but also the disturbing events from the 1960's. Williams' provides another beautifully haunting theme of nostalgia similar to his powerful themes to Born on the Fourth of July and J.F.K. "Growing Up in Whittier" is brief but a deeply moving piece full of sadness and melancholy. Simply one the best film scores of the 90's.

Nixon, along with Hook and The Empire Strikes back, is John Willams' best score. Subtle, beautiful, powerful. Williams' work with Oliver Stone has once again paid off for film score fanatics. GET THIS CD!

another JW masterpiece! what a pity that since the lately version of QuicktimeTM and Windows3.1up, you're no more able to see the interview inside the cd!!! if someone has got a trick to workaround this software failure, please tell... :-\

John Williams is, I think, only human. This great soundtrack gives me cause for doubt.