Once [Soundtrack]

Glen Hansard | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 22, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Columbia
• ASIN: B000PFU7OO
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (327 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,194 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #84 in Music > Soundtracks

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Even those allergic to musicals may be won over by Once, a tender-hearted Irish romance with songs by Czech Republic–born Markéta Irglová and Frames frontman Glen Hansard. (The film's director, John Carney, actually used to play bass in the group.) The trick here is that Irglová and Hansard also play the leads; because their characters are shown busking, writing music, or rehearsing, the songs are smoothly integrated in the film. The overall acoustic mood won't surprise fans of the Frames--some tracks ("Say It to Me," "When Your Mind's Made Up") have even popped up on the band's albums, though the arrangements are more pared-down here, befitting the scruffy, street-musician setting. Being the lesser-known entity, Irglová feels like a revelation; she sounds a bit like a folkie Björk on "If You Want Me," and her song "The Hill" is downright heartbreaking. Irglová and Hansard had already made the 2006 album The Swell Seasontogether, so their collaboration here feels really organic--they sound particularly good together on the title track, for instance. Now that's the kind of magic you want from musicals. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Product Description

ONCE is a modern day musical set on the streets of Dublin. Featuring Glen Hansard, lead singer of the Irish band "The Frames," the film tells the story of a street musician and a Czech immigrant during an eventful week as they write, rehearse and record songs that reveal their unique love story. Contains 13 original songs written and performed by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, all of which are performed in the film.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

481 of 491 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great introduction to Glen Hansard as well as serving as an amazing soundtrack May 26, 2007

By Robert Moore HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

Many visiting Amazon will remember the film THE COMMITMENTS telling the story of an Irish soul band specializing in many of the Stax classics of the sixties. Though most of the attention was focused on the rotund lead singer, the guitarist Outspan Foster was played by a veteran 21-year-old busker by the name of Glen Hansard. He played, in fact, one of the two first members of the band, since he and the band's keyboardist asked Jimmy Rabbitte to help them form a band (though they would dispense of their tentative name, And And And, though they were also considering And And! And). Though no one at the time would have guessed it, it was Hansard more than any other member of the fictional band (though it did tour as a real band in the wake of the movie's success) who would achieve musical success. About the same time that filming for the Commitments began, Hansard had formed a band, the Frames, that would over the course of the next seventeen years develop a reputation for being one of the best live bands in the world and though their recorded output never quite matched the extraordinary live performances they would release several superb albums. Two of the Frames' albums--FITZCARRALDO and THE COST--would be nothing short of masterpieces. One of the original members of the Frames was John Carney. To complete the background story, Carney met the young Czech singer Markéta Irglová while visiting Prague and she later provided some vocals for his 2006 solo album THE SWELL SEASON.

I'm not quite sure whose idea it was to make a movie, but former-Frame Carney and Hansard, with the help of our young Czech heroine, came up with the idea to make a movie based on Carney and Hansard's experiences in Dublin.... Though the Frames are not well known in the United States, there are many who regard them and not U2 as the great Irish band. Those seeing this movie are not going to have a great deal of difficulty believing that. Hansard is one of the world's great frontmen, singing with a white-hot intensity remarkably emotional and passionate songs. For those unfamiliar with his work, he will have seemed to drop out of the sky like a meteor. They will have trouble believing someone this talented is not already a household name.

The songs for the movie are culled from a number of places. The absolutely extraordinary "Say It To Me," one of Hansard's greatest songs, comes from the great 1996 Frames' album FITZCARRALDO, "Lies" and "Falling Slowly" come from Hansard's solo album THE SWELL SEASON (on which Irglová also sings), and "When Your Mind's Made Up" is one of the best songs off this year's amazing new Frames' album THE COST. Regardless of the source, the songs here are amazingly well performed, more acoustic than in their original versions. I know some audience members for the film are blown away by the music and I think part of the reason is that they don't realize that these songs represent highlights from a large and exceedingly great body of work. Even so, the great news is that Hansard has written far more great music than appears on this album.

I strongly recommend this disc for people who saw the movie and loved the music (and hey, what's not to adore?). This is simply gorgeous stuff and anyone who isn't moved by it probably is never moved by great music. So the album can act as a terminus, but it should also act as a door to the rest of Hansard's work. The two albums I would most recommend are the two I mentioned above, FITZCARRALDO and THE COST. These are filled with great songs, all songs magnificently by Hansard, who also wrote them. If those don't exhaust your interest you could also look at BURN THE MAPS as well as the aforementioned solo album THE SWELL SEASON. And as fine as this soundtrack is, the two main Frames albums I mentioned are each even better. Read more ›

140 of 141 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You cry, you laugh, you cry again; this is such a joy September 12, 2007

By Jesse Kornbluth TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Audio CD

There are movies that friends tell you about, and if those friends are forceful enough or more people make the same recommendation, you rouse yourself and buy a ticket, and if the movie turns out to be terrific, the next thing you know you're telling everyone about a film they just have to see.

This is called "buzz," and it's a very good thing indeed --- media companies hire consultants, often for impressive sums, to create that initial spark.

But "Once" starred Glen Hansard, lead singer of a terrific Irish band --- The Frames --- that's sadly unappreciated outside of Ireland. His co-star was Markéta Irglová, a 17-year-old Czech high school student who had never acted before.

And it was filmed, in 17 days, for $150,000.

For the longest time, the future of "Once" looked bleak: straight to DVD.

Then the film was invited to Sundance. It won the Audience Award. Fox Searchlight bought it. And as "Once" went out into the world, audiences took to it like a beautiful orphan --- they cherished it and made it a cause.

That's how I came to see it; many people prodded me. What they knew: I'm a sucker for emotion that feels authentic, and so I was absolutely enchanted by this little film.

And I do mean little. He's a singer. His girlfriend has left him. He'd like to make a record and get out of Dublin. Right now, he repairs vacuum cleaners and sings on the streets. Her situation's just as dim. She may dream of music, but she's in an alien culture, separated from her husband; she sells flowers and cleans houses to support her kid and mother. He and She (they are nameless) get together to make music; they become collaborators and friends, their songs propelling the plot.... But the big question --- for the audience, anyway --- isn't how their demo tape will be received. It's whether they'll become lovers.

"Two people, a few instruments, 88 minutes and not a single false note," A.O. Scott wrote in The New York Times.

And what people! At the start of the movie, Markéta Irglová seemed like her character: a young woman of modest charms and uncertain talent. By the end, I was convinced she was the most beautiful woman in the world, a great talent and a deep soul. Love? I was besotted. And Glen Hansard was the ultimate admirable guy: smart, resourceful, realistic, emotionally aware.

And what music! Hansard started strumming his guitar, and I got weepy. Then he started singing, slow as a nursery lullaby:

I...don't...know....you
But...I....want...you
All...the...more...for...that
Words...fall...through...me
And...always...fool...me

There are, I think, only two responses to feelings this directly expressed: cynicism and acceptance. Friends, this cynic was overcome: I blubbered. And I wasn't the only one.

You may have heard some of the soundtrack; it pops up on better radio stations. If it's considerably more "professional" than the film, there are reasons. Some of the songs were among the greater hits of the Frames. Hansard and Irglová had recorded a CD together. And the film's director, John Carney, was savvy about music --- he had once played bass in The Frames.

Though this is music like no other --- not folk, not rock, mostly just two people literally singing their hearts out --- it's not just for emotional slobs like me. You can listen to it as you work. You can play it at dinner. It's great for a quiet evening.

And, if you must, you can cry --- for happy. Read more ›

40 of 44 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Disk. Good Movie. Double Your Pleasure. July 1, 2007

By R. M. Ettinger VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

I really really enjoyed the film and though the acting and chemistry was great - it was the music that won me over.

Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova's writing and performing was understated and moving. Though many of the songs appear on their 2006 disk 'The Swell Season' most people would have missed that (myself included).

The disk would be worth it for the first two tracks alone ("Falling Slowly" , "If You Want Me"), but the rest of the disk is certainly worth a listen.

Overall, the disk has a Damien Rice feel - and that is not horribly surprising considering the Irish busker w/the harmonies coming from a talented female.

Though the songs stand alone - folks should really see the movie and how Hansard & Irglova's chemistry really makes the entire thing work.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating track! June 9, 2007

By Kevin Quinley VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Winsome love story with magnetic soundtrack draws you in and takes you for a ride. Life rarely has storybook endings and neither does "Once." The story and music draw you in and pull you under in an enchanting tale of pain and passion strained through the medium of song.

See "Once" more than once!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Falling Slowly...Listen Deeply...a Most Emotionally Resonant Soundtrack June 26, 2007

By Ed Uyeshima HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

Unsurprisingly, John Carney's intimate 2007 boy-meets-girl musical, Once, has spawned an accompanying soundtrack disc. The nice surprise, however, is that a closer listen to the music yields even more dividends than the already rewarding movie itself. Similar to recent releases by David Gray and Damien Rice, a halting emotionalism and hopeful yearning informs many of the songs here but not at the expense of a certain pop sensibility that is both immediate and passionate. Most of the credit belongs to the film's two stars, Markéta Irglová and especially the Frames' Glen Hansard, who either jointly or individually composed all the tracks except one, Fergus O'Farrell's "Gold", a guitar-strummed jig played by the Irish band Interference and marked by a mournful violin.

One of the most accomplished songs on the album, the Beatlesque "Lies" transitions through a variety of emotions from poignant hesitation to cruel revelation with an unerring fluidity guided by Hansard's near-falsetto. For a marked change of pace, "Fallen from the Sky" provides syncopated pop fluff backed by the Frames' seamless harmonies, while "Trying to Pull Myself Away" carries a propulsive beat over a catchy, string-laden groove. True to the onscreen portrayal of a busker, the melancholic bitterness of "Leave", the more pensive "All the Way Down", and the primal desperation of "Say It to Me Now" rely solely on Hansard's searing vocal and guitar. Evoking Björk's plaintive but touching vocal style, the Czech Republic-born Irglová shines on the forlorn ballad, "The Hill", and especially on the Gallic-sounding, otherworldly "If You Want Me" backed by Hansard's aching voice....

Yet for all those choice cuts, the most magical moments aurally come when Hansard and Irglová duet, the same as in the film - the haunting title tune, the searing confessional of "When Your Mind's Made Up" punctuated by Graham Hopkins' persistent drums, and in particular, the shimmering beauty the co-stars achieve on the breakout hit, "Falling Slowly", which works off a simple sing-song structure (akin to "Frère Jacques") and then builds powerfully into its heartbreaking chorus. It's no coincidence that the song represents the film's defining moment, an emotionally transcendent scene when the characters bond musically in a piano shop. There is such an unforced beauty with the music presented here that I find the entire disc irresistible and a perfect reflection of the unbridled and sometimes pained romanticism that the movie was trying to achieve. Read more ›