Customer Reviews

Phenomenon

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The other tracks are great songs themselves, but the main reason why I wanted this soundtrack was that Thomas Newman is one of my absolute favorite composers. So besides the last track, "The Orchard," where is the rest of the amazing original score??

I just saw Phenomenon in TV ( not my first time watching it) and I wanted to get the music which is played whenever it shows the trees swaying and I cant find it anywhere. I thought I could find it on my fileshare program ( which I bought I am not downloading without owning the program) Anyways it doesnt come up. I have beautiful music from A Beautiful Mind and Forrest Gump etc but the title of this instrumental piece is missing and isnt on the soundtrack which is odd because it is featured a few times throughout the movie.

A March 7, 2004 review by C. Michael Rusk pointed out that much of the beautifully orchestrated music from the film has been left off the soundtrack CD. WHY? There are many who viewed AND ENJOYED the movie partly BECAUSE OF THE MUSIC. Since much of the film score has not been included on the soundtrack CD, I'll not buy it. Dumb move by "the music industry" I believe.
Thus, Amazon, you've LOST A SALE (God forbid). Maybe you should "talk" to the soundtrack producers about this error in judgment.

Who makes the decisions on these soundtracks -- what to include, what to discard? Thomas Newman's magic MADE this movie -- no less than his artistry is what made Shawshank Redemption or American Beauty work. So why screw it up by including all these other goofy rock tunes when it's Newman's work that makes the movie work in the first place. For those who just INSIST on having a smorgasborg of incoherent, disconnected rock-and-roll songs in the car's CD player, they should make one version of the Phenomenon Soundtrack. And for those of us who LOVED THE MOVIE, they should make another: a Soundtrack CD that really does contain the orchestrated score that is the heart and soul of the movie itself. (Only one cut on this soundtrack, "The Orchard" is Newman's work to begin with. What a sham!) Is that too much to ask?

Anyone expecting the original soundtrack music will be disappointed. Anyone who just wants the oldies cuts will make out fine. I always find it very irritating when I end up with a soundtrack that eliminates much of the key music for no particularly good reason.

There is no question that John Travolta has had one of the most successful movie careers of all time. Sometimes people forget that Travolta movies have been associated with three very popular soundtracks - "Saturday Night Fever", "Urban Cowboy", and "Grease" (Travolta would actually sing on that one). Many forget is that there is a fourth Travolta film that has one of the all-time great soundtracks - that film being "Phenomenon". Not only did "Phenomenon" have a great soundtrack, but it probably is both the most underrated performance and underrated film in Travolta's career. One thing that makes the "Phenomenon" soundtrack so outstanding is that it truly captures the essence of the movie. As you listen to the soundtrack, you truly feel like to are watching the movie. Not only is this a great soundtrack, I would venture to say that this was the best album for 1996.

To understand why the "Phenomenon" soundtrack is so good - one must have a little background on the movie. Travolta plays George Malley - a small town man whose life changes after he sees a flash of light. Following that encounter, George begins to experience genius and telekinetic powers. However the government becomes wary of George's newfound powers However George learns that he has a rare brain tumor that is causing his brain to act the way he is. The tumor is slowly killing George. The film deals with George dealing with his powers, the government, a relationship with Lace Pennamin (played by Kyra Sedgwick), and his own mortality. It are all of these factors that really play into the music that supports this movie.

Each of the songs have some of the great producers in the business - Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Don Was, Trevor Horn, and Robbie Robertson. However it is Robertson who serves as the executive producer to the compilation. Robertson's efforts must be applauded as he builds a soundtrack that captures the essence of the movie. The soundtrack makes great use of crooning and blues along with a "coffee house" sound - gelling beautifully with the movie.

Here is a song by song review:

"Change the World": While Eric Clapton didn't write or produce this song, nor deliver his best guitar work - it is Clapton's crooning performance of some very moving lyrics that easily made this a "Record of the Year". If you listen to the lyrics, the lines "Change the World; I will be the sunlight of your universe" support many of factors that George Malley was dealing with in this movie.

"Dance with Life (The Brilliant Life)": The title along gels very nicely with the whole story of George Malley. Bryan Ferry is one of the most underrated musicians and this is one of his most underrated songs. Ferry also employs a crooning style. Trevor Horn produced this song.

"Crazy Love": Don Was produces this Van Morrison song. This is a nice "coffee house" song delivered by another crooner - Aaron Neville. Neville does great justice to this cover. Robertson is also featured on this song.

"Corrina": I hadn't heard of Taj Mahal before, but this song really gave me a good taste. Very nice bluesy song that fits the "small town" flavor of George Malley's town perfectly.

"Have a Little Faith In Me": Don Was produces this Jewel song. I was not a Jewel fan, but this song really impressed me. Again, just from the title alone - this fits very nicely with the whole story of "Phenomenon". But the whole song also fits nice. Jewel delivers a "full blown" performance in this song. She almost employs a "gospel-like" quality combined with some nice coffee house rock. I like how Jewel "builds up" this song as it progresses.

"I Have the Touch": Peter Gabriel's career is legendary. This song just adds to Gabriel's legend - and I subscribe that this might be his best performance on any record. The title and theme of this song might be the best fit of all of the songs on this soundtrack. Gabriel's unique haunting voice and style are tailor-made for the "Phenomenon" story. Simply put - outstanding.

"Pieces of Clay": This might not be Marvin Gaye's best known song, but it is a very good song. The song employs a bluesy Hendrix-like guitar at the beginning before progressing to a more traditional bluesy song. As mentioned, the whole bluesy theme fits nicely with the setting and story of this movie - and this song is no exception.

"Para Donde Vas": Here is another group I discovered. The Iguanas deliver an outstanding performance. This song is in Spanish and has a full blown Latin feel. It's very catchy and will have you toe-tapping.

"Misty Blue": A very bluesy song. This was my least favorite track of the collection. While I personally didn't care for it, I still have to say that because of this bluesy theme, this fits very well with the whole theme of the movie.

"A Thing Going On": J.J. Cale was the third artist I discovered on this album. I'm surprised Cale didn't make a better name for himself and that this song didn't become a hit. The guitar work in this song is almost a dead-ringer for the work of Carlos Santana.

"The Orchard": This is a very nice instrumental. It has a haunting quality thanks to the African-styled percussion at the beginning. This might not have the most catchy beat, but this is still one worth listening to. It is some outstanding musicianship by Thomas Newman that makes this a great finale to this collection.

It's too bad the liner notes don't include the lyrics. However, that doesn't take away from the album. When looking at 1996 albums, this album clearly deserves its place among the best - and also deserves its place among the elite Travolta soundtracks. Whether you have seen the movie or not, this collection is definitely worth getting.

It would be nice, as a couple of other reviewers stated, to have included some of the "score" as well as the songs and arrangements already present. I was hoping their would be a bit of that when I ordered it. The songs are good but didn't warrant listening to the CD more than a couple of times.

I'd have to agree with a couple of the other reviewers... Why is it that all of the beautiful orchestrated music tracks are for the most part, left off of these soundtracks? Yes, the other music is good, but when it is advertised as the "Music Soundtrack," then why doesn't it include ALL of the music from the movie? The only reason the music industry will not switch to MP3 to fit all of the music on one CD is money, pure and simple. The consumer is paying a fee for minutes allocated on the CD and if there were more music they would feel obligated to collect more money from the consumer. Why is this? When I buy a movie on DVD, not only do I get the complete theatrical uncut release, I usually get bonus material and sometimes both widescreen and pan and scan formats... Someone needs to tell the music industry to wake up!

I purchased this CD because of Eric Clapton's, song, "Change the World." But it was a nice surprise to hear Aaron Neville do the Van Morrison song, "Crazy Love". I listen to that song as much as "Change the World". I was also very happy to hear "The Taj" on this CD. I saw him a number of times in concert singing Corinna, and although I remember him singing this song more "bluesy" it is still great to hear him. The rest of the CD is OK, but I find myself jumping to these three songs and overlooking the rest. This CD is worth owning just to hear the songs I mentioned.

This is my favorite Soundtrack of all time. There are some great renditions of classic songs as well as an excellent instrumental cut at the end which evokes memories of the movie every time I listen to it. Clapton's song is a classic and I highly recommend listening to both Jewel and Aaron Neville's songs. I used Aaron's song as the song my wife and I first danced to at our wedding. Enjoy!