Road to Perdition (Score) [SOUNDTRACK]

Thomas Newman

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 25, 2002)
• Original Release Date: July 12, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Decca U.S.
• ASIN: B000068D1A
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,023 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Director Sam Mendes's much-anticipated follow-up to his Academy Award^®-winning American Beauty found him exploring the period gangster film--but with a moral fiber and undercurrent of family tragedy familiar from his Oscar^® triumph. As he did with Beauty, Mendes again wisely entrusts the film's music to Tom Newman, a composer with an instinctive knack for getting inside a film's characters via innovative and often orthodox methods. As many of Newman's preceding scores have been rhythmically driven and rife with improvisation-driven experimentalism, its good to hear his equally distinctive writing for orchestra largely take center stage here again. But Newman's inquisitive musical instincts can't be denied, and his melancholy string writing is leavened first with subtle uilleann pipe flourishes that echo the characters' Irish-American roots, then with savory, yet ever-restrained touches of his own ethnic-defying instrumental color and rhythmic accents. It's another moody and introspective gem, seasoned with some lively period jazz (courtesy of the Charleston Chasers, Fletcher Henderson and his Orchestra, and Chicago Rhythm Kings) and a warm, final surprise: a duet of John M. Williams's autumnal title track performed by none other than stars Tom Hanks and Paul Newman. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Way to Relive the Movie, August 9, 2002

By	Michael Crane (Orland Park, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

No doubt about it, Thomas Newman is one hell of a composer. And this soundtrack proves just that. I had seen the movie and absolutely loved it from start to finish, and I remembered the music really standing out to me. It was dark, haunting, and touching, all at the same time. So, I decided to get the soundtrack, and I am glad I did.

It really is like reliving the movie. I really enjoyed listening to the movie score. It's breathtaking and amazing. It can be soft, dark, haunting, and beautiful. The music really is something to hear. I especially enjoy the piano playing that takes place on this score. (I don't care too much for the actual jazz songs and so on, I just listen to the score.)

I really enjoy all of the tracks, but the ones that stand out to me the most are "Rock Island, 1931," "Murder," "Blood Dog," "Grave Drive," "Road to Chicago," "Ghosts," "Lexington Hotel, Room 1432," "Road to Perdition," and the "Perdition" piano duet performed by Tom Hanks and Paul Newman. But the other ones that I did not list are very amazing as well.

If you love the movie and you love a great movie score, "Road to Perdition" is the one for you. In the tradtion of "Unbreakable" and "Insomnia," this score gives you different moods, like happiness, dread, fear, danger, sadness, anger, and redemption. A great purchase, if you ask me.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Newman, with a twist of Horner on acid., June 27, 2002

By	Andrew P. Alderete (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

So there I was, sitting with my glass of tea on a what-was-going-to-be a sunny California morning. I couldn't quite understand the curiosity I had while slipping this CD into the player, but I needed to hear Newman. How long did I have to wait to hear his true magic again? I heard it in 'Meet Joe Black', and I also discovered it in American Beauty to such a high degree...
Thomas Newman has the ability to create music that moves each and every individual based on the characters on screen - and his touch to your emotional ear is something you can relate to off the screen also. His solo piano intervention with flowing orchestral themes was something missing in 'In the Bedroom' and 'Salton Sea', where his entire musical score seemed to be space-filling music, with small 40 second intervals of pure Newman bliss.

Even so, I want any score lover to know that if there is anything to listen to for the hot summer score of the year, it's this one.

The first track starts out in Newman-esque ambience, but then collides into the Irish Horner-style bagpipe theme alongside a strumming guitar, a solo piano, and un-obstructed string themes. Like a horner theme on acid, T.Newman knows exactly when to bring sudden musical cue's on, and yet he also knows exaclty when to stop. As soon as you get overwhealmed by the bagpipes, he brings in an absolute gradation of melody, only he can accomplish.

All I am saying is listen to the first track, and you will re-discover why T.Newman is one of the most incredible, stunning, and creative score composers of this current film timeline.

In any case, hats off to this score. There is very little 'filling space' music, and the ambience of his composition is quite striking when it needs to be. Otherwise, enjoy the three or maybe even four musical themes throughout the entire album.

Cheers,
A

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Soundtrack, November 25, 2003

By	T. B. Vick "Learn 2 Discern" (The Lone Star State) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

If you are a 'soundtrack junkie' like me, then you will not want to be without this one. I spend a good part of my time hunting for great soundtracks that I can listen to while I read or study. This is one of the better ones I have a found in a long time.

There are several features that set this soundtrack apart from others that I have collected:

First, it has a lot of music. Many soundtracks have little music and the songs are short, making the soundtrack even shorter since the selection is slim as well.

Second, it has a good variety of music. I have purchased or heard soundtracks where there is one song used but played or arranged a dozen different ways. That gets boring quite fast.

Third, (and this is merely a personal preference of my own), the songs are emotional and moving. Many of the these songs are very emotional, soothing, or have a cajoling effect.

Having collected many different soundtracks over the years, I can safely say that this one is a very nice addition to my collection. By the way, especially good tracks on this collection are, 2 - "Wake;" 13 - "The Farm;" 16 - "A Blind Eye;" 22 - "Cathedral" (a scene in the movie which convinced me to get the soundtrack), and 26 - "Road to Perdition."

Other suggested soundtracks - "My Dog Skip;" and "A Map of the World" (which is probably my all time favorite).