Customer Reviews

In the Shadow of the Moon

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm normally a very picky sort when it comes to albums, choosing songs and deleting tracks ruthlessly. But I couldn't find one of the 24 tracks that I wanted to delete. They're all worthwhile and I don't regret buying the album one bit.

As for the music itself, it's just magical. It perfectly communicates the wonder of space travel and the respect to the unique accomplishment of the Apollo program. It actually made me tear up a bit in places.

I have been a big nut of space exploration from reading as much as i could growing up about the apollo mission's to discovering the giant stack of National Geographic in 6th grade and madly searching for anything dealing with the Space Shuttle and the like. This movie singlehandedly brought back every emotion I felt as a child for the excitement of space exploration and then some expertly bringing to light that fateful day in July of 1969. The music selected to bring forth this feeling was so well done that even just listening to the previews before i bought it gave me chills.

Granted I'm partial the soundtracks for movies in the first place so I conclude with simply this; If you loved the movie, there's a good chance you'll love the soundtrack as well.

Majestic musical score that accompanies a documentary of one of our most important human achievements.

Philip Sheppard had done a terrific job scoring this production. You are immersed in the drama and can actually feel the impact it brings to the movie. 5 STARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm probably in the minority on the actual documentary In The Shadow Of The Moon, in that I didn't care for it. It focused too much on the quirkier aspects of the astronauts' personalities, at the expense of the history. But this soundtrack is pure genius. The pieces are all short, due to it being a soundtrack, but each one is exploding with emotion and imagery. He perfectly captures the danger, awe, and jubilance of the Apollo program.
Stylistically, Sheppard is all over the place, but it works. Obvious influences are Orff, Copland, and Glass. It has made such an impression on me that now I literally can't think or read about the space program without hearing this music in my head.

For more of the same by Philip Sheppard (or maybe actually the same score, I'm not sure), in a much better documentary, look for "Moon Machines" on DVD. This was a six part television series on the Science Channel, and is my favorite Apollo documentary.

Though the Apollo story has been told many times, this film's narrative connects on a personal level especially well, and due in no small part to Philip Sheppard's score. It's one of the most exquisitely composed and haunting pieces of music I've ever heard. There may be difference of opinion over how fully the score is able to separate itself from the film, standing alone as brilliantly as masterpieces such as Winged Migration. But let this detract in no way from Shadow's symphonic richness. Sheppard's music is substantial, with great depth, yet filled with playfulness, curiosity, mathematics, and child-like exhilaration with the film's subject matter. The score begins introspective and tentative, capturing well the thoughts of the Apollo participants, excited about the possibilities, concerned about the risks. But the music soon becomes as expansive as the solar system itself and triumphantly celebrates each program victory while always speaking to us with wide-eyed anticipation of even more audacious under-takings to come. There are moments--X-15, Launch, Staging, TLI, Apollo 13, Lunar Ascent, Re-Entry--that are simply breath-taking, move the soul each time the music is heard, and leave you with your heart beating in your throat. The listener is compelled to thank the composer for the score's consummate beauty. This is composition that is brilliant and inspiring, "majestic" as another reviewer has commented, music that can restore faith--in life and in heroes, and easily becomes the soundtrack of your drive, your day, or your life if you let it.

'In the Shadow of the Moon' is one of the best movies I have seen. I loved it not only for its stunning wealth of footage from the Apollo program and its fantastic interviews with the astronauts, but I loved it because of the music.

Philip Sheppard composed a score that has several different levels of emotion: from the haunting (crawler) to the beautiful (X15 Jet) to the sad (Epiphany). Even if you haven't seen the film (watch it!) you should listen to how beautiful this album is.

It is definitely worth the $9.99 (mp3), but if you don't want to buy the whole album I suggest you individually buy:

- X15 Jet
- The Launch
- re-entry

Philip Sheppard is an amazing composer and I can't wait to hear his future work.

5/5

I watched the documentary "In the Shadow of the Moon" and loved the original score, so I went in quest of the soundtrack. Amazon has it available for download, but they (metaphorically speaking, of course) gave me the finger for downloads because my computer runs Windows 2000. So I bought the CD instead, and it was worth it.