The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Soundtrack [Soundtrack]

Howard Shore | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 8, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Chop Shop/Atlantic
• ASIN: B003CFBQBW
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (224 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,434 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Original soundtrack to the 2010 motion picture, the third film in the successful Twilight Saga franchise. Features 15 tracks including cuts from Muse, Metric, The Bravery, The Dead Weather, Vampire Weekend, Florence & The Machine, The Black Keys and many others.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 81 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars All my love June 8, 2010

By E. A Solinas HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

The best thing you can say about any movie's soundtrack is that it can stand on its own, and that no matter what you think of the movie, the soundtrack is chock full of amazing music.

And the soundtrack to "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" is one of those. Whether you love or hate the teen-vampire-infatuation series, it's undeniable that the soundtrack has some excellent (if less indie than the last one) bands -- expansive rock'n'roll and lush echoing pop, some of it well-known (Muse, Vampire Weekend) and some relative obscure (Florence and the Machine).

"Tear me down, they can't/take you out of my thoughts/under every star/there's a battle I've lost..." It opens with Metric's "Eclipse (All Yours)," a beautifully layered pop melody filled with shimmering rough riffs; after that it segues into the painfully passionate "Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)" by Muse -- a lament that explodes into a supernova of dark racing riffs and wailing vocals.

There's a pretty good rock'n'roll showing after that, with the Bravery's fast-moving angsty "Ours," the Black Keys' raw bluesy "Chop and Change," the Dead Weather's slow-burning bleak "Rolling on a Burning Tire," and the mildly funky folk of Cee Lo Green's "What Part of Forever." The best: UNKLE's collaboration with the Black Angels is a brilliantly eerie, murky rocker, while Vampire Weekend slips effortlessly into the expansive, glittering "Jonathan Low."

Then there's the pop songs, which are even more remarkable -- Florence and the Machine's exquisitely spooky "Heavy in my Arms," Fanfario's sprightly "Atlas," Sia's haunting strings-and-piano ballad "My Love," Band of Horses' starlight-filled "Life on Earth," and Howard Shore's bittersweet piano melody "Jacob's Theme." But the best of the bunch is Beck's collaboration with Bat For Lashes -- a sensuous, elusive duet of piano and blips.

Finally, there are a pair of bonus tracks -- the ominously perky "The Line" by the Battles, and the vaguely hallucinatory Bombay Bicycle Club's "How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep?".

This soundtrack is pretty different from the two that precede it. It's not as deliciously indie as the "New Moon" one, but it's not crammed with emo popmetal either. In fact, there are only a few songs on this album that don't thrill me to the core, and only one I dislike -- namely, Eastern Conference Champions' blandly monotonous "A Million Miles an Hour."

And the bands included set a wonderful double mood -- some of the songs reflect bittersweet romanticism (Metric, Sia), but there's also a feeling of dark raw menace in others (The Dead Weather). There's a lot of slow sad piano, veils of electronica, bouncy acoustics and some deeply brilliant guitar riffs -- they can shimmer like starlight on the water, or erupt into a fast-moving, expansive band of sound.

And both the singers and lyrics stretch across a wide range. They can be dark and distorted, quirky, sweet, filled with pain and sorrow ("Love is forever... we'll die together"), and sometimes understatedly powerful ("Who is the betrayer?/Who is the killer in the crowd?/The one who creeps in corridors/and doesn't make a sound!").

You don't have to be a fan of the Twilight franchise to appreciate the music in "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" soundtrack -- some is creepy, some is lovely, and most of it is brilliant.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Appropriate score for the movie from an excellent composer July 1, 2010

By R S

Format:Audio CD

The Twilight movies have each been unique films, each one having a different director. The scores for the movie are similar, each having a different composer. But while the directors of the franchise have at least paid some respect to the others' work, the three composers have each given their own take on the music of Twilight and haven't done much to create stylistic consistency.

Carter Burwell's score incorporated pop music elements and was effective in that it catered to Twilight's core audience even if the music was sometimes structurally weak. Alexandre Desplat created a more traditional, classical score that was influenced by the recurring "Romeo and Juliet" motif in the film. He just about completely ignored Burwell's music, and while his own material was thematically strong, it was often borderline nebulous and it didn't do much for me in the actual film, particularly in scenes that were supposed to be emotionally dramatic.

Now, Shore has ignored both of these composers' thematic material but has effectively combined their approaches, making a score that can be pop-ish and rock-ish at times (like the piano theme in "Compromise/Bella's Theme" and the electric guitar in "Victoria") but also provides some much-needed straight orchestra writing (the romantic music in "First Kiss" or the action cue "Riley").

Noteworthy is that Shore manages to do two things that Burwell and Desplat never managed: 1) make music that actually effectively conveys vampires and werewolves and 2) create themes for some of the side characters. Those two elements were lacking in the first two Twilight scores.

Shore goes from dark, pounding action music to carefree character writing without missing a beat. In the film, the score is able to subtly enhance the moods on screen (although there are no standout musical sequences), and it makes for a decent listening experience on album, although it probably won't reach the heights of your "25 most played" list.

Overall, Burwell's score might satisfy some Twilight fans the most and Desplat probably has the most refined score but Shore's balanced approach is effective and his mastery of his craft is evident. One could only wonder what would have happened if any one of these competent composers had been able to handle the franchise at large, rather than just single entries.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Disappointed June 12, 2010

By Patricia J. Renwick

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I loved the New Moon soundtrack. The "indie" sound of that album was a perfect fit for the mood of the book/movie. The album also stood alone as a great collection of music without the Twilight connection. I was therefore looking forward to the Eclipse soundtrack, and purchased it the moment it became available. I'm only on my third listen, but I'm already extremely happy with the quality of music selected. The songs are mostly upbeat, with a few perfectly placed melancholy ballads. A great way to find new music, as I hate listening to mainstream radio. Two thumbs up to music supervisors Paul Katz and Alexandra Patsavas for compiling another fantastic listen.