Customer Reviews

True Romance: Motion Picture Soundtrack

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of my favorite CDs from one of my favorite movies! The only improvement would be the inclusion of the 8 missing songs seen in the movie song credits, especially the Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace" (Hell-o-o-o, Baby!) and Burl Ive's "Little Bitty Tear". At least this CD is so much more complete with the inclusion of the Hans Zimmer homage to the 1973 movie "Badlands" main theme music "Gassenhauer" Street Song from Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman's "Musica Poetica - Orff-Schulwerk". Zimmer did NOT "rip off Orff" as some reviewers assert.

Now for the truth: The main theme "Gassenhauer" was composed by Orff's associate Gunild Keetman BASED ON A 1536 WORK FOR LUTE BY HANS NEUSIEDLER! Orff's stated goal for the Schulwerk: "Improvisations which encourage further improvisation". This is precisely what Hans Zimmer did when he PRODUCED (no writing credits on soundtrack CD) 3 pieces loosely based on "Gassenhauer" for the film "True Romance", written by Quentin Tarantino as his tribute to the Terrence Malick movie "Badlands": "You're So Cool", "Stars At Dawn", & "Amid The Chaos Of The Day". These are a fine & fitting tribute to Malick, Keetman/Orff, and, yes, especially Nuesiedler - Zimmer did NOT "rip off Orff". Is not imitation the sincereist form of flattery? Just as Patricia Arquette's Alabama narration evokes comparison to Sissy Spacek's Holly ongoing commentary, the two recurring musical themes are marked by their differences as well as their similarities: Gassenhauer is menacingly prophetic and languid as it traces Kit & Holly's diverging paths to doom & gloom, while "You're So Cool" is promisingly upbeat as it steers Clarence & 'Bama to follow the sun to their ultimate destiny with Elvis. Thank our lucky "Stars At Dawn" that Tony Scott didn't choose the alternate ending that surely would have bombed "Amid The Chaos Of The Day".

Note for "Badlands" music fans: Unfortunately, there never was a soundtrack album produced for "Badlands". The five (5!) "Badlands" songs from Musica Poetica can, however, be found on the 1994 BMG release (RCA Victor Red Seal) 6-CD box set version of the original Orff/Keetman recordings done between 1963 & 1975 on 10 LPs. There are at least 4 other "Badlands" pieces!

vv - Update As of August 9, 2009 - vv
The six (6!) "Badlands" songs from Musica Poetica can be found on the 6-CD box set (09026 68031 2) and the 10 LPs. There are at least 5 other "Badlands" pieces!
^^ - Update As of August 9, 2009 - ^^

vv - temp Update As of August 15, 2009 - vv
[ADDITION] See my eB@y auctions ending soon under seller ID thedoorsguy for both the 6-CD set & the 10-LP set w/ Buy-It-Now Bonus mp3s of the 6 "Badlands" pieces!
^^ - temp Update As of August 15, 2009 - ^^

If you enjoyed the scene in the movie between Christopher Walken and Denis Hopper, then maybe you were looking for the classical opera song that played during that scene. Well it isn't on the CD, but if you skipped the credits, and don't know the song, it's called "Lakme" by Delibes. Its such a heavenly tune, that is made memorable by a wicked scene in film history.

Soundtracks are infamous for leaving out the best songs......the ones you want to hear. True Romance doesn't do that. 1. You're so cool**Hans Zimmers' often reproduced theme to True Romance. 2. Graceland**by Charlie Sexton lets me know cool is still alive. 3. In Dreams**John Waite at his finest. Never eat pie without it. 4. Wounded Bird**Charles and Eddie...Top notch love scene... and so on......we got Robert Palmer, Soundgarden, Chris Isaac and a bit of Shelby Lynne for the country crowd. The only thing missing from this CD is 10 songs from Elvis. We know where to find that. 5 STARS!!!!!!!

For those who enjoyed the wonderful orchestral pieces from "True Romance", I suggest you take a listen to "Carl Orff Schulwerk Vol.1/Musica Poetic". This is much better. The music on the True Romance cd, as good as it is, is merely a rip off.

If you watch "Badlands"(1973) with Martin Sheen and Sissey Spacek wreaking havoc on the countryside you may notice the xylophone/steel drum(?) strains in the background. It's not listed in the credits. Just a bit of trivia. Also, I liked the "I Want Your Body" tune by Nymphomania during the wild scene to retrieve Arizona's clothes . It was hideously primal.

This soundtrack has a level of coolness to it, that is only matched by "Wild At Heart", and "Natural Born Killers". By no means your typical selection, it's special. Other than top-notch songs by "Chris Isaak", "Soundgarden", and "Charlie Sexton", this has music from artists I was unfamiliar with, like "Nymphomania". But the best thing here is the compositions from "Hans Zimmer". They bring you right back to the film, and are excellent insrumentals. The only thing that could have made this better, is a few snippets from "Elvis", (Val Kilmer).

The only problem with this CD is that it doesn't have enough of Hans Zimmers music. Hans Zimmer has composed something very different from what he usually does. But it's great. The first track "You're so cool" is incredible. The rest of the CD includes artists like Soundgarden, Chris Isaak and Nymphomania. This is also very cool music, but the best parts are the Hans Zimmer bits.

Thank you Guys for this. When I first looked for this album.....shock!! Horror !! NO Hanz Zimmer tracks. I was devistated. The plinky little playground tunes make this album. Now they are here I can by my album and be happy that the tape can now be replaced and I can once again skip around like a fool to these fab tunes.

yes in fact, a great song. I think Lakme (1883) by Leo Delibes is the opera but the song used is Flower Duet

I loved the movie, and I love this CD of the movie soundtrack, except for 8 things. 20 tracks were listed at the end of the movie in the credits, but for some reason 8 of those 20 tracks were left off this CD? WHY? They could have easily fitted them on. It's still a brilliant CD. Buy it.