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Review of Dr. Strangelove: Music from the Films of Stanley Kubrick (Compilation)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... only if you are a devoted follower of Stanley Kubrick's
films and can fondly remember most of the included selections on this
album in each respective film.
Avoid it... if you are a film score collector who regularly purchases Silva Screen's re-recorded compilations based on the consistency of quality in their selection of music.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Dr. Strangelove: Music from the Films of Stanley
Kubrick: (Compilation) It was by total coincidence that this 1999
compilation was released within just a few weeks after the death of the
controversial and popular director Stanley Kubrick. While Silva Screen
may have appeared to be making an attempt to earn some quick money on
the event, the label had actually been working with Kubrick for a couple
of years to make this collection of music as accurate as possible in its
reconstructions. Kubrick himself had the opportunity to hear many of the
finale recordings within a month of his death. In the end, this single
CD compilation featuring the veterans of the City of Prague Philharmonic
functions as a tribute to the famed director and is reluctantly
acknowledged as such by Silva's producers. As for the music itself, to
say that Kubrick's choice of music for his films was bizarre is an
understatement. Though he used traditional scores by the likes of Gerald
Fried and Alex North early in his career, Kubrick took a sudden shift
towards classical and electronic artists in the late 1960's and early
1970's, adding yet another unconventional dimension to his already
strange films. Upon learning of the construction of this album by Silva,
there was an understandable amount of head-scratching from film music
collectors. Curiosity about what exactly would constitute the album
abounded; Kubrick used such a wide variety of styles that many had
doubted that a compilation of his choices could ever be made into a
coherent album. And, to a large degree, those concerns were completely
valid. The final product, though containing some fabulous individual
tracks, is disjointed as a whole, ironically making for an album true to
Kubrick's career. The best performance of the album could be for
Strauss' opening piece from 2001: A Space Odyssey; Prague's
rendition is among the most impressive to be heard. The track from
Spartacus is short, and those who purchase the album might be
left wishing for more of Alex North's music (including, perhaps, even
some of the rejected score he wrote for 2001).
The track from A Clockwork Orange is a disgrace to good music. The electronic recreation by Mark Ayres sounds like the Disneyland light parade on drugs, with an absolutely mangled synthetic arrangement of Beethoven's Ode to Joy. Conversely, the traditional "Women of Ireland" piece from Barry Lyndon is a highlight of the album, with a theme beautifully performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic in full form. The Full Metal Jacket tracks are both intolerable; the themes by Abigail Mead make for poor electronic sound effects, and the original recording of the "Surfin' Bird" song is suitable only for trashy commercials or comedy enjoyment. The suite of music by Gerald Fried is a pleasant surprise, though there isn't anything particularly remarkable about his entries. The first and last Fried cues will be of moderate interest, though the others fade into distant memory when compared to some of the gut-wrenching cues presented elsewhere on the album. The selection from Wendy Carlos' electronic terror from The Shining, though performed well here, provides only a glimpse of the true horrors elsewhere in that score. Outside the context of the film, the song from The Shining doesn't fit at all with the rest of the compilation. The lovely, grand theme from Lolita is performed with great passion and is another highlight of the album. The second selection from 2001, the "On the Beautiful Blue Danube" piece, becomes very tiring quickly, and after nine minutes, the final two cues from Dr. Strangelove are greatly welcomed. The Crouch End Festival Chorus makes a very brief appearance on the rendition of "Johnny Came Marching Home" used in Dr. Strangelove's bombing run. The original Vera Lynn performance of "We'll Meet Again," accompanied by piano, band, and chorus, is superior to the mix heard in the film, and as a companion to the the fiery destruction of the Earth, it's a fitting end to the album. On the whole, if you haven't seen these Kubrick films, then it'll be difficult for you to truly appreciate many of the cues. With that in mind, the album is clearly aimed at Kubrick fans rather than the film score collectors that Silva typically targets. The album unfortunately was pressed before a selection from Eyes Wide Shut could be included. What remains is as unstable as Kubrick's career, and thus makes for a badly unfocused album. **
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 78:01
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert contains extensive notes about each of the tracks, as well as
thorough credits.
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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Dr. Strangelove: Music from the Films of Stanley Kubrick are Copyright © 1999, Silva Screen Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 7/10/99 and last updated 10/28/07. |
