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La La Land
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(2016)
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2016 Regular Song Album |
2017 Complete Musical Experience Album
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Composed, Orchestrated, and Co-Produced by:
Justin Hurwitz
Conducted by:
Tim Davies
Co-Produced by:
Marius de Vries
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LABELS & RELEASE DATES
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Interscope Records (Regular Album)
(December 9th, 2016)
Interscope Records (Score Album) (December 16th, 2016)
Interscope Records (Complete Album) (February 24th, 2017)
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ALBUM AVAILABILITY
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All releases are regular commercial products, the initial song and score albums available
as CDs. The song album was also released on vinyl. The "Complete Musical Experience" product combining
the two previous albums and featuring additional songs was released two months later and is only available
as a download.
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AWARDS
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The score won a Golden Globe, BAFTA Award, a Grammy Award, and Academy Award. The
song "City of Stars" won a Golden Globe and Academy Award and was nominated for a Grammy
Award.
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ALSO SEE
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Buy it... if your soft spot for intimate jazz combos and Busby
Berkeley musicals of the 1930's calls for a smart, modern adaptation of
that sound into melodically rich, dreamy ball of optimism.
Avoid it... if you have no love for extremely dry jazz recordings,
vibraphones in particular, or suspect vocal performances, all of which
plaguing this soundtrack in various degrees.
BUY IT
 | Hurwitz |
La La Land: (Justin Hurwitz/Various) The "not quite
Best Picture" of 2016, La La Land beat the odds to prove once
again that the musical genre hasn't reached its expiration date in
Hollywood. Its creator, Damien Chazelle, was forced to make the
critically acclaimed Whiplash to earn the credibility with
studios to bankroll La La Land, but he ultimately did so with
fantastic results. The movie follows the lead of 2001's pinnacle of
modern musicals, Moulin Rouge, to juxtapose disparate eras of
music and location to highlight the pitfalls of occupational passion and
doomed romance. In modern Los Angeles, two struggling artists aspiring
to Hollywood greatness happen across each others' paths throughout their
lives, Mia dedicating herself to countless failed auditions as an
actress while Sebastian makes end meet as a jazz musician who can't seem
to find the right fit for his sound. The film's optimistic charm is
countered by the oppressive weight of expectations in Los Angeles,
leading to a feeling of discord that is exacerbated on the romantic side
by the movie's airy soundtrack and the plotline's inevitable detachment
of the main leads. The production sought to film some of the musical
numbers in the uncut style seen in the old Busby Berkeley musicals of
the 1930's, forcing endless retakes shot on traditional rolls of film as
leads Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone humorously bumbled their way through
this genre for the first time. Chazelle had conceived of La La
Land all the way back in college, where his friend, musician Justin
Hurwitz, contributed to the idea. Of course, by the time the film was
developed in full, Hurwitz, known now for his Grammy-winning music for
Whiplash, was along for the ride, composing the score and musical
numbers with some assistance from songwriters and lyricists Benj Pasek
and Justin Paul. The basic formula for the musical is pretty standard,
taking the melodies from five major songs and adapting them into
accompanying themes for each character, location, or pairing that could
weave in and out of the score as well. The catch, however, is Hurwitz's
pure 1930's tribute sound that forces, along with the choreography, the
heyday of cinematic musical productions into the comparatively
exhausting and complicated world of contemporary Hollywood and the
pitfalls of Los Angeles at large.
The combination of old-school jazz musical numbers and
complimenting underscore in La La Land was a hit with audiences,
Hurwitz sweeping all major cinematic awards for both song and score.
There is a "devil may care" demeanor to the soundtrack's recording that
keeps it effortlessly breezy, the spirit nearly too upbeat to tolerate
in parts. Not unexpectedly, Hurwitz has to address three sides of the
jazz in his score and songs; there's the rowdy, nearly Latin-influenced
trumpet personality of hip spirit for the location on one end, the
intensely personal, solo-piano-led romance for the Sebastian character's
on screen style on the other, and the more traditionally Golden Age,
waltz-laden romance for orchestra sandwiched in between. The last
portion has a snippet of choral Hollywood magic at the end as well,
making La La Land a wildly varied ride through vintage jazz like
nothing else heard on screen in a generation. The recording is extremely
dry and intimate, placing the supporting string and brass performers so
far behind the piano, bass, and other featured musicians that the
dryness of the soloists becomes a bit obnoxious. Just a touch of natural
nightclub reverb would have helped considerably. If you're not a fan of
vibraphones or trilling woodwinds, then these recordings will drive you
absolutely nuts. The vibraphone in particular is an acquired taste. The
trilling is a little transparent in the flutes ("Planetarium" and
"Credits" highlight these well) but Hurwitz also seems to bury the
technique in the lower ranges of other winds in the full ensemble with
reckless abandon. The layering of the various players is inconsistent in
the score, a cue like "Bogart & Bergman" more engaging than several of
the comparatively sparse cues. Don't expect any of the orchestration to
really overwhelm, as the highlighted performances are clearly intended
for the piano and jazz group at the forefront. In the favor of the score
is its significant loyalty to the song melodies, many of which guiding
the themes elsewhere. An exception of sorts is the "Mia & Sebastian's
Theme" that some listeners will consider the main theme despite existing
as more of source-like identity that Sebastian uses to woo Mia. A
secondary love theme for the duo is summarized in the (largely
instrumental) song "A Lovely Night," and this identity is more pervasive
in the score, occupying "Stroll Up the Hill" and "There the Whole
Time/Twirl" on either side and reprised later in "Summer
Montage/Madeline" and "You Love Jazz Now."
Both characters in La La Land receive their own
individual themes, though Sebastian's identity is rather short-changed
by plot necessity. His celesta and whistling-led theme is the basis of
"City of Stars," the extremely overrated awards bait from Hurwitz's
songs. Forget for a moment that Ryan Gosling cannot sing worth a damn;
even the melody itself simply isn't that memorable. Reprises in "Mia
Hates Jazz" and "Boise" are brief. Mia's dedicated theme, meanwhile, is
far better realized. Based on the very well acted but emotionally
draining song, "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)," owing much to Anne
Hathaway in Les Misérables , this idea provides most of
the optimism to the score ("Classic Rope-a-Dope" and "Bogart &
Bergman"). The best song in La La Land by a mile is "Another Day
of Sun," representing the infectious, slightly Latin-infused zeal of the
Hollywood dream. For those not in tune with Emma Stone and Ryan
Gosling's solo performances, the cast singing in this song, along with
it's outstanding rhythmic and counterpoint lines, will impress. As you'd
expect, the score's most equally entertaining cue is the straight
instrumental rendition in "Credits." If only the entire score could have
exhibited more of this pacing and performance enthusiasm, La La
Land would have benefited. Others point to the lengthy "Epilogue" as
the most notable score cue, and while it does rotate nicely between
several of the melodies in wrapping up the story, the trumpet solo in
the midsection is highly annoying and the choral addition to Mia's theme
in waltz form around the 4:35 mark is at odd juxtaposition with the rest
of the soundtrack despite the dream realized. That choir extends the
fairy tale conclusion into "The End" as well. As for the other two songs
in La La Land, "Someone in the Crowd" is a solid extension of
pizzazz from "Another Day of Sun" and John Legend's "Start a Fire" may
be a source insertion disparate from everything else, but it's a really
fantastic song by itself. Another song, "La La Land," was jettisoned
right before being recording, though hearing a midi rendering of it
would be interesting for fans. Overall, La La Land is a
well-constructed musical with a clear stylistic focus and faithful
development of its melodies. You have to admire Hurwitz's honing of the
jazz genre of yesteryear for this new application. Then again, the
vocals are suspect and there are a few emotional disconnects throughout
some of the material, and if you have no love for extremely dry,
intimate jazz combos or vibraphones, this soundtrack will do little to
endear itself to you. It remains an admirably solid musical, but it's
one of the most overrated soundtracks of a generation.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
2016 Regular Song Album Tracks ▼ | Total Time: 45:53 |
1. Another Day of Sun - performed by Ensemble Cast (3:48)
2. Someone in the Crowd - performed by Emma Stone and Various (4:19)
3. Mia & Sebastian's Theme (1:38)
4. A Lovely Night - performed by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone (3:56)
5. Herman's Habit (1:51)
6. City of Stars - performed by Ryan Gosling (1:51)
7. Planetarium (4:17)
8. Summer Montage/Madeline (2:04)
9. City of Stars - performed by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone (2:29)
10. Start a Fire - performed by John Legend (3:12)
11. Engagement Party (1:27)
12. Audition (The Fools Who Dream) - performed by Emma Stone (3:48)
13. Epilogue (7:39)
14. The End (0:46)
15. City of Stars (Humming) (2:42)
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2016 Score-Only Album Tracks ▼ | Total Time: 53:07 |
1. Mia Gets Home (0:25)
2. Bathroom Mirror/You're Coming Right? (1:22)
3. Classic Rope-a-Dope (0:45)
4. Mia & Sebastian's Theme (1:36)
5. Stroll up the Hill (0:48)
6. There the Whole Time/Twirl (0:44)
7. Bogart & Bergman (2:11)
8. Mia Hates Jazz (1:10)
9. Herman's Habit (1:51)
10. Rialto at Ten (1:39)
11. Rialto (0:28)
12. Mia & Sebastian's Theme (Late for the Date) (1:29)
13. Planetarium (4:19)
14. Holy Hell (0:41)
15. Summer Montage/Madeline (2:04)
16. It Pays (2:11)
17. Chicken on a Stick (1:39)
18. City of Stars/May Finally Come True - performed by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone (4:17)
19. Chinatown (1:22)
20. Surprise (1:30)
21. Boise (1:13)
22. Missed the Play (0:36)
23. It's Over/Engagement Party (1:34)
24. The House in Front of the Library (0:30)
25. You Love Jazz Now (0:50)
26. Cincinnati (2:06)
27. Epilogue (7:38)
28. The End (0:46)
29. Credits (3:39)
30. Mia & Sebastian's Theme (Celesta) (1:25)
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2017 Complete Musical Experience Album Tracks ▼ | Total Time: 93:42 |
1. Another Day of Sun (With Radios) - performed by Ensemble Cast (4:34)
2. Mia Gets Home (0:24)
3. Bathroom Mirror/You're Coming Right? (1:19)
4. Someone in the Crowd - performed by Emma Stone and Various (4:19)
5. Classic Rope-a-Dope (0:46)
6. Japanese Folk Song - performed by Thelonious Monk (1:40)
7. Deck the Halls (0:32)
8. Mia & Sebastian's Theme (1:38)
9. Take on Me - performed by D.A. Wallach (3:00)
10. I Ran - performed by D.A. Wallach (3:37)
11. Stroll up the Hill (0:45)
12. A Lovely Night - performed by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone (4:00)
13. There the Whole Time/Twirl (0:44)
14. Bogart & Bergman (2:11)
15. Mia Hates Jazz (1:10)
16. Herman's Habit (1:51)
17. Rialto at Ten (1:38)
18. City of Stars - performed by Ryan Gosling (1:51)
19. Rialto (0:28)
20. Mia & Sebastian's Theme (Late for the Date) (1:30)
21. Planetarium (4:20)
22. Holy Hell! (0:42)
23. Summer Montage/Madeline (2:04)
24. It Pays (2:12)
25. Chicken on a Stick (1:39)
26. Messengers Rehearsal - performed by The Messengers (1:02)
27. City of Stars/May Finally Come True - performed by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone (4:10)
28. Start a Fire - performed by John Legend (3:11)
29. Chinatown (1:22)
30. Surprise (1:30)
31. Boise (1:14)
32. Missed the Play (0:37)
33. It's Over/Engagement Party (1:35)
34. The House in Front of the Library (0:31)
35. Audition (The Fools Who Dream) - performed by Emma Stone (4:12)
36. You Love Jazz Now (0:51)
37. Cincinnati (2:06)
38. Epilogue (7:41)
39. The End (0:45)
40. Credits (3:39)
41. City of Stars (Humming) - performed by Emma Stone (2:40)
42. Mia & Sebastian's Theme (Celesta) (1:26)
43. Silent Night - performed by Eddie Wakes (2:47)
44. Audition (The Fools Who Dream) (Studio Version) - performed by Emma Stone (3:29)
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The inserts of the CDs contain a list of performers and extensive photography and credits, but they
inexcusably lack lyrics to the songs.
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