Search - John Adams :: I Am Love Soundtrack

John adams minimalist greatest hits

Eric | Somerville, MA United States | 07/07/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Curious about the prolific John Adams but not sure where to dip into his imposing back catalog? Look no further, this soundtrack album culls from his entire career, finding the work he's already done appropriate to score this visually stunning and emotionally intense film. Many movie critics have singled out his music as an annoying distraction during the film, to which I have two responses:



1) They always say that about Philip Glass, too, and I treasure many of his soundtracks and most of the movies they came from as different facets of the same creative endeavor. For the music to stand on its own it has to be forceful, but that doesn't mean it can't work in concert with image and story when well-chosen and edited.



2) Though beautiful and compellingly-acted, this is hardly the deepest love story ever told. Instead, it's a somewhat familiar, predictable one; I'd cite Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" more than "Lady Chatterly's Lover," as many have as inspirations, but both take us back to the early days of Modernism, and a conflict between sexual repression and liberation that Adams music seems amazingly attuned to. Like all the best soundtracks, his music serves (perhaps too obviously for some) as the main character's emotional state at key points in the film.



The Shaker Loops and Fearful Symmetries sound especially frought with conflict, but the movie used an even broader selection including excerpts from Nixon in China; this selection still works as a testament to a career of consistent innovation.



"

An Outstandingly Brilliant Soundtrack

R. Stephen Browning | Palm Desert, CA | 07/09/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a musician and lover of a wide variety of music, I adore film soundtracks that don't sound like they were downloaded from stock recordings somewhere. This is brilliant material written by one of America's foremost classical composers of the modern age. I was simply enthralled with the whole film, largely because of the John Adams soundtrack. It accentuated every scene in ways rarely seen or felt in films today. I am actually listening to the CD as I write and am as enthusiastic about it now as I was when I walked out of the theater after seeing the film less than a week ago. Bravo to the producers and director for making such a progressive choice....and of course to Mr. Adams for his brilliance and talent!"