Search - Various Artists - Soundtrack, John Powell :: Shrek - Music From the Original Motion Picture

Great, but missing 2 things.

D2 | OK USA | 07/17/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I docked them a star for leaving off 2 important songs.First off, you should know that the version of "I'm a Believer" that you hear on the radio (and in the movie) is NOT the same one you get here. The radio mix is perkier and more 60s-esque, where as the album version seems a bit more edgier and harder. Also, you may recall how prominent a role the song "Hallelujah" had in the movie. That version, the one in the movie, was by - John Cale. The version on the album is by Rufus Wainwright. WTH? That makes no sense.I suggest you buy the CD, obtain the 2 missing tracks, and burn the real version of the soundtrack."

What Happened to John Cale?

Louis S. Patkin | Needham, MA USA | 11/20/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I greatly enjoyed watching Shrek. In fact, as the father of two young children, I believe I watched the movie seven times in one weekend after we purchased the video (I had not seen it in the theatre). While suitable for children, there was sufficient content for adults that neither my wife nor I were bored. In fact, I was astounded to hear the song "Hallelujah" in the soundtrack. While this Leonard Cohen song has been one of my favorites for many years, it is particularly dark and sardonic - not typical children's fare. However, it fit in well with the plot, and John Cale's version was moving, almost transcendent. As has been pointed out, the soundtrack album replaces Cale's version with Rufus Wainwright's. I can only assume that John Cale, co-founder of the seminal 1960s band The Velvet Underground, and a well-known recluse and eccentric (who releases infrequent solo albums) consented to his version of the song being included in the movie, but not the soundtrack album. I could also understand if there were other legal or record label considerations preventing inclusion of his version. If, however, the considerations were esthetic, I think someone was badly mistaken. I've always thought that Cale's version of "Hallelujah" was the best cover, in some ways better than Cohen's original. Although neither man has a classic singing voice, Cale's is better, and more moving in this instance, than Cohen's. Others may think that the late Jeff Buckley's version is the best. In any event, Rufus Wainwright's take on the song, while good in itself, is hardly the equal of Cale's, Cohen's, or Buckley's. Rufus is a young singer of promise (and, I think, potentially more talented than his father, Loudon Wainwright, III), but one has a reasonable expectation, when buying a soundtrack album, of having the actual artists from the soundtrack appear on the album."

Where's that John Cale tune?

The Headhunter | Lebanon, NJ United States | 05/28/2001

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Reviewer Milton Abrams has already pointed out that "Hallelujah" is performed by John Cale in the movie, but by Rufus Wainright on the CD. What a shame -- and what a fraud. Cale's rendition in the movie is truly memorable; his delivery is both haunting and dead-on. I won't critique Wainright's because it wasn't done for the movie, but suffice it to say it's nowhere near Cale's.Abrams points out that this song, written by Leonard Cohen, is performed elsewhere by John Cale. If you liked it in the movie, you'll hear a rendition that's very close (with piano only, sung live by John Cale) on John Cale's "Fragments of A Rainy Season".I was going to buy the soundtrack, but Dreamworks pulled a fast one and I won't take it with "modifications". Cale has written some excellent soundtracks over the years, and I was pleased to see that he was featured in such a good movie -- it's a shame he won't get the benefit of being on the soundtrack (and that listeners won't get to hear him do that lovely tune)."