Thomas Newman - The Shawshank Redemption Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (21 tracks) +Album Reviews

This is the one that got me started on movie scores!

Joel Munyon | Joliet, Illinois - the poohole of America. | 08/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It started back in highschool, well actually when I was in 7th grade and heard the music from the Shawshank Redemption for the first time. I simple fell in love with it. A while later, my brother bought me the soundtrack and I played it over and over and over......A few years later, I have purchased 47 movie scores. Everything from Sling Blade to Easy Rider to Dances With Wolves. Of course, my heart has gone out to Thomas Newman, the man who first haunted me with his movie score, The Shawshank Redemption. This score is my favorite of all of Newman's work, surpassing even the likes of How To Make An American Quilt, Meet Joe Black, and The Horse Whisperer. This, along with Fried Green Tomatoes, was the standard barer for most of Newman's current musical scores and despite some pressure from Road to Perdition and American Beauty, this one still stands as the leader of the pack when it comes to scores composed by Newman. BUY THIS ONE. Don't think twice. If you haven't owned any of Newman's scores yet, the perfect place to start is with The Shawshank Redemption."

Hope Is A Good Thing

David Bradley | Sterling, VA USA | 06/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

""The Shawshank Redemption" was a brilliant, brilliant film; this soundtrack proves that the score was a vital piece of that brilliance. It is also fine music on it's own. I am at a loss of words, trying to explain what it is about the film and the music that moves people, myself included, so deeply. There is, I suppose, something in "Suds On The Roof," and in the corresponding scene in the film, that speaks to everyone's desire to be a whole human being. Tim Robbins may play a fictional character, and perhaps one with no basis in reality, but the image of a convicted murderer taking such a risk simply to offer up to his fellow inmates a few moments of human comfort is a moving and humbling thing. The film, and by extension the music on this CD, is a study of basic human dignity, and a brilliant salute to it. The inclusion of "Lovesick Blues," "If I Didn't Care," and the gorgeous excerpt from "The Marriage of Figaro" makes this soundtrack complete but, for once, I wish some dialogue from the film had been included. Any of Morgan Freeman's wonderful narration would have been a nice addition."

Unadulterated Brilliance!

Mr T Jones | Southampton, England | 11/24/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I first watched The Shawshank Redemption, I thought, in common with a lot of people, that it was a brilliant film. What I couldn't but notice, also, was the very uplifting and at times majestic soundtrack that lay behind the pictures. Since buying the soundtrack, I have listened to it probably several hundred times now, and its power and beauty have not faded. Every time I listen to tracks such as "So Was Red" or "Sisters", I am moved by the depth of emotion that is contained in the music. The inclusion of the aria from "The Marriage of Figaro" was a masterpiece. If you like this soundtrack, try some of Thomas Newman's other works, such as "Oscar and Lucinda" and "Meet Joe Black."ÿ"

Great music, but badly organized

Michele L. Worley | Kingdom of the Mouse, United States | 06/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'll indicate the parts of the film that correspond to each track, to help people decide for themselves if this corresponds to what they thought they might get out of this CD, although as far as I know none of the film's music was omitted. The only quibble I have is that the order of the tracks doesn't correspond to their appearance in the film."May" - Played when Red mentioned that he and some guys he knew got the outside job of retarring the plate factory roof in May, as the assignments are being announced. See also "Workfield"; both have essentially the same fiddle-and-guitar theme."Shawshank Prison (Stoic Theme)" - Played during the first view of the prison as Andy is brought in, beginning with the prison flyover."New Fish" - Almost entirely piano. See also "Zihuatanejo", which is essentially a continuation."Rock Hammer" - This string-and-claves staccato piece tracks the scenes wherein Andy became "a regular cottage industry", doing more and more tax returns."An Inch of His Life" - Covers the final fate of Boggs Diamond after he and his cronies beat Andy up; includes some lovely piano that one would probably miss while watching the accompanying scene. The flavor is in the same category as "New Fish" and "Zihuatanejo", but sadder."If I Didn't Care" - Andy is listening to this in his car on the night of his wife's murder, during the opening credits. This is the only track performed by the Inkspots and isn't original to the score."Brooks Was Here" - The music accompanying the scenes from Brooks' letter; see also "So Was Red"."His Judgement Cometh" - The title is the 1st half of the quote on the sampler hanging on the Warden's office wall. The music accompanies his final scene, and begins with a long staccato string and percussion passage."Suds on the Roof" - Picks up just as Red says "And that's how it came to pass..." This theme is semi-incorporated into "End Title"."Workfield" - Where 'the boys' collect enough rocks to keep Andy "busy 'till Rapture" while he's in the infirmary after the final encounter with Boggs; essentially a continuation of "May"."Shawshank Redemption" - Tracks the sequence where Red (as voiceover) reconstructs what finally happened to Andy, beginning where Andy takes off his shirt in his cell, and ends with the subsequent rainstorm scene. (Without the thunder or metal-on-metal FX, more's the pity.)"Lovesick Blues" - Andy remembered that Heywood wanted some Hank Williams instead of Mozart, so after Andy gets more resources, Heywood is shown listening to this on the library's record player. This is the only track performed by Hank Williams and isn't original to the score."Elmo Blatch" - From the scene wherein Tommy tells Red and Andy about his former cellmate."Sisters" - The "Stoic Theme" shifted into another key, covering the scenes of Andy's term in the laundry and harassment by Boggs Diamond & co., before the incident on the plate factory roof."Zihuatanejo" - If the CD tracked the order of appearance in the film, the Zihuatanejo track (from the scene where Andy mentions it to Red) should appear just before "Shawshank Redemption". Very quiet piano picking up where "New Fish" left off, but leading into the full orchestra carrying the theme."The Marriage of Figaro" - The scene where Andy briefly gets control of the sound system, of course, but performed in full."Lovely Raquel" - Begins with a long staccato string passage, covering the years leading up to Andy's acquisition of lovely Raquel (*not* the Warden's rock-throwing scene, see next track)."And That Right Soon" - The title comes from the 2nd half of the quote on the sampler in the Warden's office, but oddly enough this piece should precede, not follow, "His Judgement Cometh". Just after the Warden throws the final chess piece at Andy's poster, this picks up as the camera pans across the cell to the poster itself, and ends as Red begins discussing how Andy got started on his main hobby."Compass and Guns" - Played during Red's own struggle to choose between buying a compass to follow Andy's directions vs. getting a gun."So Was Red" - Played while Red follows in Brooks' footsteps; essentially a follow-up to the theme of "Brooks Was Here"."End Title""

Encapsulates the Film Perfectly

Bud | Seminole, Texas, USA | 11/29/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The brilliant film "The Shawshank Redemption" had Stephen King written all over it (it was based on his short novel), and the moods and themes of this marvelous soundtrack probably capture his unique imagination as well as the movie did. The creative spark of composer Thomas Newman passes through various themes and concepts, matched with the likes of Hank Williams and the Ink Spots (with 'If I Didn't Care,' a song that was a favorite of Redd Foxx's famous TV character Fred Sanford). The album also contains an opera piece that was best described by Morgan Freeman's character Red in the film, "They were singing about something so beautiful that it can't be expressed in words...and makes your heart ache because of it.""

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