Search - Carter Burwell, Brian Eno, Shudder to Think :: Velvet Goldmine: A film by Todd Haynes: Music From The Original Motion Picture

Velvet Glammine

Andrew McCaffrey | Satellite of Love, Maryland | 05/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"We live in fictitious times where fictitious bands release fictitious albums. The movie VELVET GOLDMINE told the story of made-up rock stars, based in no small part upon the real lives of some of the more notable glam rockers of the late-60s and early-70s. The soundtrack therefore is split between fiction and reality (or as close to reality that glam got, which, to be honest, isn't that close). Many of the songs are taken from that era of rock, while the rest are modern (1998) recordings of both cover versions of songs from that time as well as recent writings done in that style.This is one of my favorite albums, and I say that as a casual fan of both the original era and of the bands today that are heavily influenced by that musical genre. It's not meant to be a beginner's course in glam music, but it serves that purpose well anyway. We've got the dreamy, atmospheric, pretentious songs, the fast rockers, the goofy songs about spaceships, etc. This is great campy, fun music, and it's, as the CD case states "to be played at maximum volume". The modern recreations of the glam style are done extremely well. Since most of the bands were already heavily drinkers at the well of neo-glam (Pulp, that's you), presumably performing these songs weren't a stretch for them at all.A lot of famous names from today's music scene pop up in the credits for this album. Thom York, better known as the little guy from Radiohead, sings on a few of the tracks performed by the Venus In Furs (one of the movie's fake bands; the name taken from The Velvet Underground song). And R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe is listed as producer.An album that can be listened to all the way through without skipping substandard tracks is a rare thing indeed. What an album like that is also a soundtrack, it's almost a miracle. While this is a great overall CD, I will admit to fondness for some songs over others. A few times while driving home from work, I've repeated listening to Steve Harley's "Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)" more times than is probably healthy and enough times that I would have received very odd looks had my fellow commuters been able to hear what I was up to.Whether you're a fan of glam, or someone who would like to be, I think this is a great place to start. While the lack of any appearances by David Bowie himself does mean that the album lacks a major foundation in glam's short history (apparently he was planning his own semi-biographical film and wanted to focus on that instead), what's actually here is fantastic. Any album with Lou Reed's goofily surreal "Satellite of Love" on it is worth having, and I can recommend this to almost any rock fan who doesn't take music too seriously."

As authentic and accurate as it gets!!!

Marc Lahn | Southern New Jersey, USA | 04/07/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't have the time right now for a real wordy review, but I have to say that this is the most infectious, authentic and 'accurate to the genre' soundtrack ever made! The original numbers like "HOT ONE", "BALLAD OF MAXWELL DEMON", "THE WHOLE SHEBANG" and "WE ARE THE BOYS" have all the charisma and sleezy sweet melody of original 72/73 era glam rock. I'm also extremely impressed with the excitingly fresh cover versions of the ROXY MUSIC, STOOGES, T.REX and ENO tracks; a fantastic job by SHUDDER TO THINK, PLACEBO, WYLDE RATTTZ* and THE VENUS IN FURS( with surprisingly good vocals from actors Ewan McGregor(in the Iggy role, with Wylde Ratttz) and Jonathan Rhys Meyers(in the Bowie role, with The Venus In Furs.) The soundtrack is also dosed with great originals like ENO's "Needle In The Camel's Eye", ROXY MUSIC'S "Virginia Plain", LOU REED'S "Satellite Of Love", T.REX's "Diamond Meadows" and also, an excellent finish with the happily rousing "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" by Steve Harley. It puts a smile on your face after hearing great dark tracks like "BABY'S ON FIRE." To Tracy, also from NJ(a couple of reviews below), BOWIE is my favorite too, a major rock hero of mine since the age of 6 in 1972. Wow, was it fun to live through all the great ch-ch changes as a young rock fan; to me, the ultimate rock star! It IS a shame that Bowie wasn't more involved in The VELVET GOLDMINE soundtrack (I mean at least get Bowie's Ziggy era track, "VELVET GOLDMINE" in there right?!?) but the fact is, Bowie didn't want to be involved in the soundtrack or the movie for basically, two reasons.. ONE: He felt that there were a good number of inaccuracies in the story and too much of an overblown fantasy to it. TWO: He's working on his own true and accurate ZIGGY STARDUST story to become a major motion picture, hopefully released in 2002(can't wait for that, huh?!) However, this soundtrack works great, even without the inclusion of Bowie tracks. Come to think of it, Bowie is such a dominant force that it "may" have hindered the believability of the soundtrack somehow to have his songs within it.Well, I guess I did have the time for a wordy review after all. I can't help it, this is the best soundtrack that I've ever owned! It grabs you at the beginning and doesn't let you go till the end, THE MARK OF A GREAT ALBUM!"

Awesome!

Melissa Menifield | Pittsburgh, PA | 10/22/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I actually bought the soundtrack before I saw the film. I bought it on a whim last Easter, and I haven't stopped listening to it since. I have always loved Bowie-era 70's glam, but this album taught me that there are so many others out there! I love all the songs, especially the covers, so much so that I'm shopping for Brian Eno and Roxy Music albums for Christmas this year. Buy this even if you don't like the movie."