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Review: Jack Foley
ONE thing's pretty much guaranteed with any Cameron Crowe movie
- the soundtrack will be great.
Vanilla Sky - his last
movie - featured an eclectic line-up including Sir Paul McCartney,
REM, The Chemical Brothers and The Monkees, while earlier efforts
such as Jerry Maguire boasted The Who, Elvis Presley,
Aimee Mann, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty.
Petty returns for Elizabethtown, the soundtrack to the
film starring Orlando Bloom, and adds to another tantalising mix
of past and modern rock classics that have all influenced the
former Rolling Stone contributor in some way.
The film chronicles the journey of self-recovery taken by Bloom's
shoe designer who, having just cost his company $1 billion, is
suicidal but forced to return home to help bury his recently deceased
father.
En route, he meets Kirsten Dunst's kooky airline stewardess and
an unlikely relationship ensues that just might save him.
The soundtrack is reflective of Bloom's journey, featuring plenty
of familiar classics, as well as some excellent tracks that you
know you might have heard somewhere but can't place where!
Highlights include Ryan Adams' sublime Come Pick Me Up,
a typically melancholic piece that resonates with the quality
we have come to expect from the artist, Helen Stellar's dreamy,
piano-heavy I.O. (This Time Around), Wheat's upbeat Don't
I Hold You (one for the romantics), and The Hombres' party
classic Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out), which should
have you shuffling along with its excellent, easygoing riffs (it's
been covered several times).
Tom Petty's Square One and It'll All Work Out are
classic slices of American rock which, in Cameron Crowe's own
words, are perfectly suited to the sort of road trip that brings
the film to a close.
"It’s like Kirsten says in the movie: “Roll
down your window, some music just needs air”. That’s
Petty," he explained.
Needless to say, the Elizabethtown soundtrack would
made an excellent companion piece for any forthcoming road trips,
or a terrific listen for anyone who fancies chilling out to some
classic tracks.
Crowe knows his stuff when creating mood music and given the
personal and reflective nature of his latest bittersweet movie,
it's fair to say that Elizabethtown delivers something
to suit all occasions.
What's more, it stands up on its own for those who haven't even
seen the movie, delivering a veritable treasure trove for anyone
who likes that classic rock sound.
Read our review of the
film
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