Music has this immediate power of bringing on emotions without words being necessary. For this reason, soundtracks define modern filmmaking. They carry the visual journey through, for us viewers who need more than one sense to be entertained in order to be captivated.
Soundtracks are a play-the-whole-thing or don’t-bother-listening-at-all type of deal. These make them great contenders for an afternoon of cleaning, relaxing in the sun or doing a long roadie north this summer.
We’ve been hit with a wonder of incredible soundtracks during the year of 2019. Come with us as we reflect on our top 5 favorites…
5. Frozen 2
The sequel to our first darling Frozen movie had big shoes to fill, likewise did the soundtrack. How were Walt Disney Records going to beat legendary tunes ‘Let it Go’ and ‘For the First Time in Forever’? Well, they weren’t, and I don’t think they did. However, the sequel soundtrack still hit number one on Billboard 200 Albums chart and was one of the greatest soundtracks of 2019.
It’s certainly more of an emotional, mature album than the first with tracks like ‘The Next Right Thing’. It gets pretty creepy at a point with Olaf’s big solo moment on the ‘When I’m Older’ track He’s three ‘ice years’ older in this film and is portrayed to be a lot more curious and thoughtful. I like his progression as a character, and I think this song serves creating suspense in his development. The favorite track of the album would have to be ‘Into the Unknown’, where Elsa attempts to ignore the voice in her head that encourages her to step out of her comfort and explore what she doesn’t yet know. Perhaps because that voice is relatable to a lot of us.
4. Aladdin
A rich, colorful work in its own right, Disney have again looked at creating a soundtrack that matches the wonder of the film. Composed by Alan Menken, this soundtrack comes in at number four for the top five soundtracks of 2019 and is beyond pleasant to listen to.
From its opening of ‘Arabian Nights’ right through to ‘Friend Like Me’’ it paints a picture of true Disney magic. The favorite would be of course the cover of ‘A Whole New World’ by Zayn Malik and Zhavia Ward – it’s just such an enchanting song that harmonizes beautifully. The new orchestration adds new flavour but keeps the simplicity of the original, dragging this song back to surface after nearly 20 dormant years. We applaud its return.
3. Yesterday
How good is this movie! I love this review by the Wall Street Journal, “A gnawing omission in “Yesterday” is the human side of the Beatles phenomenon.”
And it’s true, sitting in theatres (with a pack of $80 popcorn) I did absolutely think wow, those are some pretty impressive covers of The Beatles that may have just bought those gems back into the modern eye. The scene in which the protagonist Jack attempts to play ‘Let it Be’ in the lounge with classic 21st century annoyances interrupting every line is a great reflection of how The Beatles might not have been given the time to be heard and creatively appreciated in this day and age. We could be missing incredible things happening around us because of the noise of the rat-race and the day-to-day working rush.
The music behind the motion picture is a glowing tribute to the Beatles. Have a listen to the percussive cover of ‘Here Comes the Sun’, and the up-beat punk-rock type take on ‘Help’.
2. Rocketman
When we heard the Elton John movie was to come out, of course our first question was – which of our beloved Elton tunes will feature in the movie? Not that there could be a wrong choice, but we were delighted when we were met with 21 of his known timeless gems, with one new track ‘I’m Gonna Love Me Again’ by Elton and Bernie Taupin.
All songs we performed by Taron Egerton, much to the will of Elton. He had much trust in Taron and the team to perform his pieces. “I knew he could sing, and I definitely wanted in this movie people to know that it wasn’t me singing. I didn’t want lip syncing. So, he was given the brief of ‘you’re going to sing everything”. Imagine being asked to cover for Elton John! Taron did a wicked job, allowing us to journey through these crafted songs 100 more times.
1. Bohemian Rhapsody
This movie has made it into my parent’s physical DVD collection.
As a film, Bohemian Rhapsody shook its viewers. All were originals, sung by Freddie Mercury, with some live recordings injected into the album which put some authenticity into the tracks as the film did of course, show the songs being performed live by actor Rami Malek.
Dad still remembers a boy taking ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ into school for music on a 45 record. They were a noisy bunch and when the record started playing, the whole classroom went completely quiet (a rarity for dad), and they were fixated on the journey of this disjointed, clever craft. By the end of it, Dad said all the boys were looked at each other stunned and smiling. That was Bohemian Rhapsody’s effect.
I think a lot of us felt that effect felt watching this movie, more-so for my generation (millennials) who didn’t get to experience Queen in their days of true glory. We were able to get those goosebumps upon goosebumps upon goosebumps in listening to all of these songs recreated as if for the first time. Dust was brushed from the most immortal band and this soundtrack reaches number one on our list for the year.
