"Over the past
12 years I have been lucky enough to work with some of
the most interesting
directors who have given me freedom not only
to do
their film scores but also to
express myself. This is a collection of work
from the past decade. I hope you
enjoy it." - Craig Armstrong
Released:
24 October 2005
(UK)
31 January 2006 (USA)
Track Listing:
1. O Verona
(Romeo + Juliet)
2. Escape (Plunkett And Macleane)
3. Main Theme (The Quiet American)
4. One Day I'll Fly Away (Moulin Rouge)
5. Rise (The Negotiator)
6. Balcony Scene (Romeo + Juliet)
7. Glasgow Love Theme (Love Actually)
8. Ball (Plunkett And Macleane)
9. Will You Come Back To Me (The Quiet American)
10. Rebecca (Plunkett And Macleane)
11. This Love (Cruel Intentions)
12. Della's Theme (Ray)
13. Main Theme (The Clearing)
14. Main Theme (Orphans)
15. New York City (The Bone Collector)
16. Nature Boy (Moulin Rouge)
17. Death Scene (Romeo + Juliet)
18. Ascension (Moulin Rouge)
19. Clair De Lune (Chanel No 5 film)
My Review
The album opens with the brilliant 'O Verona', the bold and confronting music that highlighted the opening sequence of Romeo + Juliet. The conclusion of this song effortlessly lapses into the next track, 'Escape' from Plunkett and Macleane, with its highly operatic tones stirring the soul. The softer 'Main Theme' from The Quiet American opens with undertones from 'Weather Storm', before introducing a soaring backing vocal that is a joy to behold.
As we get swept up in the operatic melodies of the first three tunes, the mood shifts as we move onto Nicole Kidman's stunning rendition of 'One Day I'll Fly Away' from Moulin Rouge. We then return to instrumental harmonies with 'Rise' from The Negotiator, with its strong beating rhythm. This is followed by one of my personal favourites, 'Balcony Scene', the absolutely beautiful love theme from Romeo + Juliet. This is an emotionally engaging and powerfully romantic tune that I simply adore.
Continuing with the romantic theme, next comes 'Glasgow Love Theme' from Love Actually, a pleasant tune with a title that suggests a homage to Armstrong's home town. The upbeat rhythm of 'The Ball' from Plunkett and MacLeane has a strong beat that makes you want to get up and dance in your living room! 'Will You Come Back to Me' from The Quiet American brings us back to earth with its softly haunting melodies, before we again enter operatic territory with 'Rebecca' from Plunkett and Macleane.
We then move onto another of my personal favourites, 'This Love' from Cruel Intentions, a breathtaking song that I find thoroughly enchanting every time I hear it. The uplifting 'Della's Theme' from Ray continues to enthral, and this is followed by the poignant violin harmonies of the 'Main Theme' from The Clearing. The 'Main Theme' from Orphans is another beautiful song that I also find strangely enchanting.
'New York City' from The Bone Collector is a perfect
accompaniment to the gritty feel of the movie, and the sense of foreboding is effectively translated through the music alone. 'Nature Boy'
from Moulin Rouge is a haunting tune with soaring vocals from David
Bowie. This is followed by the highly emotional and ethereal 'Death Scene' from Romeo +
Juliet, and the incredibly poignant 'Ascension' from Moulin Rouge continues
the overall sense of foreboding. The album is rounded off with the delicate
arrangement of 'Clair de Lune' from the Chanel No 5 film.
The songs featured on Film Works are already well known by fans of Armstrong's movie scores. All of these tunes can be found on the corresponding movie soundtracks, with 'Rise', 'Balcony Scene' and 'This Love' also
featured on Armstrong's first solo album, The Space Between Us. It is only 'Clair De Lune' from the
Chanel No 5 film that is a new recording. However, this album serves as a most effective 'Best Of' compilation, with Armstrong's very best movie tunes gathered together onto the one recording.
It was through his music on Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge that I first came to recognise Armstrong and go on to embrace his other works. Therefore, I have to say that this album is a gratefully received compilation that I'm sure will mean a lot to all of Armstrong's fans that came to know of him through his film scores. I believe his most beautiful and endearing songs have come about through his work on movies, and so, in my opinion, this
album encompasses some of the very best work from Armstrong to date.
Media reviews
"Crashing choirs from Romeo & Juliet, The Quiet
American's desolate pianos, dark beats and chilling strings from The Negotiator, all shudder with eerie foreboding." - Q
Magazine ****
"Not a dud moment... it's a truly essential buy for anyone who knows the Score." - Empire *****
"Beautifully arranged and absolutely lovely." - Jamie Theakston, WORD
"Totally chilled out and gorgeous." - Elle
"Deeply moving, romantic and awe inspiring" - Urban Life
"Mixing a modern classical style with electronic music in a way only a wisened master can." - Urban Life
"There are no
barriers in Craig Armstrong's world. He’s done everything from collaborating
with the biggest names in pop, including Madonna, Massive Attack and U2,
recording three gorgeous solo albums, composing classical pieces and writing
endless film scores.
The latter is the reason for the forthcoming "Film Works" album,
released today (October the 24th).
It's the accompaniment to last year's sublime "Piano Works" and
embodies many of Craig’s finest moments, including arrangements from Baz
Luhrmann's " Romeo and Juliet", for which he won a Bafta and Ivor
Novello, and "Moulin Rouge", for which he won a Golden Globe, Ivor
Novello and American Institiute Award. He notched up a third Ivor Novello for
his music for Philip Noyce's "The Quiet American". Also on the album
are arrangements from his scores for "Ray", "Love Actually",
"Plunkett and MacLeane", "Cruel Intentions" and "The
Bone Collector".
The album closes with Craig's arrangement of the classic Clair de Lune for the
recent high profile "Chanel No.5" ad starring Nicole Kidman and
directed by Craig's long time cohort, Baz Luhrmann.
The original intention was to release the "Film Works" album with an
accompanying DVD of a short 30 minute version of the beautiful "Piano
Works" film that was shown at this year's Sundance Film Festival and the
Notting Hill Film Festival - but this will now be available as a digital
download only.
The "Film Works" album is a truly stunning and remarkable body of
work, which only serves to accentuate what a talented composer Craig Armstrong
is." - Contact
Music
Buy Film Works
from amazon.co.uk