Local Hero (Original Soundtrack): Mark Knopfler: Amazon.ca: Music

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Cal Original Soundtrack ~ Mark Knopfler Audio CD CDN$ 9.65

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Princess Bride Original Sound ~ Mark Knopfler Audio CD CDN$ 10.78

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1. The Rocks & The Water

2. Wild Theme

3. Freeway Flyer

4. Boomtown

5. The Way It Always Starts

6. The Rocks & The Thunder

7. The Ceilidh & The Northern Lights

8. The Mist Covered Mountains

9. The Ceilidh: Louis' Favourite Billy's Tune

10. Whistle Theme

11. Smooching

12. Stargazer

13. The Rocks & The Thunder

14. Going Home (Theme Of The Local Hero)

Product Description

From Amazon.com

This soundtrack (along with Ry Cooder's for Paris, Texas and Ennio Morricone's for Once Upon a Time in America, to name two other examples) is the kind of music that CDs were made for. Some of it is so delicate, so quiet, that it could disappear underneath the rumble and noise of a vinyl LP. You'd never know this was the score to a comedy--even a gentle wisp of a comedy like Bill Forsyth's picture. Some of it could pass for Scottish- flavored ambient music by Brian Eno. "The Rocks and the Water" seems to rise up like the tide with electronic calls that suggest the music of whales or dolphins. The sound of the sea whispers behind several atmospheric tracks, but Knopfler's guitar is also featured up-front some of the more overtly melodic tunes. The overall impression is luminous and evanescent as the Northern Lights. --Jim Emerson

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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Great ambience for a rainy day! - Rating 65%, May 18 2004

By

radiogold "radiogold" (Sydney Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Local Hero (Original Soundtrack) (Audio CD)

With the strong credentials of Dire Straits behind him, Mark Knopfler embarks on his first solo project. Not a bad album to listen to. Main musical highlights include Gerry Rafferty's "The way it always starts", and the few different versions of the Local Hero theme; "Wild thing", and "Going home". I just LOVE that sax performance at the end. Kind of a "off with a bang" finish. Unfortunately the smooth consistency of this album is somewhat destroyed, by the out-of-place hill-billy sounding "Freeway flyer"

The Soundtrack is from a movie which tells the story of a Scottish village fareness, which has the attention of a Texas billionaire, Felix Happer. (Burt Lancaster) The village lies on the coast of the north sea, where they are huge deposits of oil to be drilled. Happer sends Mac and Danny (Riegert and Capaldi) who are in negotiation with the people of the village, as he wishes to buy the entire town. Although most of the folks have no problem selling up, an old man stands firm against selling his shack and beach, in fear of destruction, pollution, and capitalist greed. The family has owned the property for generations.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Perfect Film Score, Dec 2 2003

By

J. Jeffrey Donahue (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Local Hero (Original Soundtrack) (Audio CD)

Local Hero is one of my favorite film scores, and contains some of the best music Mark Knopfler has written. It is hedonistically enjoyable and bears repeated listening. The music is not anything like a Dire Straits album, but is beautifully evocative of the small town in northern Scotland where the movie is set.

Mark Knopfler is clearly the main the main songwriter, but Alan Clark (a founding member of The Hollies) collaborates with Knoplfer on some tunes, and contributes a few short pieces of music of his own, including the hauntingly beautiful "Stargazer", which actually sounds like the Aurora Borealis. Gerry Rafferty ("Baker Street") contributes vocals to one track as well. I am left with the impression that having other talented musicians to work with on this project (instead of sidemen) inspired Knopfler to create a great achievement not only in the music presented but in the quality of the audio production as well. Knopfler has not reached same heights again on any of his later soundtracks, although the music for "Wag the Dog" comes fairly close.

As much as I love my old LP version of this album I have to admit that the CD is stunning. The wide dynamic range of the music is what CDs were made for.

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5.0 out of 5 stars This is what a soundtrack should be..., Nov 4 2003

By

Jim (Hermon, Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Local Hero (Original Soundtrack) (Audio CD)

A good soundtrack should enhance the movie for which it was written. This soundtrack not only enhanced the mood and feeling of the movie, but also evokes those same feelings and moods when you listen to it.

I do not like the "Boomtown" song, but I did not like that part of the movie so much either.

But hearing the "Wild Theme" or "Whistle Theme", I can picture the spectacular beaches, rocks and cliffs.

Hearing "The Ceilidh and the Northern Lights", I can see the northern lights through Mac's drunken eyes.

Hearing "Smooching", I see Stella and Gordon dancing in the empty restaurant.

Hearing the "Going Home" theme, I feel again the half-empty "it can't be over yet" feeling I have whenever I see the ending again.

The movie is my all-time favorite. And the soundtrack album is, in my opinion, the best of Mark Knofler's soundtrack albums because it played a big part in the movie.

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› Go to Amazon.com to see all 26 reviews 4.3 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a SOUNDTRACK people...
...and a very good one at that.

People who are looking for a Dire Straits CD should not buy this. People who are expecting a soundtrack the way they are done today (nothing but... Read more

Published on Aug 12 2003 by Theodore Tugboat

5.0 out of 5 stars Well, I Own the Vinyl Copy, but...
Well, the editorial review by Jim Emerson is right on the money about this being one of those soundtracks made for cd and not the vinyl medium... Read more

Published on May 23 2003 by Armando M. Mesa

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Stuff, but not the best
This CD has it's ups and downs. There are some brilliant tracks on here, most notably the main theme, the last track. Read more

Published on April 3 2003 by Jimmy Verona

2.0 out of 5 stars Lots of repetition
First, the recording volume is so low that I have to turn my stereo volume to maximum to hear all the intricacies of the majority of the tracks. Read more

Published on July 17 2002 by Jem Matzan

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Knopfler Release
Early in his career, Mark Knopfler composed this soundtrack to a mostly cult-followed movie, Local Hero. Read more

Published on Jun 19 2002 by Robert Smith

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine score
The music absent the film, conveys a great memory of the movie. Each segment brings to mind the people of the village or the outsiders who have come to it. Read more

Published on Aug 5 2001 by Paul Sayles

5.0 out of 5 stars Personal Best
An exceptional soundtrack...see my film review for a more personal note on the whole Local Thing.