Ravenous Original Motion Pict [Soundtrack]

When I first saw the movie, I was actually moved by the score and I thought that it accented many of the moods all too well. The frantic situations, the ones that were almost funny but that shouldn't be, and the horror was something I thought was fantastic. Atmospherically the films was a work of art, and I found later on that it wasn't simply the pictures that were making the film. It was instead the brooding sounds circulated through the scenes, making moments like the one captured in "run" applaudably funny instead of horrific, that made me like it so much. So I went out and bought this work by Nyman and Albarn and I've had it in my listening lineup ever since.

Even if you really aren't a fan of scores, you might want to give this work a go. I'm not normally one to pick up tracks of this nature, normally staying away from soundtracks of any sort altogether, but this is a versatile piece with real potential. It works as interesting background sound, making walking through the park or eating lunch with your discman on an interesting experience. That and the conversation highlights it can spawn make with friends makes it well worth looking into.

That said, there are no "dodgy" tracks on this soundtrack. They're all excellent, and very unique. My favourites - Colquhoun's Story, Let's Go Kill That Bastard and the end titles - have complex layered melodies and strong rhythm. Keep in mind though that this was for a movie about cannibalism. Some tracks are particularly tension filled, but even the whimsical band pieces, like the flavoursomely off-key "Welcome to Fort Spencer", have a distinctly sinister tone.

And can I say that it's fun trying to guess who wrote which track.

The photos in the liner notes make me wonder how somebody didn't have the presence of mind to immortalize this collaboration on video...a documentary about the making of this soundtrack would've probably been as oddly engaging as the movie itself.

But let's just stick with the album: music hasn't been this "visual" since John Williams score for JAWS, or Bernard Herrmann's classic work on PSYCHO. Hearing it out of context would probably a VERY strange experience, so if you can stomach the gore, I would recommend viewing the film first. As a stand-alone work it may seem like a very odd duck, but even then I think it will grow on more adventurous listeners. It is without a doubt one of the two most overlooked scores of the decade, (the other being Carter Burwell's THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER.)

"Hail Columbia" is a great way to start the disk as in the movie, with a queasy discordance underscoring the tune in a way that perfectly complements the scene it was written for (Boyd's "promotion"), as does all the superb work here. "Boyd's Journey" describes the entire movie in less than five minutes, with a strangely grand theme that can only be described as "tragically heroic."

Definite highlights: "Colquhon's Story"; from "Trek to the Cave" up to "Ives Return" which I have come to consider a kind of "RAVENOUS Suite," where it's a song cycle that won't make sense unless you hear every song in between in one sitting; "Manifest Destiny," and of course, "Saveoursoulissa," one of the most chilling "death struggle" themes to appear in recent years, mostly because of the subtle way it plays on your spine, understating the final confrontation between Boyd and Ives.

But what are you listening to me for? Buy this for your collection NOW!