Romeo + Juliet (soundtrack)

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Romeo + Juliet
Romeo + Juliet cover
Soundtrack by various artists
Released 1996
Genre Soundtrack
Label Capitol Records
Professional reviews

The soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann's 1996 film William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet was composed of two separate soundtrack album releases: the first containing popular music from the film and the second containing the actual score to the film composed by Nellee Hooper, Craig Armstrong, and Marius De Vries.

Contents

[edit] Music from the Motion Picture

William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet: Music from the Motion Picture was the first soundtrack album to accompany the film. Released on the Capitol Records label, the soundtrack features songs by a number of artists including Garbage, Butthole Surfers and Radiohead (their song "Exit Music (For a Film)", which appears over the end credits, was not included on the soundtrack however, but appeared a year later on Radiohead's album OK Computer).

The soundtrack was a popular and solid seller, and was especially successful in Australia, where it was the 2nd highest selling album in 1997, going five times Platinum in sales.[1] A number of hit singles also resulted from the soundtrack, including "Lovefool" by The Cardigans, the love theme "Kissing You" by Des'ree, and a cover of "Young Hearts Run Free" by Kym Mazelle. Quindon Tarver's choral rendition of Rozalla's "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" was later used in Luhrmann's "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" single.

The album featured bonus tracks in the 10th Anniversary re-release in 2007.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "#1 Crush" - Garbage
  2. "Local God" - Everclear
  3. "Angel" - Gavin Friday
  4. "Pretty Piece of Flesh" - One Inch Punch
  5. "Kissing You (Love Theme from Romeo + Juliet)" - Des'ree
  6. "Whatever (I Had a Dream)" - Butthole Surfers
  7. "Lovefool" - The Cardigans
  8. "Young Hearts Run Free" - Kym Mazelle
  9. "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" - Quindon Tarver
  10. "To You I Bestow" - Mundy
  11. "Talk Show Host" - Radiohead
  12. "Little Star" - Stina Nordenstam
  13. "You and Me Song" - The Wannadies

10th Anniversary re-release bonus tracks:

  1. "Introduction to Romeo" - Craig Armstrong
  2. "Kissing You (Love Theme from Romeo + Juliet) Instrumental" - Craig Armstrong
  3. "Young Hearts Run Free (Ballroom Version)" - featuring Kym Mazelle, Harold Perrineau, & Paul Sorvino
  4. "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) '07 Mix" - Baz Luhrmann featuring Quindon Tarver

"Introduction to Romeo", "Kissing You (Love Theme from Romeo + Juliet) Instrumental" and "Young Hearts Run Free (Ballroom Version)" originally appeared on the Volume 2 album.

[edit] Chart positions

Year Chart Position
1997 Australian ARIA Albums Chart 1
Preceded by
Hits by Jimmy Barnes		 Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
January 19 - February 15, 1997
February 23 - March 15, 1997
March 23 - April 5, 1997		 Succeeded by
Freak Show by Silverchair

[edit] Volume 2

Romeo + Juliet Volume 2
Romeo + Juliet Volume 2 cover
Soundtrack by Nellee Hooper et al
Released 1997
Genre Soundtrack
Label Capitol Records

The soundtrack was later followed by a "sequel" of sorts, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet: Music from the Motion Picture, Volume 2, which featured the film's orchestral score, dialog from the film, and songs not featured on the previous album.

The score to Romeo + Juliet was composed by British music producer Nellee Hooper, Scottish composer Craig Armstrong, and English music composer and producer Marius De Vries. It was arranged, orchestrated, and conducted by Craig Armstrong using the London Session Orchestra and The Metro Voices.

The score fuses bombastic choral sequences produced by The Metro Voices as well as flamboyant orchestral pieces by the London Session Orchestra. It also contains Hooper's favorite trip-hop sequences, especially seen in the track Introduction to Romeo. Some high-beat techno tunes were fused with the chorus and orchestra in the track Escape from Mantua.

Dialogue from the film was also inserted into several of the tracks. Justin Warfield of One Inch Punch as well the Butthole Surfers and Mundy also contribute vocals to the score. A cover of Prince's "When Doves Cry" by Quindon Tarver features on the album; it became a hit for him in Australia in 1997.[2]

Craig Armstrong's Film Works 1995-2005 solo disc work contained several of these tracks. The score won BAFTA Award for Best Film Music for best film score in 1997. Composer Nellee Hooper was also awarded BAFTA's Anthony Asquith Award for Music for his composition of the score in 1998.

[edit] Track listing

  1. Prologue
  2. O Verona
  3. The Montague Boys - featuring Justin Warfield of One Inch Punch
  4. Gas Station Scene
  5. O Verona (Reprise)
  6. Introduction to Romeo
  7. Queen Mab Interlude
  8. "Young Hearts Run Free (Ballroom Version)" - featuring Kym Mazelle, Harold Perrineau, & Paul Sorvino
  9. "Kissing You (Love Theme from Romeo + Juliet) Instrumental"
  10. Balcony Scene
  11. "When Doves Cry" - Quindon Tarver
  12. A Challenge
  13. Tybalt Arrives - featuring Butthole Surfers & The Dust Brothers
  14. Fight Scene
  15. Mercutio's Death
  16. Drive of Death
  17. Slow Movement - composed by Craig Armstrong
  18. Morning Breaks
  19. Juliet's Requiem
  20. Mantua
  21. Escape from Mantua - featuring Mundy
  22. Death Scene
  23. Liebestod (from Richard Wagner's Tristan & Isolde)
  24. Epilogue

[edit] Uses in other media

  • Evanescence sampled two songs from Volume II in a demo version of their song Whisper.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Top 100 Albums 1997. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved on 2007-02-10.
  2. ^ ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 1997 Singles. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved on 2007-05-04.
Awards
Preceded by
The English Patient		 BAFTA Award for Best Film Music
1997		 Succeeded by
Elizabeth