The CD Soundtrack To
"The Second Best
Exotic Marigold Hotel"
by THOMAS NEWMAN
"...First The Knees, Then The Names..."
"...First The Knees, Then The Names..."
Thomas
Newman's knack at taping into our deepest emotions via his gorgeous and emotive
movie music stretches back to 1994 to his magisterial work on the
mighty "Shawshank Redemption" - a film and soundtrack CD that still
sends chills up my spine ("Little Women" from the same year is beloved
too by fans).
2015's "The
Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" is a clever meeting of Eastern Rhythms
meets Western Moodscapes - both musical cultures jostling alongside each other
in lovely compliment. One moment it's all delicate keyboard fills and plucked
harp strings - the next you're doing the neck jerk and donning a Sari for the
Modern Indian Dance Funk of "Ye Ishq Hai" by Shreya Ghosha. The
mixture of contemporary Indian pop with his short instrumental passages of mood
and sway (28 tracks, 61:39 minutes) works beautifully. In fact I remember as I
watched the film in the snazzy new Empire Cinema in E17 thinking how pretty the
interlocking weave was - a properly lovely Soundtrack winner.
US released 2015 on Sony Classical 88875031972 (Barcode 888750319722) - the
booklet is an 8-page basic affair with Director John Madden quite rightly
waxing lyrical about Newman's contribution to the whole upbeat mood of the
film. There are credits, photos of the cast - the usual stuff. The audio is
exemplary - beautifully recorded and produced - a genuine pleasure to listen to (UK even saw a Music-On-Vinyl 2LP set for this film). Which brings us back to the music.
For instance Track 3 is called "Knees
Then Names" - it's only shy of two minutes - yet Newman crams in more
subtly and prettiness and emotive chords in those 180 seconds than most do in
10-minute passages. The 1:28 minutes of "Nimish & Abhilash" mixes
his rhythms with Indian vocalists and the short result is hypnotically
brilliant. And of course there's that fabulous multi-cultural feel to the whole
shebang.
Another
lovely listen from Thomas Newman - buy and enjoy...
