Del Toros : Releases >>

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Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas: Music From The Motion Picture >>

Basquiat: Original Soundtrack - Music From The Miramax Film >>

Few film soundtracks capture the essence or personality of their subject matter as beautifully as the collection of songs culled from Basquiat. Jean Michel Basquiat's charisma was based in the many facets of his character and his art, and there's a song here for a good portion of his ever-changing moods. "Public Image," by PiL is a cynical sneer matching Basquiat's own disillusionment over his fame. The inclusion of the undulating rap/funk masterpiece "White Lines" by Grandmaster Flash, plays almost like a cautionary tale, while the hopelessness of Joy Division's "These Days" seems like a theme for the bleak emotional state the painter sometimes experienced. There are, of course, songs that reflect the period of Basquiat's rise from the '70s until his untimely death in the '80s. --Steve Gdula

Traffic: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack >>

This taut thriller bringing Michael Douglas and his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, together in director Steven Soderbergh's look at the unwinnable war on drugs features a subliminal, seductively ambient soundtrack that pulses with a foreboding sense of doom. Composer Cliff Martinez, who worked for a spell with Captain Beefheart's Magic Band and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, enlists Chili Peppers bassist Flea and jazz keyboard legend Herbie Hancock for two tracks, then fills out the rest with lush symphonic scores courtesy of programmer Jeff Rona. Additionally, tracks from Fatboy Slim, Morcheeba, and ambient pioneer Brian Eno shake things up a bit. One song ("The Police Won't Find Your Car") has been omitted from the film, but is included here as a bonus. --Rob O'Connor

The Fan >>

Licence To Kill: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album >>

Gabriel Soundtrack >>

This Soundtrack really takes the journey that we took in the film; Snippets of dialogue are pulled from the film And sound design elements from Purgatory. Cachia Scrupulously unites Rich Orchestrations and full vocal choirs along with a haunting soprano lead vocal, Heavy tribal beats and grooves along with explosions of heavy rock. It comes with a six page booklet displaying shots from the film.

The Usual Suspects: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack >>

21 Grams >>

It's said all humans mysteriously lose 21 grams upon their death, a notion that inspires much hard-boiled philosophizing in Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's structurally ambitious follow-up to Amores Perros. As in that film, several characters' lives become intertwined via a tragic accident, but here told via a chronologically disjointed structure that's a masterfully wrought puzzle of editing and plot construction. Given that unusual structure, the musical soundtrack by Gustavo Santolalla by necessity carries much of the film's mood and emotional undercurrents in its spare, brooding cues and occasional songs. The composer's primary instruments here are a heavy-vibrato electric guitar (its tone reminiscent of the great Ry Cooder) and an equally altered accordion, set against a ambient wash of electronics and percussion that's so murky as to often seem impenetrable. The Kronos Quartet admirably matches the mood with their closing rendition of the haunting "When Our Wings Are Cut, Can We Still Fly." The hip-hop swing of Ozomati's "Cut Chemist Suite" and R&B of Ann Sexton help anchor it in a more familiar frame of reference, while Benicio del Toro's spooky, spoken-word take on "Shake, Rattle and Roll" (a performance recorded in Memphis' legendary Sun Studios, no less) effectively channels Tom Waits by way of David Lynch. Another fine example of the evocative, genre-free possibilities of modern film music. --Jerry McCulley

The Usual Suspects >>

At times tender, sometimes brutally riveting, this dynamic score demonstrates composer John Ottman's ability to delve into a variety of musical styles and bizarre orchestral techniques, while at the same time carving out a definite signature of his own. With themes and motifs stunningly strong, yet often delicate in thier suggestions, Ottman has created a musical world for The Usual Suspects, and a symphonic adventure that stands on its own.