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The soundtrack to Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's weighty, emotionally wrenching drama 21 Grams features compositions by Gustavo Santaolalla and a few funk, soul, and hip-hop songs. Given that the film revolves around the conceit that the human body loses 21 grams upon death -- arguably the weight of the soul -- it wouldn't be surprising if the film's music was unbearably pretentious. Track titles such as "Can We Mix the Unmixable? (Remix)" and "Can Dry Leaves Help Us?" suggest that the score is indeed overly studied, but fortunately, this is not the case. Santaolalla's atmospheric style is reminiscent of Cliff Martinez, the frequent musical collaborator of Steven Soderbergh. However, Santaolalla's sound is more organic, drawing from droning guitars and subtle electronics. The warm, spacious sound of "Do We Lose 21 Grams?" and "Did This Really Happen" has more in common with post-rock than with most typical score music, while the brief but haunting loops of "Can Things Be Better?" and "Should I Let Her Know?" nod to the folky electronica of artists like Four Tet. The soundtrack's more song-oriented cuts, like War's "Low Rider," Ozomatli's "Cut Chemist Suite," and Ann Sexton's "You're Losing Me," provide a jolting contrast to Santaolalla's atmospheric score, perhaps reflecting the film's often jarring juxtapositions of life and death. The only track on 21 Grams that succumbs to pretension is "Shake, Rattle & Roll," a lengthy, spoken-word version of the R&B classic performed by Benicio Del Toro. At first, the song is gritty and creepy, but eventually it devolves into self-parody. Still, the overall quality of the album -- particularly on "When Our Wings Are Cut, Can We Still Fly" by the Kronos Quartet -- more than makes up for its occasional awkward moments, which do little do detract from the score's quiet power.
© Heather Phares /TiVo
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Gustavo Santaolalla, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Violin, Pipe, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Anibal Kerpel, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Javier Casalla, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Producer, Recording Producer
℗ 2003 Focus Features LLC
Gustavo Santaolalla, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Violin, Pipe, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Anibal Kerpel, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Javier Casalla, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Producer, Recording Producer
℗ 2003 Focus Features LLC
Gustavo Santaolalla, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Violin, Pipe, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Anibal Kerpel, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Javier Casalla, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Producer, Recording Producer
℗ 2003 Focus Features LLC
T-Ray, Producer, Mix Engineer, Recording Producer, StudioPersonnel - Stephen Marcussen, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Lucas MacFadden, ComposerLyricist - Ozomatli, Producer, Recording Producer, MainArtist - Charles Stewart, ComposerLyricist - Anton Pukshansky, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ulises Bella, Clarinet, Guitar, Tenor Saxophone, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Justin Poree, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Raul Pacheco, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jiro Yamaguchi, ComposerLyricist - Asdrubal Sierra, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Willy Abers, Bass Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Alfredo Ortiz, ComposerLyricist - William Marrufo, Drums, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Pablo Castorena, ComposerLyricist - Jose Ines Espinosa, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2003 Focus Features LLC
Gustavo Santaolalla, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Violin, Pipe, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Anibal Kerpel, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Javier Casalla, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Producer, Recording Producer
℗ 2003 Focus Features LLC
Gustavo Santaolalla, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Violin, Pipe, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Anibal Kerpel, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Javier Casalla, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Producer, Recording Producer
℗ 2003 Focus Features LLC
Gustavo Santaolalla, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Violin, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Anibal Kerpel, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Javier Casalla, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Charles Calhoun, Composer - James Lott, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Producer, Recording Producer - Benicio Del Toro, Spoken Word, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2003 Focus Features LLC
Gustavo Santaolalla, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Violin, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Anibal Kerpel, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Javier Casalla, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Producer, Recording Producer
℗ 2003 Focus Features LLC
JERRY GOLDSTEIN, Producer, Recording Producer - Lee Oskar, Percussion, Vocals, Harmonica, AssociatedPerformer - Harold Brown, Percussion, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Morris Dickerson, Bass Guitar, Percussion, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Howard Scott, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Vocals, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Leroy Jordan, ComposerLyricist - Gerald Goldstein, ComposerLyricist - Lonnie Jordan, Producer, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Vocals, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer - War, MainArtist - Charles Miller, Clarinet, Percussion, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Vocals, Baritone Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Thomas Allen, ComposerLyricist - Papa Dee Allen, Percussion, Vocals, Bongos, Conga, AssociatedPerformer - Lee Levitin, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2003 Focus Features LLC
Gustavo Santaolalla, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Violin, Pipe, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Anibal Kerpel, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Javier Casalla, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Producer, Recording Producer
℗ 2003 Focus Features LLC
Gustavo Santaolalla, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Violin, Pipe, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Anibal Kerpel, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Javier Casalla, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Producer, Recording Producer
℗ 2003 Focus Features LLC
David Lee, Producer, Recording Producer - BERGEN WHITE, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - Ann Sexton, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Anibal Kerpel, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ann Burton, ComposerLyricist - John Richbourg, Producer, Recording Producer - Melvin Burton, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2003 Focus Features LLC
Gustavo Santaolalla, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Violin, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Anibal Kerpel, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Javier Casalla, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Producer, Recording Producer
℗ 2003 Focus Features LLC
Gustavo Santaolalla, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Violin, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Anibal Kerpel, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Javier Casalla, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Producer, Recording Producer
℗ 2003 Focus Features LLC
Gustavo Santaolalla, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Recording Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Anibal Kerpel, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Javier Casalla, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Producer, Recording Producer
℗ 2003 Focus Features LLC
Kronos Quartet, MainArtist - LESLIE ANN JONES, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Gustavo Santaolalla, Producer, Mix Engineer, Recording Producer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Anibal Kerpel, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Osvaldo Golijov, Arranger, Work Arranger - Michael Burr, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Producer, Recording Producer
℗ 2003 Focus Features LLC
Album review
The soundtrack to Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's weighty, emotionally wrenching drama 21 Grams features compositions by Gustavo Santaolalla and a few funk, soul, and hip-hop songs. Given that the film revolves around the conceit that the human body loses 21 grams upon death -- arguably the weight of the soul -- it wouldn't be surprising if the film's music was unbearably pretentious. Track titles such as "Can We Mix the Unmixable? (Remix)" and "Can Dry Leaves Help Us?" suggest that the score is indeed overly studied, but fortunately, this is not the case. Santaolalla's atmospheric style is reminiscent of Cliff Martinez, the frequent musical collaborator of Steven Soderbergh. However, Santaolalla's sound is more organic, drawing from droning guitars and subtle electronics. The warm, spacious sound of "Do We Lose 21 Grams?" and "Did This Really Happen" has more in common with post-rock than with most typical score music, while the brief but haunting loops of "Can Things Be Better?" and "Should I Let Her Know?" nod to the folky electronica of artists like Four Tet. The soundtrack's more song-oriented cuts, like War's "Low Rider," Ozomatli's "Cut Chemist Suite," and Ann Sexton's "You're Losing Me," provide a jolting contrast to Santaolalla's atmospheric score, perhaps reflecting the film's often jarring juxtapositions of life and death. The only track on 21 Grams that succumbs to pretension is "Shake, Rattle & Roll," a lengthy, spoken-word version of the R&B classic performed by Benicio Del Toro. At first, the song is gritty and creepy, but eventually it devolves into self-parody. Still, the overall quality of the album -- particularly on "When Our Wings Are Cut, Can We Still Fly" by the Kronos Quartet -- more than makes up for its occasional awkward moments, which do little do detract from the score's quiet power.
© Heather Phares /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 16 track(s)
- Total length: 00:38:13
- Main artists: Gustavo Santaolalla
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Varese Sarabande
- Genre: Soundtracks Film Soundtracks
© 2003 Focus Features LLC This Compilation ℗ 2003 Focus Features LLC
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