Yes i thought it was exceptional.
Yes i thought the direction was amazing!
Ok, all that aside. This soundtrack is appalling. The musical score that sounded so good on screen sounds dreadful on CD. The album comes over as an awful soundtrack for a west end musical, you know what i mean. Actors with tone poor vocals but lusty diaphrams all singing loudly. Weak tone punched out by drama trained diagphrams does not make good singing. When you listen to this you end up wanting toput the same tune on by the original artist, just to hear it done properly.
Soundtrack to Cats anyone?
Thus, one has to put aside one's concerns about this album's vast differences from the actual movie's music, knowing that some (but, sadly, not all) of those original film versions can be found on the Moulin Rouge Volume 2 soundtrack. Since I love the movie and music, so much, I'll say a word about every track on this CD. After Nature Boy, one gets the familiar pop hit version of Lady Marmalade performed by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, and Pink. The one great weakness of both soundtracks is the fact that this is basically the only piece of music you get from the unforgettable sequence in which Ewan McGregor first enters the Moulin Rouge. Fatboy Slim gives us his driving version of Because We Can, a furiously upbeat track. The version of Sparkling Diamonds included here is good, but it differs significantly from the film version; still, it features Nicole Kidman, Jim Broadbent, and their cohorts from the film and is quite enjoyable in this form. Next is Valeria's version of Rhythm of the Night, a relatively minor song in terms of the movie, featuring special Moulin Rouge-specific lines. While I prefer the movie version, something can be said about the version of Your Song included here; alongside Ewan McGregor's impassioned singing, the added vocal stylings of Alessandro Safina are emphasized, adding almost as much as it takes away from the film version. Bono, Gavin Friday, and Maurice Seezer perform Children of the Revolution, a minor song which I would much rather hear the Violent Femmes perform any day.
Nicole Kidman blew me away in this movie, especially with her hauntingly beautiful rendition of One Day I'll Fly Away. Once again, this version is not the original film version, and thus, although it is beyond beautiful, it cries out for the overlayering of Ewan McGregor's lyrical strains of Your Song, for this truly makes the song a force capable of fully subsuming one's heart. As I've mentioned, the version of Diamond Dogs included here is sung by Beck, and while he's good, he's no David Bowie. The next three songs are absolutely amazing. First up is Elephant Love Melody, a daringly unique medley that worked its way straight to the bottom of my heart; I am happy to say that this version is basically the same as the original movie version, minus the exhortations of Satine for Christian to get down before falling off the Giant Elephant. This medley never fails to give me chills, and the same can most certainly be said of the passionate Come What May. This is the most achingly beautiful love song I've ever heard, but this version is one intended for pop music radio consumption, featuring a rich musical background tinged with strange little electronic noises; if you've watched the video of this song included on the Moulin Rouge DVD, you will already be familiar with this version. At this point, one must stop and pause in homage to one of the most unexpected yet perfect and fervent performances of all time; I speak of course of El Tango de Roxanne. This unique interpretation of The Police's Roxanne is amazing enough as it is, but when Ewan McGregor's piercingly heartfelt vocals enter the equation, all one can do is sit back enraptured at such passionate, moving music. Complainte de la Butte is nothing special, and I still don't remember it being in the movie. Then one comes upon Hindi Sad Diamonds featuring Nicole Kidman, John Leguizamo, and Alka Yagnik, an exotic track that somehow feels a little different from the film version. Finally, the album closes with a second rendition of Nature Boy by David Bowie and Massive Attack; I'm really not sure why this track is included here, but the unremarkable version of the song ends quite memorably with Nicole Kidman whispering the words "I love you."
This soundtrack cannot be said to feature the actual music from the soundtrack, yet I love it nonetheless. In my opinion, you really have to buy both volumes of the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, and while the second volume features the original film versions of many songs, only this first volume contains two numbers this Moulin Rouge fan could not possibly live without - Elephant Love Medley and El Tango de Roxanne. This CD cannot possibly take the place of the movie, but I believe any Moulin Rouge fan will overlook its faults and love it dearly.
The soundtrack for the extravaganza that is Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge" is every bit as sparkling as the film. David Bowie's "Nature Boy", which forms the beginning and end of the cd (and the film) begins with Christian (Ewan Mc Gregor) telling us that the story of "Moulin Rouge" is one of love. Quickly followed by the films energetic "Lady Marmalade" the pace is kept up right through to one of the film's original songs "Hindi Sad Diamonds", which incorporates parts of "Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend". The most surprising track on the CD is probably the "Elephant Love Medley", performed by Nicole Kidman and Ewan Mc Gregor. This song shows the vocal talents of the unlikely duo off to a tee, as well as capturing the fun, infused with tragedy of the Moulin Rouge. The soundtrack is one of Truth (David Bowie's "Nature Boy") Beauty (Nicole kidman's "One Day I'll Fly Away") Freedom (Bono, Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer's "Children of the Revolution") and above all LOVE (Nicole Kidman and Ewan Mc Gregor's "Come What May"). If you enjoyed the film, you will love the soundtrack!
