REVIEW: Craig Armstrong, Best Laid Plans (Virgin) / Craig
Armstrong and Various Artists, Plunkett and Macleane
(Astralwerks/Melankolic)
- Christina Apeles
This season presents the opportunity to experience the beauty and elegance of Craig Amstrong's compositions back-to-back on two upcoming movie soundtracks: Plunkett and Macleane and Best Laid Plans. He combines the artistry of the classical with the modern utilization of electronics, produced with a sensibility that captures a spectrum of tones. I'm a fervent admirer of Armstrong since he did the string orchestration for "Family Life" on Blue Nile's Peace At Last release, as well as composing the arrangements for the much lauded Protection by Massive Attack, followed with "This Love" with Elizabeth Frasier (Cocteau Twins) on vocals in his first solo release, The Space Between Us. If your ears have yet to be stirred by Armstrong's aural landscapes, here is your chance for hours of listening pleasure.
A noose decorates the CD while the cover has three gun-toting stars (Liv Tyler, Robert Carlyle, and Jonny Lee Miller) on the Plunkett and Maclean soundtrack, so what would one expect from the twenty tracks that accompany such images? Madness. This is not necessarily the case though the songs on this release are definitely wrought with anxiety, but to sum up Armstrong's score in one word is impossible. The opening track "Hymm" is as it sounds -- something you would hear in a gothic cathedral, a chorus of voices surround you, rising and falling, which is prevalent throughout the soundtrack like "Unseen," a eerie, daunting song, coupled with a chorus of voices and horns, also swinging in different directions. "Rebecca" is divine as the theme song for Tyler, characterized by a motif of ominous voices which promptly allay into a wonderful soundscape of sentiment, rising into piano chords layered on top of strings, which one can imagine is like the dance of a leaf before it falls gently to the ground.
The cheerful tune of the bunch is "Rochester," as a flute takes the listener through a steady dance of strings, only to be followed by the feeling of being on an empty street late at night in "Robbery;" the sense that something is going to happen, with random sounds echoing in the distance. Drums simulate a heartbeat, gathering speed as the tension rises to later descend into silence. "Ball" which is getting much radio play, is a danceable track of heavy beats and a repetitive succession of keyboard chords and scales. "Business: part 1/part 2/part 3" is my favorite on this release with horns, strings, and beats moving about in accord, that break into a heavy techno rhythm with a woman's touch of vocal elegies to heighten the piece, finishing in a drum'n'bass fashion where a steady bass line closes out the trilogy. One standout track, just because it is so radically different from the others, is the hip-hop sound of "Houses in Motion," with Lewis Parker's word play and distinct chorus provided by Helen White intervening periodically, in an upbeat, radio-friendly track segueing (only God knows how this is possible) into Armstrong's brief denoument of "Childhood," reminding me of This Mortal Coil with a the lucid sound of strings and piano decorating the backdrop.
Best Laid Plans has the feeling of a candlelight setting, a less anxiety-driven collection of songs than Plunkett and Macleane, with Armstrong contributing tracks alongside Neneh Cherry and her brother Eagle Eye Cherry, Massive Attack, Mazzy Star, Gomez, and Patsy Cline. Neneh Cherry is dazzling in "Twisted Mess" with every breath; it's best described as an a.m. hour song, as most of the tracks on the release can be termed: folks, this is a song to be shared in the bedroom. Mazzy Star is as darling as ever on "Flowers in December" and "Look on Down From the Bridge," with Hope Sandoval's captivating vocals lulling the listener into a peaceful state.
Armstrong's songs are primarily mellow and serene as well, with "Father and Son" and the title track both remaining on a steady melodious plane; while Armstrong's "Lissa Montage" is a sentimental composition of piano and strings, opening much like his "Balcony Scene" from the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack, shifting into a more electronic panorama of sound effects.
These days it is not unusual to remember a movie for its soundtrack - often, it is what makes the movie so memorable. Neither "Best Laid Plans" nor "Plunkett and Macleane" has been released, but if either film is half as poignant as its music, moviegoers are sure to be roused.
