The Social Network [Soundtrack, Import]

A lot of times a film soundtrack will add nothing to a movie, you won't be running out to purchase it, well this is truly an exception as the score that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have provided for one of the best films of the year is quite breathtaking!! Considering that The Social Network is a film that can't really be classed with a genre and is quite a dark movie then this soundtrack works with it really well.

Of course Trent Reznor(nine inch nails, how to destroy angels) And Atticus ross(how to destroy angels) have being working together for some time now, Atticus has had a hand in Nine Inch Nails last four albums(with teeth, year zero, ghosts i-iv and the slip) as well as working together on Saul Williams last album so they have built up quite a working relationship. For people who own Nine Inch Nails Ghosts i-iv album a lot of these pieces of music will seem like a continuation of that album, like the next part and will already be familiar with two pieces of music on the soundtrack, those being "A Familiar Taste" and "Magnetic" which are reworking's of two ghosts tracks, 35 Ghosts iv(a familiar taste) and 14 Ghosts ii(magnetic).

But this is far from recycled material as a listen to this soundtrack will show you, a lot of the times the pieces of music will start gentle with lovely pieces of piano before giving away to some big beats before drifting off again, it is of course used in full affect in the film.

You can't help but be blown away with the job they on classic piece "In The Hall Of The Mountain King" which Reznor himself admits was very challenging and "threw me for a loop" and took a few weeks to work it out, on hearing it Director David Fincher was blown away by the results and when you hear the piece in the film itself the result is breathtaking!!

The whole soundtrack is amazing and i'd highly recommend it along with the film itself, and if like this then make sure you pick up Nine Inch Nails album "Ghost i-iv" as well as Atticus Ross soundtrack for "The Book of Eli" which is also a great piece of work.

The Social Network could well be Film and Album of the year for 2010!!

To know where I am coming from, I am a long standing NIN fan, so it isn't a huge ask for me to like this music.

Having said that, I fail to see how anyone couldn't like this soundtrack. It is a true masterpiece, with every little nuanced electronic beat, bass line, guitar and sound effect manifesting itself magically throughout the whole piece.

This can be seen as Ghosts V, which is a follow on from the equally cerebral Ghosts I-IV from Reznor/Ross. In fact, the sneaky chaps have re-mixed and transplanted two tracks from the original Ghosts into this piece. At first I felt a bit cheated, but after my second and subsequent listens, I think that move was simply looking at what music best fits the feel of the film and it works really well.

Key tracks for me are In Motion, A Familiar Taste, Pieces Form The Whole, Eventually We Find Our Way, On We March and the brilliant take on In the Hall of the Mountain King. To be honest though, it is futile picking out individual tracks, this should be seen (or heard) as a block of music.

I'm hoping to see the film when it comes out, but when you have a piece of art delivered from Reznor/Fincher/Sorkin you just know it is going to reek of quality.

As a great admirer of both David (Fight Club, Zodiac) Fincher and Trent (Nine Inch Nails) Reznor's work I was bowled over by the news that they would be working together. Ever since viewing the opening credits of Fincher's 'Seven' accompanied by a remix of NIN's 'Closer', I, like a lot of other fans, have hoped for and anticipated this collaboration.

For the majority of it's running time, it has been worth the wait.

The music is what most people familiar with Reznor's work have already come to know but in this case it has been given more focus, unlike the instumental doodlings on NIN's 'Ghosts I - IV', which tended at times to sound like musical sketches as opposed to complete pieces.

To anyone not familiar, what we have here is a masterful balancing of atmosphere combined with melody and texture. Encompassing a broad palette of electronic and organic ingredients the overall tone is dark, at times contemplative and melancholy, but not wholly engaging. At times the tone can be a little over bearing, but persistence pays off.

Credit most certainly goes to Reznor's partner on this project - Atticus (Error, 12 Rounds) Ross, who has already scored the soundtrack for the post apocalyptic movie 'Book Of Eli'. His guidance through the scoring process has ensured a consistency of quality throughout.

Favourite tracks include 2) In Motion, 5) Intriguing Possibilities, 7) Pieces Form The Whole and 17) Complication With Optimistic Outcome. These been merely high points in an entire work that is already of high quality, and one cannot miss out the Wendy Carlos influenced interpretation of Edvard Grieg's 'In The Hall Of The Mountain King'. Sublime audio fun!

As some will know, 2 of the tracks namely - 3) A Familiar Taste, and 13) On The March, have been culled from the before mentioned 'Ghosts I - IV', but in the contaxt of this soundtrack they now have roots.

I have yet to see the film itself, but on the strength of this I'am looking forward to it even more than I was before, and I most certainly look forward to Reznor & Ross scoring another film in the future.

Highly recommended.