Mulholland Drive [Soundtrack]

There are a few tracks which are quite minimal when listened to on their own, because they're parts of the score, and several of these are among the first few tracks. This may be slightly irritating if you want to get to the more standout tracks. The score is very good though if you're in the mood. If you listen out, you can hear a melody straight out of Twin Peaks, and the score is fairly similar, but not too much so.

The overall tone for this soundtrack is jazz or quiet, moody string scores, but there are a couple of tracks that cover other areas. There's the catchy 50's pop song Every Little Star (Camilla sings it in the film as her audition), and some bluesy tracks (Go Get Some is my personal favorite), and also a track off an album co-written by David Lynch.

Long story short: If you saw the film and thought the soundtrack was cool, this is well worth it. If you've not seen the film, do that.

The soundtrack features regular Lynch-collaborator Angelo Badalamenti ('Twin Peaks', 'Blue Velvet', 'Wild at Heart', 'The Straight Story')- once you have seen the film, you will want this music. Kind of a reminder of a dream that you're forgetting to remember?

'Jitterbug' opens- this accompanies what would have been the credit sequence of the MD-tv-series & is suitably 50's & postmodern...The title theme is a dark ominous track that recalls 'Haunting & Heartbreaking' (from 'Lost Highway')...'Rita Walks/Sunset Blvd/Aunt Ruth' opens with a sound like Steve Reich interpreting 'Parsifal'- before the strings come in- not far from Shostakovich or Stravinsky via Bernard Herrmann's nightmares...'Diner' is composed by Badalamenti & Lynch & recorded with regular collaboraters, the City of Prague Philharmonic. The sound effects suit the perfect film & are not too far from 'Selected Ambient Works 2' by the Aphex Twin...'Mr Roque'/'Betty's Theme' is a strange, looming piece- moving us towards the Silencio scenes- then the glacial & palatial 'Betty's Theme' comes in- this is an advance on the 'Twin Peaks Theme' (aka 'Falling' by Julee Cruise)...'The Beast' is the type of jazz-inflected number common to 'Twin Peaks' & not far from Barry Adamson's 'Something Wicked...' or 'Mr Eddy's Theme' found in 'Lost Highway'...'Bring it on Home' is a blues number, written by Willie Dixon & performed by Sonny Boy Williamson (who also has a song in 'Ghost World')- this gives the album a great diverse feel, as with the best soundtracks of recent years: 'NBK', 'O Brother Where Art Thou?' & 'Until the End of the World' (not to forget the previous Lynch soundtracks)...'I'm Told Every Little Star' is used in the audition for 'the Sylvia North story' & is memorably lip-synched a la Ben in 'Blue Velvet' or Bob Hoskins in 'Pennies from Heaven' by Melissa George as Camilla#1. My only quibble with this scene is we cut away from the song too early!- it's a lovely 50's popsong- falling strings of simple teenlove...'Dwarfland'/'Love Theme' is the 12-minute centrepiece of the soundtrack composed by Badalamenti & Lynch. This needs to be heard on headphones, or in the dark on a very good stereo to be truly appreciated! 'Dwarfland' is sinister- not far from the sounds of 'Eraserhead' or 'Dark Spanish Symphony' from 'Wild at Heart'. The fusion of industrial noises & strings move into the 'Love Theme' after a sinister sweep of strings. This is an advance on 'Fred & Renee Make Love' (LH) and recalls the erotic scene to come. 'Silencio' is next- imagine the freakish blue-lady in the balcony or the curtains, the lone microphone. This is one of the finest scenes in the film- & here is the notion that the script is all on tape & we're miming along to a prerecorded chain of events. This starts off jazzy- kinda Ornette Coleman on 'Naked Lunch'- the song reduces down to almost nothing, paving the way for 'Llorando'. This is a nod to 'In Dreams' in 'Blue Velvet'- a Spanish take of Roy Orbison's 'Cryin', performed by Rebekah Del Rio. This is the best song I've heard performed in a film since Madredeus in Wim Wenders 'The Lisbon Story'. It is also the most moving point in the film & the part where realisation occurs & everything changes.It is also very close to This Mortal Coil's 'It'll End in Tears'- songs like 'Song to the Siren' (sung by Liz Fraser,used in 'Lost Highway, originally planned for use in 'Blue Velvet') or 'Waves Become Wings' (sung by ex-Dead Can Dance vocalist Lisa Gerrard-now doing soundtracks like 'Gladiator', 'The Insider' & 'Black Hawk Down'!)...'Pretty 50's' is a lovely looping guitar based song, written by Lynch & John Neff for the album 'Blue Bob' (see davidlynch.com)...'Go get Some' is from the same source as 'Pretty 50's' & captures the dark abyss of Diane's world: 'Day of the Locust' meets Monroe (see Kenneth Anger's 'Hollywood Babylon'or JG Ballard's 'Atrocity Exhibition')...'Diane & Camilla' is another serene & sublime piece from Badalamenti- moving us to the despair to come (or that's already occurred?)- the visions Diane has of Camilla, back again...The 'Dinner Part Pool Music' reminds me of WAH's 'Cool Cat Walk' & Tom Wait's 'Frank's Wild Years'- a brief interlude prior to 'Mountains Falling'. This is another Lynch/Neff collaboration & takes us to soundscapes not heard before- not unlike Tortoise, but not quite like them either...Finally we have a reprise of the theme tune & the love theme- which accompany those beautiful shots of Betty&Rita,Diane&Camilla in angelic white foreground. In a place not unlike heaven...This is a brilliant soundtrack & one of the best albums to be released in years. 'Mulholland Dr.' may not have set the Box Office on fire- there is no accounting for lack of taste on part of the masses- but everyone I know who has seen it has been blown away by it. The soundtrack works not only to support the images of the film, but as tracks in themselves. A great soundtrack to a modern masterpiece.