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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
excellent stand-alone soundtrack., 1 Oct 2003
Since picking up a copy last week, I’ve actually been very impressed by this soundtrack, particularly the pieces by Kevin Shields (the sole reason I purchased the disc). There’s an admirable continuity to the album, and it does a remarkable job of evoking the romantic melancholy of Coppola’s film. Certain songs perhaps grate a little, but there’s nothing truly offensive or irritating on this disc. In fact, it’s a marvellously serene album to have playing in the background whilst working, I’ve found. (only the rather weak Phoenix song seems slightly out of place amongst all of the lush instrumental pieces)I’ve been a little surprised at some of the criticism I’ve read of the Shields’ pieces, though. These are merely score pieces, written under the direction of Sofia Coppola and Brian Reitzell – and it’s ridiculous to approach these four pieces expecting another ‘Soon’ or ‘To Here Knows When’. The purpose of these songs is to accompany images, not to overshadow them – and assessed on those terms, I think that Kevin’s contributions are excellent. Having said that, however, the four songs he contributes are still strong enough to stand on their own as individual pieces. (If you are nostalgic for MBV’s screaming guitars, then seek out the stunning six-minute piece that Shields wrote for the LaLaLa Human Steps production ‘2’ in the mid-90s instead.) His first song on this soundtrack, ‘City Girl’ is about the simple, rapt gaze of infatuation and has really grown on me over the last few days. It sounds quite similar to the MBV songs ‘Sugar’ and ‘Cupid Come’, and its fractured melody begins to make a great deal of sense on the second or third listen. It’s also wonderful to hear Kevin’s voice again. ‘Goodbye’ is perhaps the strongest of the four pieces – a gorgeous ambient piece that unfolds gently and tenderly over two-and-a-half minutes, and displays more feeling and invention during that time than almost anything else I’ve heard all year. ‘Are You Awake?’ is similarly impressive and does an excellent job of capturing all the wonder and disorientation of late-night Tokyo. ‘Ikebana’ is probably the most immediate, but also the most disposable, of the four pieces – yet still merits inspection. The rest of the disc is something of a mixed bag. ‘Just Like Honey’ (Jesus and Mary Chain) and ‘Sometimes’(MBV) tower above everything else on this disc, including Shields’ new pieces, and most of the tracks are actually pretty uninteresting, in all honesty – effective in the film but slightly tiresome when on their own. The Air and Squarepusher contributions are pleasant enough, as are the Brian Reitzell pieces – but ‘Girls’ by Death in Vegas, for instance, is a depressingly one-dimensional attempt to mimic ‘Loveless’-era Shields, and merely makes you realise just how remarkable My Bloody Valentine were at their peak. Overall, though, this is an excellent soundtrack – rich and varied, and containing impressive new material from Kevin Shields.
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![Lost In Translation [DVD] [2004]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513X3XBT1KL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Bill Murray
~ Various Artists
~ Death In Vegas
~ Phoenix
~ Original Soundtrack
