CD Reviews: Gangs of New York and Chicago
By Cary Wong
Gangs of New York ***
HOWARD SHORE, VARIOUS
Interscope 06949 3565-2
18 tracks - 56:13
There have been a lot of rumors floating around regarding this soundtrack.
Some of the following turned out to be true, while others are...well, less
true: First came the hint/rumor that Elmer Bernstein's original score was
being discarded because of pressures from a higher-up at Miramax; another
had Scorsese using existing cues (a la Casino); then came the one
about Howard Shore being hired to replace Bernstein; better yet, Shore's
contribution would actually come from an existing work; and finally, the
Oscar campaign touts Shores' work as "Best Original Score." Whew! What's
one to believe? Ultimately, the politics don't really matter. Let's take
a look at the end product.
Gangs of New York had a painful gestation period before finally
hitting the screen in December of 2002. It was originally slated for a
late 2001 release, but the terrorist attacks on NY and the claim that Scorsese
wanted to do more work on the film caused a postponement (plus, firefighters
weren't portrayed in the finest light in the film). The movie is "inspired"
by the 1928 book by Herbert Asbury and recounts a period of gang violence
in the five points section of New York in the mid-1880s.
The movie is chockfull of source music that Scorsese uses to great effect.
Ranging from Irish folk songs to Chinese opera, the music highlights the
diversity of the five points. Scorsese's use of non-period music, especially
during the first bloody battle may seem anachronistic, but it's also totally
in keeping with analogous scenes in Goodfellas and Casino.
Similarly, the bluegrass cane fife player Othar Turner's 2000 recording
of "Shimmy She Wobbles" which plays cathartically beneath a pre-battle
sequence. There's also a beautiful original song from U2 (for the end titles)
which addresses the themes of the movie and adds a post-9/11 tribute to
New York City.
Howard Shore's music is culled from his concert work "Brooklyn Heights."
Three sections of this piece (totaling about seven minutes) are excerpted
on the album. The music is haunting and totally in keeping with Shore's
film music. More important, it works very well in this film. The first
excerpt is the one that's used most often in the movie, repeated countless
times. The vocal-driven third section is especially elegiac.
As for Bernstein's rejected score, we may never know how different it
was to Shore's concert piece. Regardless, judging by Bernstein's work on
Scorsese's Bringing Out the Dead, the composer can meet most any
challenge.
The Gangs CD captures the movie well enough, but its schizophrenic
mix may be a little jarring for the casual listener. Like the movie itself,
the album will appeal to some, and turn off others.
Chicago *** 1/2
JOHN KANDER, FRED EBB, DANNY ELFMAN
Epic/Sony Music Soundtrax EK 87018
18 tracks - 70:06
After the success of Moulin Rouge, Hollywood dips its toes back
into movie musical waters. But instead of something revolutionary (like
the still languishing film version of Jonathan Larson's Rent) we
get the film version of the 1975 musical Chicago, a throwback to
last gasps of the movie musicals when everything seemed to be coming up
Bob Fosse. Like in Fosse's Cabaret and All that Jazz, the
songs are edgy, the subject matter slightly distasteful and the choreography
more angry than joyful. Unfortunately, it may have been Hollywood's inability
to fully grasp Fosse's genius that was partially to blame for the '80s
movies' ridiculous idea that "Broadway = aerobics." This notion gave rise
to such trash as Stayin' Alive, Showgirls and Debbie Allen.
But I digress. Where Moulin Rouge looked back in order to go forward,
Chicago feels like it could have actually been made in the 1970s.
It doesn't feel very revolutionary at all. In fact, Chicago is probably
the safest possible choice.
Which is not to say Chicago isn't a great movie. It was certainly
one of the most exciting things playing at multiplexes in 2002. I cannot
imagine a better filmed version of this show (maybe if it had a better
singer in the Richard Gere role). They even solved the main problem of
the musical that had hindered its leap to the big screen. Chicago
is essentially a burlesque show where characters present themselves to
the audience while the plot chugs along in the background. The filmmakers
make a masterful choice by turning the songs into parts of the main character's
imagination. The songs are thus better incorporated to the plot, which
is more at the forefront.
The show concerns Roxie Hart (a surprisingly good Renee Zellweger, sounding
like original Broadway Roxie, Gwen Verdon), the 1920s murdering wannabe
singer, who with the help of her slick lawyer Bobby Flynn (Gere), manipulates
the scandal-hungry press to win public sympathies. Everything that happens
to her in prison or in court is enhanced in her mind as musical numbers.
Of course, this doesn't work so well when the action takes place away from
her (like the ill-placed "Mr. Cellophane.") This is probably why the non-Roxie-centric
"Class" was cut from the movie (but mercifully left on the album).
There's nothing to complain about in the songs. Almost every one is
a gem, pointing to the genius of the songwriting team of John Kander and
Fred Ebb. From the lethally funny set piece "Cell Block Tango" to the cynically
cheerful "Razzle Dazzle," the movie presents these songs with the glee
and joy only a theater director like Rob Marshall could bring. However,
the most famous number is still "All That Jazz," and the fantastic Catherine
Zeta-Jones' Velma Kelly goes for broke in the opening number. Someone should
write a musical just for her.
The CD is a great keepsake, including an original Kander and Ebb song
("I Move On") and the pithy two tracks of Danny Elfman's score (totaling
seven minutes of music), which has a jazz/big band feel similar to his
work on Dick Tracy. Also, a la Moulin Rouge, we have the
inclusion of pop songs "inspired" by the movie. In this case, there's a
female rap version of "Cell Block Tango" (a goofy update of the song) and
a throwaway number by rising pop diva Anastacia. Thankfully, both appear
at the end of the CD.
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