The 'D' Is Loud.
As singer/songwriter/comedian and actor Jamie Foxx rides through the Wild West with the wonderful Christophe Waltz to save his leading lady Kerry Washington from the classic craziness of Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson, Quentin Tarantino really has crafted another classic with his genre whipping 'Django Unchained'. The only thing left to make this all complete is a soundtrack...and boy do we have one here that's truly off the chain.
With incredible interludes of Q.T.'S famous and favorite dialogue (even with some deleted scenes that didn't make the movies final cut, but avoid this albums cutting room floor) and some Spaghetti Western tasty genre joints this really is one of the top scoring, 'Music From The Motion Picture' releases in recent times. You'd have to go back to last years 'Lawless' to find an audio sign of the times more apt or fitting. This is Tarantino's best score since 'Pulp Fiction' and just like the film this OST follows Quentin's greatest with it's own claim for first place.
OK, the talented leading man/singer Jamie Foxx doesn't sing...that may have been a little too 'Wild, Wild West' (coincidentally Will Smith was originaly up for the leading role, before Foxx got it), but he does have his own theme and 'Django' really is one of the best. Harking back to the good, ole days of Western films like Tarantino's traditional opening credits. He even has his own epic, Clint Eastwood style stand down, draw moment in this movie which is punctuated perfectly by 'La Corsa (2nd Version)' by Luis Bacalov. A song that just like in the movie follows modern day soul legend Anthony Hamilton and Elayna Boynton's beautiful cry for 'Freedom'. It doesn't get much more epic than this with the two greatest pieces of music for one of the films greatest and moving moments.
Ennion Morricone's 'The Braying Mule' really rides us through the Wild West and straight to the saloon of past times. Whilst 'Lo Chiamavano King (His Name Is King)' by Bacalov is just movie music at it's moment making best. Jim Croce gives us a nice settled, montage break with 'I've Got A Name', writing beautifully and sounding like a young Elton John. That is before hip-hop comes into play for this modern day reworking of a classic...its only right. Rick Ross (with some co-writes from our movies co-star Foxx) gets deep and dark on the criminally good '100 Black Coffins'. Still it's the 'Unchained' melody and incredible, inspired blend of late legends Tupac Shakur and James Brown that gives this film it's perfect wild shootout music.
'I Giorni Dell'lra (Days Of Anger'), 'Nicaragua', 'Sister Sarah's Theme' and 'Ancora Qui' provide beautifully diverse, and wonderfully sitting background music to score the tempo of this film. Still soul star John Legend's 'Who Did That To You' really steps things up a notch in the movie and on the score. Mr. Stephens furthers his 'legend' with his best individual song in years vowing revenge on the fool that hurt Django's woman. "You better call the police/Call the coroner/Call up your priest/Have him warn ya" Legend warns as Foxx emerges from the smoke of dynamite for an explosive moment, made emphatic by this heated and hot track.
This really is the perfect music for Foxx's 'Django's' rise and redemption. Brother Dege gets real Western and upbeat with the poignant and yet proud 'Too Old To Die Young', while 'Un Monumento' and 'Titoli (Trinity)' are the perfect closers. As an added bonus what Tarantino, hip-hop inspired soundtrack would be the same without a RZA track? As the Wu-Tang, rapping and producing turned acting and directing (Q.T. recently debuted and co-singed the RZA's first martial arts flick) legend closes the credits with a real rundown. Thus ends a classic film and it's perfect soundtrack. One that scores big on more than just being epic and great music. One score that really makes it's motion picture that bends the history that much more believable. Just like this movies modern take on a classic genre, this soundtrack has moments that you can't distinguish from the past and now and thus here lies a classic for today. TIM DAVID HARVEY.
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