My Blueberry Nights by Original Soundtrack Blue Note Records

Product Description: Cinephiles will know My Blueberry Nights as Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai's first American movie; music fans will know it as Norah Jones' first movie, period. Not only does she play one of the leads, but she also contributes a new song, "The Story," to the soundtrack. Backed by brushed drums, a stand-up bass, and a cool piano, Jones is at her jazziest and sultriest, oozing a sly honky-tonk, come-hither sensibility. Ry Cooder's score is represented by a trio of tracks; the best, "Ely Nevada," is a spooky little thing that feels lifted from a David Lynch movie, but Cooder's spectacular (and varied) guitar work is in evidence on all three cues. Two other instrumentals are the acoustic, wistful "Pajaros," by Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain), and Shigeru Umebayashi's "Yumeji's Theme," already in the director's In the Mood for Love. Fittingly, for a romantic road movie that takes place partly on the ghostly, highly symbolic Route 66, the rest of the album is made up of songs that represent very American sounds. Cat Power (who has a cameo in the film) brings two tunes from her Memphis album, The Greatest, and they coexist nicely next to Otis Redding's smoldering "Try a Little Tenderness," Cassandra Wilson's eerie cover of Neil Young's "Harvest Moon," and Mavis Staples' powerful take on "Eyes on the Prize." --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews

4 stars Just How It Goes
"My Blueberry Nights" is a strong soundtrack collection. Norah Jones who stars in the film wrote the song "The Story" on set, which was included in the film. She sings, "I don't know how to begin because the story has been told before; I will sing along, I suppose it's just how it goes." Director Kar Wai explains in the liner notes that he went to music stores and bought CDs that were played on the stereo on cross country trips which scouted locations for the film. He loved Cat Power's CD The Greatest and included that title track and "Living Proof" from the CD on the soundtrack. Cassandra Wilson's recording of Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" was another track that he put together with a slide show from the road trips to help Norah Young get a feel for the film's content. Ry Cooder also contributed to the film with several of his instrumentals being stand-out tracks such as "Long Ride" & "Bus Ride." Mavis Staples who also participated in the blockbuster set I Believe to My Soul turns in an amazing performance on "Eyes on the Prize." Gustavo Santaolalla's lovely instrumental "Pajaros" is a gentle instrumental lament. Ruth Brown, one of my favorite classic soul singers, has "Looking Back" included on the disc. Otis Redding's classic recording "Try a Little Tenderness" is also here. This is a very good soundtrack, diverse in feel to match the changing moods of the film, which I'm looking forward to seeing! Enjoy!

4 stars slippery blueberries
This soundtrack album is filled with gems. Why and how they put this cd together is beyond me, but it is filled with soul and wonderful tunes that probably fit the movie, but their compendium into an album does not make total sense to me. How does Ruth Brown fit with the others? What brings these songs together. I have a feeling that they were culled from someone's favorite records. Norah Jones maybe and used as a background to the movie, but they are too good to be background music. So how this came together is beyond me, but now that it is together it is a great cd of seemingly unrelated tunes. excellent. jack w.

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