7 Wonderful Carter Burwell Songs
Welcome back! Have you subscribed to my RSS feed yet? Make sure you don't miss anything by getting all Soundtrack Geek posts by Email. Also check out Soundtrack Fans, a new social network for soundtrack fans. Thanks for visiting!
Thanks for the comments on my previous Carter Burwell post. I have managed to find 7 tracks I absolutely love from Carter Burwell. When you hear them, you will definitely hear a pattern. They are minimalistic and they all have simple delicate themes.
This is in my opinion when Carter Burwell is best. Most of the time that is forgotten in the quest to fit the movie he scores for. You could argue that his style hasn’t changed much in the last 20+ years when listening to for example Blood Simple and Twilight.
So what!?
Every composer sound like themselves and those who try to reinvent a new style usually fail and eventually revert back to their usual routine.
There’s nothing wrong with that!
Many composers that I love haven’t changed much at all, and I love them for it. Why change when you keep producing wonderful music?
Here’s 7 cues from Carter Burwell that I think is just right… just wish there were more like it.
Blood Simple by Carter Burwell
First up is the cue ‘Blood Simple’ from the 1984 movie Blood Simple. It’s like a simpler version of ‘Bella’s Lullaby’ from Twilight. It has a simple piano motif (light and dark).
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Early Digs a Pit/Talking about California by Carter Burwell
Next is ‘Early Digs a Pit/Talking about California’ from the 1993 movie Kalifornia. Again, it’s a simple theme, but this is a bit different than the other Burwell cues I have selected. The feeling of it, the sound of it is more desolate than the other cues.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Epilogue Pt. 3: Adele’s Message From the Grave by Carter Burwell
I do love that theme, so I will add another one from Kalifornia. It’s called ‘Epilogue Pt. 3: Adele’s Message From the Grave’. It’s even more desolate than the previous cue. Simply beautiful.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The end of her day by Carter Burwell
Next up is a cue from the 1997 movie Kiss The Girls. It’s called ‘The end of her day’ and it’s an unused piece with just the right heartstrings. A delicate minimalistic music piece that is really sweet and soft.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Prologue by Carter Burwell
The next two cues are from the 2008 movie In Bruges. The theme from In Bruges is really wonderful. Burwell goes back to the piano and it’s simplistic beauty strikes you from the beginning. In ‘Prologue’ we hear only the piano.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
I Didn’t Want to Die by Carter Burwell
In ‘I Didn’t Want to Die’ he adds subtle underscoring for that little extra. The theme is the same, except maybe even better with all the other elements added.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Lastly we have the one cue that stood out from the 2008 movie Twilight. The rest were kind of meh, but this… this is what I want more of. It’s more orchestral than all the other cues I have selected, but again the simple theme played on a piano is just what the doctor ordered. It’s a hit and if the goal was to convey the feeling of Bella, then this track certainly scores a 10.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
So there you have it. My selection of 7 cues from the Carter Burwell catalog. What do you think? Do you have any other cues to add or disagree with my findings? Let me know in the comments section below.
Other articles of interest:
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
Except the piano bit in the last cue was actually written by Rob Pattinson, with the orchestral backdrop added by Burwell. Just saying…
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
6.5 Wonderful Carter Burwell songs then 
Thanks for the info!
i’d add ‘the unexpressed expressed’ from adaptation or really any of the tracks from that soundtrack. it’s the first score by burwell where i took notice of him. also ‘fully exposed’ from intolerable cruelty is another good one! just my opinion.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
November 20th, 2009 at 5:29 am
Thanks for the cues! I’ll have a listen to them and hopefully they match my taste as well.
l would like to have this songs mate give us the rapidshare link which is for kalifornia motion picture soundtrack.
regards
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 5:00 am
I don’t provide links here, but you can get the whole score here for $0.49: http://www.amazon.com/Kalifornia-Carter-Burwell/dp/B000008H7I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1268629164&sr=8-1
how can l dowloand this music?
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 5:00 am
Try iTunes or Amazon MP3. If you are out of luck, the older Bruwell scores can be bought quite cheap these days.
Soundtrack Seek
I’d add Dirt Clod Fight – my favourite from Where the Wild Things Are.
Reply
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
October 24th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Sounds good! I haven’t gotten it yet, and looking forward to it.
Reply