Soundtrack Review: Leatherheads by Randy Newman (2008)
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This is a review of the motion picture score for Leatherheads by Randy Newman.
I’m not sure what I was expecting before I heard this. I’ve been listening to The Natural since it is a rare sports movie composed by Randy Newman. That was back in 1984 however, so I thought that it couldn’t really sound like that. Randy Newman has been accused of recycling his stuff a bit too much, and I partly agree. It’s rare to see him step outside of his comfort zone, and a lot of his work can sound the same. Nevertheless, there are always exceptions. Here is the track list of Leatherheads:
- The Princeton Tiger
- Good Old Princeton - The College Game
- The Professional Game
- The Pros Go To College
- Help From High School (Gonged)
- Dodge
- Lexi
- Ich Gebe Auf
- Carter Is Blue
- How One Longs For Princeton
- Ah, Love
- The Man I Love (By Ledisi)
- Pool Party
- Dan Higgins
- Trouble
- Up Close And Personal
- The Ambiguity Of Victory
- Sgt. York
- Into The Sunset
- Reprise For Tiffany
On Leatherheads there are 19 tracks by Randy Newman and 1 by Ledisi. Total playtime is 43:50. Ok, correct me if I’m wrong, but this is a sports movie right? I haven’t seen it, but the trailer and posters indicate it. It is also set in the 1920s, but even in the 20s they had great sports moment. Randy Newman could have gone the way of The Natural and made a sports score, but instead he went for the fun 20s. Well, I don’t know how fun it was, but the music is fun to listen to. The whole score is a period piece, and if you didn’t know any better, this could be for any movies of the 20s period.
Randy Newman has succeeded in creating a score that at least has fooled me into thinking the 20s. The music feels very much like the Dixie Bands, but maybe not as authentic. It’s a fun score to listen to, but it is very repeating and yes, at times it feels like Monsters Inc. and Toy Story. I had to go back and listen to Monsters Inc. and there are indeed similarities. Still, overall it’s a different score and it consistently keep its 20s sound. I recommend this if you are into this kind of music, if not you will probably not like it. Listen to Leatherheads by Randy Newman below:
http://soundtrackgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/leather.flv
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Comments
I’m used to watch sports movies with sports music, so I wonder how I will react with this one. I think it could be fun. We’ll have to see the movie to find out 
There are a number of instrumentals on the sountrack for leatherheads (hold that tiger, for one) that are not original to Randy Newman. Another is Ah, Love (the “love” theme). The melody is from the 1920s (maybe earlier), and I recognize it from a tune sung to me by my mother and aunt when I was just a toddler in the late 1930s. I can’t remember the title or lyrics (though they will come to me sooner or later).
Does anyone out there know the title of the tune to which I refer? It is certainly not Ah, Love.
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You are right. None of the movies he did really stand out in the music department. I’d love some old tunes though. May it be from the ’20s ’30s or ’40s. This sounds pretty good. Will definitely check out the album after seeing the movie!
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