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  The
soundtrack for Jack Weyland's recent film version of Charly turns
out to have an interesting result, in terms of my ultimate feeling
about it. I am recommending many of the tracks individually, but
not necessarily recommending the collection as a whole. It's like
a box of chocolates, Forrest… There may be several different
kinds that you like, but if you try to eat them all at once they
don't really sit well in your stomach, and you may even lose your
taste for them after just a few. But if you have the restraint to
try just one or two at a time, they may be rather enjoyable.
The CD starts with an innocuous ballad called "A Heartbeat
Away", sung by Jenny Jordan in a convincing Celine Dion impression.
There is some nice nylon guitar work making the arrangement stand
out from what would have been the more typical piano. But the chorus
doesn't really lift from the verse, so it kind of falls flat a bit.
However, the bridge transposes nicely into the final chorus, dramatically
rescuing this song and proving that a strong finish can really make
up for an otherwise weak number.
Brett Raymond breathes out some soft lounge jazz on "Got a
Thing for You". A good song, and again the nylon guitar is
a nice touch and refreshing. The vocal performance is a little belabored,
though, as if Brett is trying a bit hard to sing "in the style
of (insert your favorite jazz balladeer)" as opposed to just
singing, but it's still a pleasant enough song, and successful for
its mood.
"Living Out Loud" crashes in with some sweet jangly electric
guitar, and propels forward with a good drum rhythm and a fun pop
vocal by Casie Golie (with support by Jenny Jordan), as she jabs
and weaves through some stacatto phrasing. If the song were a little
catchier or had a memorable hook, it could be a real hit, but regardless,
it's quite a pleaser.
"St. Angelos" is a soft jazz instrumental by Michael Dowdle,
with midrange electric guitar octaves taking the melody and offering
some tasty flourishes throughout. The arrangement is a little bit
"elevator" with its 80's keyboard sounds, but as a showcase
for the guitar it serves its function well.
Alex Boye sings smoothly on the r&b/hip-hop flavored "Cold
Hard Streets". Alex has a unique voice, despite occasional
similarities to Seal, R. Kelly, Lenny Kravitz and Michael Jackson.
This has a cool groove and the refrain of "cold hard streets"
reminds me of something Sting might have stolen from Bob Marley.
The guitar showcase of this collection continues with some good
wah-wah in the background.
"Restless Soul" starts with arpeggiated acoustic guitar
and then Cherie Call chimes in, with Alexander E. Jenkins adding
some harmonies. The verse vocals are a little bit too robotic as
opposed to legato. I probably wouldn't have minded that, but I've
heard a lot of that kind of thing lately with various female singers.
There is a great chorus, though, that breaks up the arpeggiation
and soars the vocals, and ultimately makes this song a big winner.
"This Craziness is Love" is an uptempo jazz treat that
features some terrific tom runs, piano tickling and sax wailing.
A well-written verse and a catchy title phrase by Brett Raymond,
but unfortunately he continues his overdone jazz singer impression
and it gets in the way of the fun a little bit. Granted, the producers
probably couldn't hire Tony Bennett to sing this song, but I wish
they would have resisted the temptation to have Raymond try to sing
like him, instead of singing like himself. He's probably got a decent
and unique voice underneath all of the effects (and I don't mean
reverb, chorus, etc.). Michael Buble, Harry Connick Jr. and heck,
even John Stephens have their own voices while still firmly being
known as jazz crooners, but they are smoothly using their own voices
and not straining to add inflection or imitation at every turn.
Katherine Thompson performs an alternative version of "A Heartbeat
Away". Ah, there's the expected piano for those whose musical
diet requires so many milligrams of piano in every LDS ballad. The
vocals are over-emoted, but she has a warm and rich tone to her
voice that you can really sink your ears into.
The rest of the disc includes the orchestral movements from the
film, ranging from the pretty piano and string musings of "Need
to Go/Last Ride" and "Walking at Temple Square" to
the plucky and amusing teasing of "Airport" and "Fishing",
to the ominous strains of "Doctor" folding into the relieving
"Scared Party". The music and a few of the songs were
composed by Aaron Merrill, who also produced the soundtrack.
All told, a nice box of chocolates that probably tasted just right
in small bites throughout the film, but collected together to listen
to in, not really worth eating all at once.
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Eric
Endres
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