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Amazon.com: Ry Cooder has done some of the best soundtracks in the last 20 years or so (I wouldn't live without The Long Riders or the two-disc Music By Ry Cooder compilation, either)--most of them superior to the movies. (Sorry about that, Walter Hill--but it's true.) His lonesome, steel-guitar music for Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas is one of those cases where the movie and its music are equally great. I can't imagine one without the other. Every time I hear Cooder's opening theme, I see those wide western spaces and Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) wandering through them; and every time I see a still from the movie, I can hear Cooder's music playing in my head. --Jim Emerson
Customer Reviews:
- Ry Cooder is great...: This CD is cool with a strange a interesting melody. As always, Ry Cooder serves us well...
- Large Canvas, Small Painting: Paris, Texas - directed by Wim Wenders and starring Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, and Dean Stockwell - is a truly astounding movie. More to the point, the Ry Cooder soundtrack is so perfectly suited to the overall gestalt of the film that it becomes a character unto itself. Cooder's haunting, solo slide guitar mirrors the immense, barren Texas landscape in a way that is spellbinding, exquisite, and unforgettable.
That said, this CD is "more hat than man" - as they sometimes say in Texas. Clocking in at an anemic 34:11, it's less than generous. The issue is compounded by the inclusion of 8:34 of dialogue - "I Knew These People." If you've seen the film, you know that this scene is the payday, the moment you've been anticipating for hours. It is one of the most riveting scenes in all film; the interplay between Stanton and Kinski is pure poetry. However, this is only true because everything up to that point has prepared you for it. Without context it is only a well-crafted speech, and including it here feels like superfluous padding.
I recently also purchased the 2-CD set, "Music By - Ry Cooder," which has bits and pieces from the 20 or so movies Cooder has scored in two decades of film work. This is a far beefier and more diverse effort, with many different styles represented. It too is primarily instrumental, very few vocal tracks - although some of the vocal tracks are extraordinary - one doesn't forget the Throat Singers of Tuva quickly! If you had to choose between the two, I'd recommend "Music" - it really has a lot to offer. If you have your heart set on the Paris, Texas soundtrack - caveat emptor - there's less here than meets the eye.
What I found was that by dropping the "I Knew These People" speech, and cherry-picking through the 2-CD "Music By - Ry Cooder" effort I had enough material for an impeccable 80-minute stroll through an "instrumental-only" view of Ry Cooder's genius, a place that is every bit as mesmerizing - and far more hospitable - than the badlands of Texas poor Travis, Harry Dean Stanton, had to endure. - Paris, Texas (the movie): Who doesn't like Ry Cooder. His music is just so individual, like nothing else. (Good to listen to when you're spaced out). Or just listening to the soothing relaxing southern twang of his guitar just sends you to another plane. What I see when I hear this music is the wide open spaces and desserted highways on a hot hot summer's day somewhere in the middle of Texas. It just wants to make you chill out! It's so cool.
- Elemental and essential.: There are two types of soundtracks, and this is the more significant kind. The first type gives you a selection of tracks in no way related but for the taste and selection of a movie maker. I prefer my own compilations usually, but there are some good ones, usually from films no one really saw like Sleep With the Fishes. The other kind are inspired by images and landscapes no longer seen, but felt in the songs that came from them. They open the same spaces within the listener, but these are no longer owned by the movie maker, actors and their characters; some story in a film. It's not about the film at all anymore. It's music that doesn't demand you attention in the three-or-so minute grab of a regular song. This is music that you put in the background as you look to open your soul and create something yourself. And it's only found in this second type of soundtrack. There's the whole genre of New Age music which tries to do the same thing, though rarely achieves it with such deft subtlety. If you liked this one, listen to Monster's Ball, though skip the first five songs.
- In my top 5: Paris Texas and Wings of Desire - 2 of my favorite movies. I LOVE them. Beyond Wenders theme of love (in my mind)....is space. Space to think. And the music reflects this beautifully. It is short - I simply play it over and over!! And the dialogue is the point.....haunting, honest and just beautiful. How Travis knows just what the right thing to do is is nothing short of a miracle to me. His love is pure. Yes we all made lots of mistakes in our youth. He learned. Can't wait to see Wenders other movies.
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