| October 11th, 2004 02:06 PM |
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| christijanus |
By Carla Hay
NEW YORK (Billboard) - Mick Jagger (news) says he drew on his life experiences when he teamed up with Dave Stewart (news) to write music for the upcoming remake of "Alfie," about a womanizer who must come to terms with the consequences of his actions.
Reuters Photo
The Rolling Stones frontman told Billboard in a recent interview that his work on the "Alfie" soundtrack, due Oct. 19 on Virgin Records, represents an exciting new facet to his 40-year career.
Although Jagger co-wrote and performed the title track for the 1986 movie "Ruthless People," and sang on soundtracks for such starring vehicles as "Performance" and "Ned Kelly," "Alfie" marks his biggest foray yet into film music.
Jagger and Eurythmics co-founder Stewart wrote and produced most of the soundtrack's original songs in addition to composing the film's score with John Powell. Stewart and Jagger previously worked together on "Ruthless People" and on Jagger's 1987 solo album, "Primitive Cool."
Paramount Pictures' "Alfie," which opens Nov. 5 in U.S. theaters, is a remake of the 1966 British film of the same name. Jude Law plays the title role originally essayed by Michael Caine (news).
The Jagger/Stewart compositions have a bluesy-rock tone peppered with R&B and are crafted in such a way that they sound classic yet contemporary. They include "Old Habits Die Hard" (the first single, featuring vocals from Sheryl Crow (news)), "Blind Leading the Blind" and "Let's Make It Up."
Virgin has released two versions of "Old Habits Die Hard" to radio: one with vocals by Jagger (sent to rock formats) and the other with vocals by Jagger and Crow. A video has been released to such outlets as VH1.
There are also instrumental tracks on the album and in the movie, including "Jack the Lad" (the theme for Law's character), "Oh Nicky," "New York Hustle," "Standing in the Rain" and "Counting the Days."
Teen British singer Joss Stone performs on three songs, including a remake of the Bacharach-David nugget "Alfie," which originally resulted in separate hits for Dionne Warwick (news) and Cher in the 1960s. Stone also teams with Jagger and Stewart for "Lonely Without You (This Christmas)" and "Wicked Time," a hip-hop reworking of the "Alfie" song performed with Jamaican rapper Nadirah "Nadz" Seid.
Jagger said "Lonely Without You (This Christmas)" was not originally intended to be full-length tune.
"It started as an instrumental section. Dave was in the studio and asked me to write one line to go in a particular scene in the movie. When we got back in the studio, Joss was there and when Dave asked me if I had written any more of the songs, I realized that it was going to turn into something she was going to sing. So I went back in the dressing room, we finished it and it worked out. It suits Joss Stone perfectly."
The powerful ballad "Blind Leading the Blind" expresses regret, anger and sorrow. It is used in pivotal scenes in the movie, including one in which Alfie has an emotional breakdown.
Jagger said, "I was more attuned to that scene than any other scene in the movie, because I felt that was where the lyrics would make a difference if you got them wrong. I wrote what I felt was appropriate for the character. I didn't compromise it."
Many of the songs were recorded the old-fashioned way: with all the musicians playing in the studio at the same time. The recording process at London's Abbey Road Studios was filmed for an electronic press kit and may end up on the "Alfie" DVD.
Reuters/Billboard
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| October 11th, 2004 07:52 PM |
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| Soldatti |
Thanks for the article |
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