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Velvet Goldmine
Soundtrack
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Film Summary |
Todd Haynes' attempt to dramatise the lives of Iggy Pop and David Bowie in a flashy, futuristic celebration of a mostly fictional seventies music scene may not have succeeded on many levels (if any). But Velvet Goldmine does work as a joyous homage to the old-fashioned excesses of sex, drugs and glam rock and roll. |
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Album Summary |
Like most soundtracks - and despite its obvious musical roots - this album is a very mixed hit and miss affair. The hits - Satellite Of Love, Virginia Plain, Needle In The Camel's Eye - are more than worth hearing, but the misses (of which there are sadly many) detract from the project's glam rock inspired motivation. |
While the film was the cinematic equivalent of, well, a very big disappointment, Velvet Goldmine’s soundtrack actually surpasses expectations. This may not sound like an especially good thing, but for an album which features the vocal talents of Ewan McGregor and Jonathan Rhys Myers, this attempt to capture the spirit of glam rock at least has the audacity to be better than the audio travesty it deserves.
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I suppose it is to the album compilers' credit that much of Velvet Goldmine is made up of inspired covers and original recordings, rather than increasingly relied upon "inspired by" cop-outs. However, it can't be said that all of these collaborations are a success. The band formed for the occasion, Venus In Furs, peddle a mixture of glam-by-numbers rock and Brian Eno inspired experimentalism. Which is all very well, but Eno himself - who can be found elsewhere on the album - easy eclipses their efforts, and the muddled results are unsatisfactory coming from a band which can count members of Radiohead and REM among its numbers. |
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Nevertheless, the seventies spirit is carried through by welcome additions from the ever impressive Roxy Music (the track included -Virginia Plain - remains their crowning moment) and a more obscure offering from T-Rex, Diamond Meadows. Bringing the past up to date, Placebo gallantly attempt to cover Marc Bolan's calling card, 20th Century Boy, but still end up sounding like a wailing Lily Savage beating the living daylights out of Marilyn Manson. No change to the usual then. |
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The one reworking which is successful is Teenage Fanclub and Elastica's version of New York Dolls' Personality Crisis, intriguing primarily for the novelty value of hearing Norman Blake's normally folky group indulge themselves in some wig-out rock. The same cannot be said for the musical talents of the film's stars, both of whom approach their songs with gusto, but are unable to shake off the whiff of soap-star-turned-singer amateurism surrounding their efforts. McGregor comes out best as a member of the Wylde Ratttz, despite being burdened with a name even Noddy Holder would turn his nose up at, while Rhys Meyers' nasal drawl sounds unnecessarily strained on his guest vocals with Venus In Furs. |
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Which leads me to this album's moot point: Why make a new album in an attempt capture the spirit of an era when the original music - the music which sparked the whole genre in the first place - is still out there and crying out to be heard? To capture the essence of classic records by re-recording or emulating their styles leaves Velvet Goldmine with a very high precedent to live up to; a precedent it surely cannot hope to exceed. If you can get over this inevitable failing, then Velvet Goldmine is worth investigating. If not, best find solace in The Best Glam Anthems…Ever! |
