The Cooler [Soundtrack]

the cooler [soundtrack]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
First-time director Wayne Kramer's indie feature about a hapless Vegas casino employee whose preternatural bad luck turns him into a professional "cooler" for gambling patrons whose own fortunes are soaring features an outstanding ensemble cast and this jazzy, evocative score by Mark Isham. While the composer isn't opposed to employing the occasional Vegas--and R&B--musical cliché to good effect, his cues here are largely mature and span a surprising range of emotional moods. Seasoning Isham's compelling, introspective instrumentals are a handful of expected Vegas milieu standards (Bobby Caldwell's buoyant "Luck Be A Lady"), elegant performances by Diana Krall ("I'll String Along With You") and Tierney Sutton (a smoky "My Funny Valentine") and a few surprises: co-stars Paul Sorvino and Joey Fatone crooning their way through "You're Getting to Be a Habit With Me" and "Can I Steal A Little Love," respectively, with energetic aplomb. No matter how you deal it, it's a winning musical hand. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description
The June 7, 2005 re-release of the soundtrack to the Academy Award nominated film THE COOLER features two previously unreleased tracks from Academy Award nominated and Grammy Award winning composer Mark Isham entitled 'Bernie Faces Shelly/Trumpet Melody' and 'You Leave Me No Choice.' Mark Isham (A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT, ROMEO IS BLEEDING, QUIZ SHOW, and MOONLIGHT MILE) is in fine form as he embraces the classic sound of swing that personified old world Vegas, and mixes it with musical themes that reflect the warm relationship between the main characters in the film.

An intimate, Vegas-style lounge feel courses through the vocal performances on the album, mirroring the classy sophistication and style of the film. Diana Krall renders a steamy rendition of the jazz standard 'I'll String Along With You,' while Bobby Caldwell channels the spirit of Frank Sinatra on the casino classic 'Luck Be A! Lady.' And no story of the Vegas nightclub and casino scene would be complete without 'My Funny Valentine,' delivered with smoldering cool by jazz siren Tierney Sutton.

The Cooler [Soundtrack]

The Cooler,Various Artists,Commotion,Film Music,Original Score,Pop,Soundtrack,Soundtracks & Film Scores

The Cooler [Soundtrack]

Average customer rating:

like a glass of whiskey...
A Rippling, Outstanding Stand-Alone Release, Yet True to the Film
Vegas kitsch cool!
Moody, lovely, sensual music
totally great

The Cooler
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Commotion
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Blue Sun
The Cooler
The Departed
Good Night, And Good Luck
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

ASIN: B0000DJYNP
Release Date: 2005-06-07

Tracks:

The Cooler by Mark Isham
Better Life Motel/Tables On Fire by Mark Isham
Candy by Rebecca Kyler Downs
Bernie Faces Shelly/Trumpet Melody by Mark Isham
Shangri-La by Mark Isham
Luck Be A Lady by Bobby Caldwell
Amateurs by Mark Isham
Can I Steal A Little Love by Joey Fatone
Look In My Eyes by Mark Isham
I'll String Along With You by Diana Krall
Heartbroken by Mark Isham
My Funny Valentine by Tierney Sutton
Almost Like Being In Love by Nick D'Egidio
Leaving Las Vegas by Mark Isham

Amazon.com

First-time director Wayne Kramer's indie feature about a hapless Vegas casino employee whose preternatural bad luck turns him into a professional "cooler" for gambling patrons whose own fortunes are soaring features an outstanding ensemble cast and this jazzy, evocative score by Mark Isham. While the composer isn't opposed to employing the occasional Vegas--and R&B--musical cliché to good effect, his cues here are largely mature and span a surprising range of emotional moods. Seasoning Isham's compelling, introspective instrumentals are a handful of expected Vegas milieu standards (Bobby Caldwell's buoyant "Luck Be A Lady"), elegant performances by Diana Krall ("I'll String Along With You") and Tierney Sutton (a smoky "My Funny Valentine") and a few surprises: co-stars Paul Sorvino and Joey Fatone crooning their way through "You're Getting to Be a Habit With Me" and "Can I Steal A Little Love," respectively, with energetic aplomb. No matter how you deal it, it's a winning musical hand. --Jerry McCulley

Album Description

The June 7, 2005 re-release of the soundtrack to the Academy Award nominated film THE COOLER features two previously unreleased tracks from Academy Award nominated and Grammy Award winning composer Mark Isham entitled 'Bernie Faces Shelly/Trumpet Melody' and 'You Leave Me No Choice.' Mark Isham (A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT, ROMEO IS BLEEDING, QUIZ SHOW, and MOONLIGHT MILE) is in fine form as he embraces the classic sound of swing that personified old world Vegas, and mixes it with musical themes that reflect the warm relationship between the main characters in the film.

Customer Reviews:

like a glass of whiskey..........2007-04-11

...or maybe some absinth? anyhow, the location where this music is to be heard normally, the drink costs about at least a hundred dollars. the view from the window reminds to the times of "windows of the world". compiled and composed with a great atmospherical feeling for the night at about 3 a.m.

A Rippling, Outstanding Stand-Alone Release, Yet True to the Film.......2006-05-01

I reviewed the "Oceans Eleven" soundtrack a year or so ago, and didn't like it. From another albeit differently-themed Vegas film, they started with a great mix of the old and the new, original music and well-chosen standards, which went great together in the film. But Hollywood cheek got the best of them, and they mixed in a gratuitous amount of film dialog, and released a junk CD. On this outstanding CD the film and soundtrack producers got it right. You can tell they're music lovers, as they left the music alone, and their soundtrack CD swells, pulses and croons just right, evoking clear memories of the film as well as personal visions and scenes from the music alone. I congratulate and thank them for this wonderful release, one that stands on its own, and one you'll enjoy whether you've seen the film or not.

Like the film, which I liked very much, there is a lot going on here. On the front and back ends, and almost alternating through the CD is the outstanding Mark Isham original score, highly evocative of the film, but also serving as some fascinating aural counterpoints to the well-chosen covers. You've got boss, big-band horns blowing a fat, deep Vegas A-lounger sound, as well as subtle harp flourishes hinting at the hidden and magical movements taking place out of sight and sense.

The recording opens with The Cooler theme, highly reminiscent of the ethereal opening bars of John Barry's "Body Heat" theme. The tune matures rapidly, becoming a bittersweet yet ultimately triumphant love theme, and then the big band struts in with a full, wonderfully arranged sound, telling us the power and the depth of the story to come.

Smartly, the producers have kept Isham's music in more or less film-chronological order, so what comes next is the sad theme of cooler's life and circumstances. There's a shift to a "Shaft"-like pump, and then cools back down for the bump finale. This is not mere soundtrack fill, but a fully developed song, as are all of the Isham pieces.

Track 3 gives us the first non-Isham piece, a sweetly drippy crooning of "Candy," at once a winking, slinky burlesque shuffle and a mewling come-on from a woman in deep need. It's the over-the-top sensuality and blatant tease of Marilyn Monroe, ratcheted up one notch more, and it's fantastic. Both in music and lyrics, it's a great tune, and by the final chorus I'm physically warmer, yeah.

Paul Sorvino follows with a cover of "You're Getting to be a Habit With Me." It's a great choice for the vocal, someone who knows the song and how to sing it, but doesn't lay down the velvet-smooth you'd expect. It's another good tune that sets the uneasy swing of the entire release.

An absolute given for the film and this CD is "Luck Be a Lady Tonight." A Sinatra or Bennett cover would have been predictable and properly reverent, but the choice to steer clear is the much better one. Like the Sorvino vocal on track 3, the Vegas delivery is spot-on. Best is the boss arrangement of the big band, lots of horns, both smooth in the verses and rocking and punchy in the coda, swinging all the way through. This is a great cover.

This pumping track is followed by the Isham original, "Amateurs." This is a haunting tune, highly evocative. I found it highly reminiscent of the very subtle, brilliant "Sneakers" theme by Winston Marsalis. And the pendulum swings back again with the following "Can I Steal A Little Love." The horns are a bit too much here, punching up the sugary lyrics a bit too hard. Again, the vocal is soft, understated, not a stereotypical Vegas lounge delivery, but youthful and resilient.

Isham's "Look In My Eyes" follows, another track that I found to be deep, ethereal, and highly evocative. The Cooler theme slides in effortlessly as a counterpoint.

Diana Krall's cover of "I'll String Along With You" here just didn't work for me. If anything, it's the tempo; this song doesn't need to be upbeat, but this cover was just too slow. The Isham piece "Heartbroken" is a perfect follow-up to the Krall cover, also very slow, and sad.

It's a traditional arrangement, but "My Funny Valentine" didn't work for me here either. (Tierney Sutton sure can sure sing, though, I'll give her that.) It's so slow that it comes off like a dirge, and despite Sutton's vocal strength it loses its musical way. It's a soulful ballad, and Sutton does it very well, but the pace is so slow that the lyrics and melody both lose their punch.

Of course, tracks 9, 10, 11, and 12 come at the nadir of the film, the fall and the depths of despair, what appears to be betrayal and loss. Each of these brings this feeling home, and together they form a powerful portion of the soundtrack itself. Then you're immediately brought out of it by the swinging opening bars of "Almost Like Being in Love," and it's clear things are working out, and there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The CD concludes with a very deliberately paced "Leaving Las Vegas" with the Cooler theme drifting in to punctuate it. It's the sound of emergence and transcendence, of imagined opportunity and undefined adventure, tinged with just a little bit of uncertainty.

Bottom line: If you enjoyed the film, this CD is for you. If the soundtrack caught your attention in the film, this CD will fulfill all of your expectations, and then some. It is an outstanding collection of the music used in the film. It also works as a stand-alone release of evocative instrumentals mixed with wonderfully unexpected yet full-throated Vegas lounge covers. But, if you're looking for hot Vegas lounge covers a la Dino, Bennett, and Sinatra, this probably isn't the right choice.

Vegas kitsch cool!.......2004-06-22

Listening to the dark, vibrant orchestrations composed by Mark Isham makes you long for the days of old Vegas. One can not help but reminisce when Vegas was an innocent outpost carried by local families and the made. This recording harbors the grit of downtown Vegas while retaining its lounge kitsch ness without being flagrant.

The music not orchestrated by Mark Isham is wonderfully arranged. Joey Fatone's rendition of Can I Steal a Little Love symbolizing a new population never exposed to the dark underpinnings of Vegas is very addictive. Bobby Caldwell's Luck Be a Lady which is difficult if not impossible to nail unless you are the CEO himself is displayed with great prowess.

Highly recommended for those wanting and needing the day before Vegas became a slave to the corporate. Viva Las Vegas, this is a must have!

Moody, lovely, sensual music.......2004-03-13

This is an incredibly beautiful CD. From the opening notes of the first track, a mood is set by the wonderful Mark Isham. It is dark, sexy and haunting by turn. And it is a CD you'll want to listen to over and over. There are some great performances by noteable singers - Bobby Caldwell is outstanding with "Luck Be A Lady" - Diana Krall is exactly what you would expect singing "I'll String Along With You". I had a little trouble with Tierney Sutton singing "My Funny Valentine" - she has a kind of lock-jawed approach to singing it - when I saw the movie it worked in the scene with the mood, but as something to listen to by itself, I don't like it.

A completely unexpected thrill was an unknown (to me) singer named Rebecca Kyler Downs, singing a song that I thought I knew - "Candy" - but it turned out to be this great original tune that she wrote. Not only is it a great song, styled as a classic tune, the lyrics are very, very hip, very cool, very sexy. And her performance is fabulous. Very hot, very languid, filled with angst, but also a touch of humor. I googled her and it turns out she has her own CD out and the song is on it and it is called "Love Me Like Candy" - I don't know why the title was changed for this CD, because "Love Me Like Candy" is a great title - and a great song. So I am her new fan. I listened to some of the other tracks (on her CD) and she is a great singer and a great songwriter, so kudos to Mark Isham for putting her on the CD.

And for including Joey Fatone who was surprisingly good - really great in fact. I didn't like the wimpy Sinatra wanna be Nick D'Elgidio, or whatever his name is, nor do I understand why they bothered to stick Paul Sorvino's track on the CD , but Mark Isham's scor more than made up for these momentary lapses in judgement.

Overall the CD is great - and great to play if you're trying to set a mood

totally great.......2004-02-03

I am so in love with the first tune on this CD, it sets everything up. I like the Vegas vibe, its really dark, its really moody. Diana Krall and Tierny Sutton are such jazz babies, really fabulous. My favorite song is Candy - its really, really sexy. Rebecca Downs is SO good - never heard of her, don't care, she is the BEST and she wrote the song which is very cool. Bobby Caldwell is HOT, Joey Fatone is GREAT - I hate the Paul Sorvino track though - I don't know what they were thinking - This is the first good soundtrack in forever

Average customer rating:

The Cooler
Various
Manufacturer: Rykodisc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000A2GPZW
Release Date: 2005-08-22

Tracks:

The Cooler
Better Life Motel/Tables On Fire
Candy - Rebecca Kyler Downs
Bernie Faces Shelly/Trumpet Melody
Shangri-La
Luck Be A Lady - Bobby Caldwell
Amateurs
Can I Steel A Little Love - Joey Fatone
Look In My Eyes
I'll Sting Along With You - Diana Krall
Heartbroken
My Funny Valentine - Tierney Sutton
Almost Like Being In Love - Nick D'Egidio
You Leave Me No Choice
Leaving Las Vegas

Music:

Music

music