Wings Of Desire
A little bit of everything can be found on this soundtrack toGerman director Wim Wenders's 1987 film: theme music, songs from the film, and even some dialogue. It's an eclectic mix, but it hangs together well, instantly evoking the moody, somber texture of Wenders's remarkable story of an angel's desire to once again become flesh and blood. Jürgen Knieper's solemn, meditative string compositions dominate the first half of the disc, interspersed with actor Bruno Ganz's reading of thePeter Handkepoem "Lied Vom Kindsein (Song of Childhood)"; it's a dramatic effect that works here almost as well as it does onscreen over sweeping panoramas of a still-divided Berlin. And even if you haven't seen the film, several songs featured prominently in it make this soundtrack an essential listen--namely,Nick Cave's relentlessly spooky "The Carny" andCrime and the City Solution's brilliantly droopy "Six Bells Chime." Elsewhere, we get full-length versions of songs heard only (tantalizingly!) in the background in the film, includingTuxedomoon'strès européen"Some Guys" andLaurie Anderson's ethereal "Angel Fragments."Wunderbar!--Steve Landau