The Straight Story: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack
We've come to expect a few things from composer Angelo Badalamenti's numerous collaborations with David Lynch. His scores forTwin Peaks,Wild at Heart, andBlue Velvetall took a smoky jazz-noiraesthetic into the orchestra pit. The results were memorable--and sometimes haunting--just like the films. ForThe Straight Story--the G-rated (yes, that's right) tale of an elderly man's epic journey on a John Deere lawnmower to see his sick brother--we get a different side to both the composer and the director once again. Here the orchestrations are atmospheric, but a subtle strain of folk music is evident throughout. "Rose's Theme" is filled with acoustic guitar finger-picking against a string section, "Alvin's Theme" has a fiddle mimicking a locomotive, and "Country Waltz" is just that. "Farmland Tour" is theTwin Peakstheme gone sentimental. A hint of nostalgia, a certain Midwestern innocence, and plenty of vast-sounding passages make this the perfect sonic backdrop for a film set in America's heartland. Just like that setting, it can seem a little repetitive at times, but--as a whole--it's another memorable effort from Badalamenti.--Jason Verlinde