The Cotton Club: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Review
The CD soundtrack from the movie The Cotton Club delivers quite a punch; with music by greats like Duke Ellington, Harold Arlen and Cab Calloway you just can't go wrong. This CD brings back memories of the film I watched a few months ago as well as the days when I used to sneak into my mother's closet, pull out her old 78s and listen to them on the record player all by myself. Only this time around the music sounds clearer than ever before thanks to digital remastering and clever musical arrangements by Bob Wilber, Sy Johnson, David Berger and Randy Sandke. Wonderful!
The CD track set opens with "The Mooche" by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills. The arrangement uses the horns to create a dramatic and haunting effect for this instrumental number. The temple blocks played by Chuck Riggs serve to highlight the beat of the number. "The Mooche" is followed by "Cotton Club Stomp #2;" this number moves much, much faster but the music by Duke Ellington makes it shine no matter what.
"Creole Love Call" features the haunting cries of Priscilla Baskerville; with the horns so well done you won't forget this number soon.
One of the most beautiful ballads on this CD is "Ill Wind" written by Ted Koehler and Harold Arlen. Lonette McKee sings "Ill Wind" with all her heart and might; and her voice imparts a sense of intimacy to the listener that I rarely experience. Lonette sings this to perfection!
"Minnie The Moocher" has that "vamp-like 1920s" beat from the 1920s and 1930s; Cab Calloway and Irving Mills weave a routine straw-like number into solid gold. Larry Marshall sings this song with panache and he also uses his voice to express the romantic experiences of "Minnie The Moocher." The chorus does a great job of backing Larry up as well. In addition, "Copper Colored Gal" is a lively, upbeat number that offers a great beat and an infectious melody--now why is this song so short? "Copper Colored Gal" works perfectly; and that's why I wish Benny Davis had added an extra verse to this number.
The album ends with "Daybreak Express Medley" with music by Duke Ellington once again. This bouncy, fast paced and dramatic number provides a musical flourish to mark the end of this album. And how it ends all too soon!
The liner notes give you the songs credits; and the art work includes stills from the motion picture as well.
Fans of great music from 1920s and 1930s America will thrill to this CD. Each and every musical number, instrumental or ballad, offers a fresh, crisp sound and beat that makes you want to beg for more. Duke Ellington fans will also enjoy this CD.
The Cotton Club: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Overview
While director Francis Coppola's potboiling crime drama set against the gloriously tumultuous backdrop of Harlem's famed Cotton Club nightspot of the '20s and '30s didn't quite come together as a cinematic whole, John Barry's efforts at supervising, scoring, and recreating the energetic jive and wail of the era very nearly carry the day. The opportunity was likely a dream come true for the former jazzman turned film scorer; his adaptations of standards by Ellington and Cab Calloway are reverent yet energetic, infused by original music that weaves it into an accessible and rewarding tapestry of time, place, and art. So-so film, great soundtrack. --Jerry McCulley
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