My wife Leslie and I saw the movie in the theater last November. I enjoyed the movie pretty much. I thought Bradley Cooper was great, Dave Chappelle knocked me out, and I liked the music. But then I didn't gave it too much thought until my son Gary gave me the soundtrack for Hanukah.
So I'll admit I didn't know much about Lady Gaga going into this. I knew she had a great voice but the only song of hers that caught my interest was her song with Big Man on sax, The Edge of Glory.
On the hand other I am a big fan of Lukas Nelson. We've seen him at ACL and Willie's Picnics. He plays all the guitar on the album, he and his band Promise of the Real backed up Bradley Cooper in the movie and he co-wrote many of the songs. I read that Bradley Cooper spent two years learning guitar to play the role and he does sing but it's Lukas we hear on the record. In this little video, Bradley, Lukas and Gaga talk about how the sound came together.
The first song that grabbed my attention was Maybe It's Time, which is Bradley Cooper singing and Lukas Nelson playing guitar. In the movie Jack (Bradley Cooper) plays it at the end of the night at the drag club, with just the club owner, the bartender, one drag queen, and Ally (Lady Gaga) watching. It's an instant American classic:
Maybe it's time to let the old ways die
Maybe it's time to let the old ways die
It takes a lot to change a man
Hell, it takes a lot to try
Maybe it's time to let the old ways die
Jason Isbell wrote that song. He's a fantastic singer/songwriter from Alabama, used to be in the Drive-By Truckers. It could have been a Ryan Bingham song too. BTW we saw both of them at Willie's Picnics as well.
Lady Gaga and Lukas Nelson wrote Music to My Eyes. According to Songfacts Lukas had
some help from his dad's product in writing this beautiful song:
You're music to my eyes
I had to listen just to find you
I'd like for you to let me sing along
Give you a rhythm you feel
Lady Gaga and Lukas Nelson wrote Music to My Eyes. According to Songfacts Lukas had
some help from his dad's product in writing this beautiful song:
You're music to my eyes
I had to listen just to find you
I'd like for you to let me sing along
Give you a rhythm you feel
Always Remember Us This Way is a great soul song by Lady Gaga. I'm looking forward to hearing it covered by some classic country singers!
And then there's Shallow, also co-written by Lady Gaga. Initially I thought of that song mainly for Lady Gaga's soaring vocals but, after listening to it a bunch of times, checking out the words, and, recently, watching the film again, I've come to be even more impressed. The lyrics, in the context of the plot, or standalone, are haunting.The lines
I'm falling
In all the good times I find myself
Longin' for change
And in the bad times I fear myself
really get to me.
And how that song comes together in the movie (and yes, I realize it's a movie) is amazing. From Ally coming up with the lyrics in the parking lot, with Jack putting together an arrangement and teaching it the band overnight, to Ally walking on stage never having sung in front of a large crowd, and nailing the song, is just an incredible piece of film.
Another piece of music I want to note is the Allman Brothers' Whipping Post blaring in the bar they go to after leaving the drag club. Perfect! You can hear it starting up at the end of the Maybe It's Time clip.
I've come to appreciate Lady Gaga more, both as an actress as well as a singer/songwriter. Of course I love her stuff with Cooper on the record. But even as she is pushed away from that Americana/Rock groove into being a pop star I see Ally fighting to retain her musical spirit, and Jack's influence. So I really like those songs too, all co-written by Lady Gaga.
But let's give a big shout out to Bradley Cooper. He's a great actor, singer, plays guitar well enough to fool ya, co-wrote a few of the songs and directed this thing! What I would give to have one of those talents! He is so meticulous he spent a week planning his Shallow duet at the Oscars with Lady Gaga, designing the staging, the lighting, the camera angles, how they would sing together. I'm not going to get into the debate about which movie should have won Best Picture but Bradley Cooper should get some kind of MVP for acting, directing and co-writing a great movie!
I'm falling
In all the good times I find myself
Longin' for change
And in the bad times I fear myself
really get to me.
And how that song comes together in the movie (and yes, I realize it's a movie) is amazing. From Ally coming up with the lyrics in the parking lot, with Jack putting together an arrangement and teaching it the band overnight, to Ally walking on stage never having sung in front of a large crowd, and nailing the song, is just an incredible piece of film.
Another piece of music I want to note is the Allman Brothers' Whipping Post blaring in the bar they go to after leaving the drag club. Perfect! You can hear it starting up at the end of the Maybe It's Time clip.
I've come to appreciate Lady Gaga more, both as an actress as well as a singer/songwriter. Of course I love her stuff with Cooper on the record. But even as she is pushed away from that Americana/Rock groove into being a pop star I see Ally fighting to retain her musical spirit, and Jack's influence. So I really like those songs too, all co-written by Lady Gaga.
But let's give a big shout out to Bradley Cooper. He's a great actor, singer, plays guitar well enough to fool ya, co-wrote a few of the songs and directed this thing! What I would give to have one of those talents! He is so meticulous he spent a week planning his Shallow duet at the Oscars with Lady Gaga, designing the staging, the lighting, the camera angles, how they would sing together. I'm not going to get into the debate about which movie should have won Best Picture but Bradley Cooper should get some kind of MVP for acting, directing and co-writing a great movie!
TBH I can’t stop listening to “Shallow” to an extent that might be embarrassing! By the way, did you know that the filmmakers felt very strongly that the concert scenes should be performed and filmed in front of real concert audiences—so they basically “borrowed” a few moments on stage at real concerts before the real act went on? One of the artists who let them use his audience was none other than Kris Kristofferson, who of course starred in the 1976 version! Cool, huh?
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool. Don't be embarrassed - you don't want to know how many times I watched that scene in the movie this week or the Oscars video. That must have been amazing live!
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