There Will Be Blood (2007)

Composer(s):
Jonny Greenwood

Released in:
2007

Reviews

Hauntingly Beautiful
by Michael Longstreet (January 29, 2008)
My first impression of the score for “There Will Be Blood” is that of a cross between a western and a horror film. The music hauntingly beautiful, giving the listener a sense of fear during the entire album. Greenwood’s brilliant use of cellos and bass in the opening track, “Open Spaces,” is definitely worth a listen.

This album is surprisingly good, despite the fact that it’s written primarily for strings, by a guitarist. Not to mention that, but he’s a rock guitarist! Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead has had recent collaboration with the BBC Orchestra as a Composter in Residence. This album actually incorporates two of the pieces he created while in that position entitled “Smear” and “Popcorn Superhet Receiver.” The absence of drums and brass make his album definitely an unusual find, as Greenwood manages to cover just about all of the emotions with only strings.

The score’s dark overtones make the listener not only intensely interested in the music, but it makes the listener wonder how exactly this dark score was created. At times it seems as though the violins are screaming. The mixture of a solo piano in with the sad sounds of the violins in “Eat Him By His Own Light” are truly frightening and downright scary. Greenwood’s purposeful dissonance in “Henry Plainview” also gives a scary feeling to the music, as if you’re waiting for someone to jump out from around the corner. The almost “Jaws-like” opening to the track “There Will Be Blood” starts on another creepy note and finally fades into nothingness with a quiet decrescendo.

The highlight of the album is “Oil.” The lovely cello solo up against a string background is not only an incredibly beautiful track, but it builds to be a cello duet with a violin near the end of the track. It is a powerful piece that not only taps into the beauty of strings, but it is quiet sad.

The short track “Proven Lands” is the first actual action piece on the album. The quick tempo of the strings doesn’t stop as a low overtone takes the background and a few random violins take the lead with a few plucks of the string here and there, keeping the listener off guard.

Greenwood ends the album with the great string piece “Prospector’s Quartet.” This has a fantastic sound it. It wraps up the dark, sad album quite nicely. There is a brilliant blending of the strings here while keeping the constant bass undertone during the piece. I know this probably sounds horrible, but this is probably one of those albums that would be okay to play at a funeral, or even for someone who is grieving. That’s what I think of when I hear this album. It’s a great, dark album, but it sort of leaves you wanting to see the sun afterwards.

Reviews on other sites:

Film Music Magazine

suggested by:
Robert DiMucci

Submit a link