A Glimpse Inside The Mind Of Charles Swan III
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Night Fever Music, 2013
REVIEW BY: Tom Haugen
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 04/28/2013
Legendary director Roman Coppola aligned himself with the always flourishing and multi-faceted Liam Hayes to score his recent film A Glimpse Inside The Mind Of Charles Swan III. With plenty of help, including Jason Schwartzman as well as Katheryn Winnick and Charlie Sheen on a Brazilian cover of “Aguas de Marco,” Hayes (who also makes music under the moniker Plush) adds a variety of throw back sounds to a '70s plot about a tangled web a graphic designer finds himself in.
Being well versed in '60s and '70s pop/rock, Hayes seats himself very much in his element here. While some tracks like “White Telescope” are quintessential retro pop tunes, others like “Brain Doctor” or the older Plush track “So Much Music” are more rooted in soul. Horns are used in spades here, with “Whose Blues” and “Fokus” both illuminating this side of Hayes' songcraft well. On the opposite of the spectrum he offers sweeping strings with the aching “Born Together.”
With more than 30 musicians lending a hand on some tracks, there is much variety among the soundtrack. Hayes himself is at his best when it's just him and a piano, his strong pipes easily carrying these sparse moments. “Rock And Roll” is the best example of this, a plaintive piano ballad that is the best moment on this body of work. Guest vocalists come in the form of Jason Schwartzman who contributes a quick country Western song, and perhaps the biggest surprise here is hearing the two stars of the film, Katheryn Winnick and Charlie Sheen, taking over singing duties on “Aguas De Marco.” How is Sheen's voice? Well, I'll let you decide on that.
Sounding somewhat like a 'Best Of' album for Hayes, he resurrects songs from this vast catalog as well as brand new gems for this nostalgic listen. A great listen for those with a wide variety of interests, there really is something for everyone here. Whether or not you've seen the movie isn't relevant as most of this isn't standard 'movie music', though the bonus tracks with the CD/digital version are largely instrumental and cinematic and are probably only included for documentation.