La La Land Soundtrack

La La Land Having directed and also worked as a lighting designer on numerous stage musicals, and as a big fan of the Hollywood movie musical, I was pleased to see Writer/Director Damien Chazelle’s new offering, La La Land. Had he hoped to revive the Movie Musical in the new millennium, his motion picture is well on it way to that goal. I realize musicals are not for everybody, with the premise of breaking into song and dance at the high and low dramatic moments as too unrealistic for some. Not me though. The no credits opening sequence simply begins with a Cinemascope logo expanding to reveal stopped traffic on a Los Angles freeway. After panning past the stranded motorists a lively musical intro leads into a girl singing Another Day in the Sun. As she exits her vehicle others join in an exuberant song and dance all over cars choreographed by four-time Emmy nominated Mandy Moore (not the actress). What is impressive is the fluid movement during this whole musical sequence when you begin to realize that this seamless action is almost one continuous camera shot with a minimum of cuts – a tremendous undertaking accomplished by cinematographer, Linus Sangren. "Another Day in the Sun" alone is worth the price of admission. Sangren successfully uses this continuous “no-cut” camera work on another musical sequences. Also as a theatrical lighting designer myself, I appreciated the use of theatrical styled lighting, where many moments the lighting is dimmed with only a single light is focused on the actor or cross fades much as it would appear in a stage production. Justin Hurwitz provides a very listenable score and songs that should appeal to traditional musical theater fans and to a new generation of ears interwoven with traditional jazz themes. While there may not be the single hummable melody emerging from the score, Hurwitz brings a fresh take on the movie music form. Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is a struggling traditional jazz keyboardist whose dream is to have his own club. Mia (Emma Stone) is a barista and aspiring actress who just seems to go to an endless stream of auditions. She also dreams of writing her one-woman show. After several awkward chance meetings, they finally come together in the ballad, “A Lovely Night” dancing atop a vista over Los Angeles. Sebastian has an opportunity to play in a novo-jazz fronted by former college friend Keith (John Legend) that becomes a popular hit but is keeping him apart from Mia while on tour. Mia finishes her one woman play and books a small theater to perform her work. Sebastian feels he has sold out his dream and Mia feels her play is a failure and she returns to her parents home. Gosling and Stone, while not possessing Broadway belt voices, both have pleasant singing styles very suited to the Hurwitz score. Their on screen chemistry is believable and their dance sequences together, while not of the same level as from the golden age of movie musicals, are a treat. If you like musicals or just a pleasurable escape, that had me smiling throughout, then the film, La La Land is your movie.

I’m impressed with the cut of this vinyl. Each “half” of the movie soundtrack perfectly cut to fit on each side. I found the sounds great with absolutely no surface noise. The soundtrack is great and I’m glad to have it on vinyl. My copy came in the standard black vinyl. This was definitely worthwhile to add to my collection.

If you love the movie, then you probably will love the soundtrack. I haven't bought a movie soundtrack in a long time, but this one just called to me. I love watching the movie, but sometimes I just want to hear the music!

The soundtrack is of course as stunning as ever. The record itself is pressed nicely. I haven’t had any trouble with it right out of the packaging, it plays beautifully 😍🩷. I’ve been wanting the soundtrack on vinyl for sooooooo long and it is absolutely worth it!!!!!

I may be biased because I saw and loved the movie, but the original songs and score, with big, cinematic orchestrations, rank as one of the best ever, maybe the best as it gives Singin in the Rain a run for its money. Listening to the soundtrack, I felt like I was re-living the emotional journey Mia and Sebastian went through in the movie - from the giddiness that comes from pursuing their artistic aspirations, the correlating melancholy when dreams are not quite working out at the moment, the inspirational push and pull between the two that fuels their respective ambitions, and, in the Epilogue, their shared, glamourized memories that encapsulate their relationship in a perfect, 7 minute orchestral interlude, reminiscent of the first few moments of The Hours and Up movies, including the proverbial "what could have been" in a Hollywood-like, perfect world without artistic self-sacrifice. Truly an amazing soundtrack that is one for the movie ages.

We typically see a movie every week so I had seen the larger than life poster with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling dancing in front of the night lights. The poster caught my interest but not enough for me to actually consider seeing the movie. To say the least, I wasn't interested in seeing this movie and probably would not have if not for my daughter who dragged me along on a snowy winter evening. What a wonderful surprise it was when I walked away feeling moved and inspired. The move touched me like no other movie has in a very long time. As I pondered the effect of the move a realization was discovered that what made the movie so wonderful was the music and the way it was performed. The music is a genius work of musical art. With its simple yet allusive design it draws you in and moves your spirit then stays with you while you ponder the scene, then you are touched again by the next song. It all flows so well. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are fantastic performers, the movie and music would not be what it is without them. No other professional musicians or actors could have done it as well and as applicable for the setting. Each time I re-listen to a song from the soundtrack I re-experience the movie. It is wonderful.

Love this soundtrack, play it a lot. Loved the movie, and really like the music. A modern musical that is very listenable. Recommended. The composer is a young guy, but he did a great job. He's been interviewed and you can see it on Youtube. Interesting story. He's been working with the filmmaker for years. City of Stars won the Oscar for best song, so there you go!

This is some really great original music and lyrics by Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul. There appear to be 2 versions of the soundtrack available on vinyl: a 1-record album (black vinyl) and a 2-record album (also black vinyl) which is almost double the price and has more than double the cuts and a lot more instrumental-only content. I decided to purchase one copy of each version and I'm reviewing the 1-record album here. (Note: I can't comment on the issues with the blue-colored vinyl that other reviewers have noted, since my copy came in black vinyl.) After a thorough cleaning in my pricey record cleaner, I took it for a spin. Right away I noted that this is only an average quality pressing, and it's pressed on average quality vinyl. But even though it's not the best vinyl I've heard, the sound still kicks the crap out of any digital medium (CD, digital download, etc.). Cymbals sparkle, voices are whispery, tuneful and focused, and the kick drums have good visceral impact. But the vinyl-pressing artifact that ruins the listening experience for me is the "pre- and post-groove echo," as noted by at least one other reviewer. This is annoyingly apparent at the beginning and end of (and sometimes during!) most of the cuts on the record. (It seems a lot more prevalent on side 1 than on side 2 of my copy.) So...here's my final rating: Music and lyrics: 5 stars Sonics: 3 stars (partly due to the pressing having more clicks and pops than the average $20 record, but mostly due to the aforementioned groove echo issues) Overall rating: 4 stars Update: after posting my review, I re-read a review posted by Scarlet Jupiter, who heard the same groove echo issues on her copy in blue vinyl. I didn't pay attention to barcodes when I purchased this record, but I can confirm that my copy is 6 02557 38804 6 (the black vinyl version as noted by Scarlet). The groove echo issues are just as prevalent on my black vinyl copy as they [apparently] are on blue vinyl. But the music is still great! :-)

映画のサウンドトラックです。 これと言った感想はありません。 この映画の音楽が好きな人で、レコードで再生している方におすすめです。

Excellent shipping service. Received in perfectly fine condition. This music is a treat for ears. Must have collectible.

Il film lo conosciamo tutti, un altro piccolo capolavoro di Damien Chazelle. Ho potuto acquistare questo vinile ad un prezzo relativamente basso e ne sono rimasto piacevolmente sorpreso. La qualità audio non è affatto male, il vinile non salta. La custodia è liscia e vi sono impressi i nomi delle tracce, i compositori, la durata e altre informazioni relative ai brani. Consiglio l'acquisto!

Es el soundtrack de la película, gran calidad, llegó en buen tiempo y buen estado. Nos quedamos con las ganas que el vinil fuera azul. Fue un gran regalo de navidad✨

Bon, vous avez sans douté adoré la bande originale de La La Land et c'est tant mieux ! Je ne reviendrai donc pas sur la qualité mélodique des morceaux et leur plaisir à les écouter... et les fredonner. Par contre, il est à noter que le mixage de ce CD est particulièrement bon en offrant une vraie clarté sonore, un vrai large spectre sonore, et donc un excellent relief sonore avec des aigus bien placés qui donnent une vraie dynamique : on a envie de bouger ! Ça claque, on se croirait DANS le film ! Rassurez-vous, il n'y a pas plein de basses partout, bien au contraire, le CD offre ici un mixage optimal pour une écoute de plaisir où on chante et on fredonne les airs en même temps que la chanson. On peut presque faire du karaoké avec ce CD ! Je vous recommande vraiment ce CD si vous avez aimé les musiques de La La Land, vous ne serez pas déçues !