What it truly does though, is it places a spotlight on the pair's vocals, without heavy instrumentation and visuals there’s truly nowhere to hide, Cooper may impress but Gaga finally pitches herself as one of modern music's greatest vocalists. A clever use of echo especially gives a little bit of extra heft and emotional weight to each lyric, notably Cooper’s verses. Despite that awe-inspiring moment which threatens to steal the limelight, the song itself is a stellar duet. The highlight, however, is the impassioned and astonishing ‘Shallow’, a track many will know from the trailer and its crescendo, the jaw-dropping note performed by Gaga leading to the climax of the song. ‘Diggin My Grave’ turns Gaga into a full-on rockstar and shows she can more than handle herself when going toe to toe with Cooper, who once again is in his element as he mirrors genre icons like Eric Church. ‘Music To My Eyes’ is the sort of incredible cheesy duet you would have imagined, yet it has a sweet kind of sincerity due to the way Cooper and Gaga deliver the lines. These are some of the best, albeit corniest moments on the collection. It’s at this point where the pair performs a selection of duets.
The second segment of the soundtrack highlights the chemistry between both Cooper, Gaga and their respective characters.
He sounds like he truly means what he sings, painting a picture of an artist whose certainly faced challenges to be in his position. A traditional, bare-boned country song which standouts out due to its stellar lyricism and Cooper’s weary and well-travelled delivery.
Notably when performing acoustically with a delicate and gentle tone such as on his standout solo performance ‘Maybe It’s Time’. Cooper’s talent comes most however when he strips it back to just him and a guitar.
2018 A STAR IS BORN SOUNDTRACK MOVIE
Who just like his father, has more than perfected the craft of his instrument and whose backing group acts as Cooper’s band for the movie and record. He's also not just vocally impressive but also instrumentally talented as he takes the lead on foot-stomping instrumental track ‘Out Of Time’, in which he's accompanied by Lukas Nelson (son of Willie). This is not a simple, tacky soundtrack, there’s real emotion, love and thought poured into the songs that comprise the record.Ĭooper has a natural grit which works perfectly when performing the hard rock tracks. I’ll admit I was sceptical on just how suitable Cooper’s vocals would be, but he’s got an effortless talent and he has an appreciation for the art that becomes immediately apparent from the first note. Opening track ‘Black Eyes’ embodies the essence of legendary rockers such as The Who and Creedence Clearwater Revival with its high-octane intensity and fiery guitar riffs all laid underneath Cooper’s gritty vocals.
2018 A STAR IS BORN SOUNDTRACK SERIES
The first series of tracks plants an emphasis on Bradley Cooper and his country-rock sound, and damn! he can rock. Even if it may not be very clear if you going into the soundtrack without seeing the movie beforehand. This also means there are a narrative and theme transition that runs throughout. As we watch and now also listen to Bradley Cooper as Jackson Maine, an ageing country rock star who cherishes traditional music before meeting Ally, a nobody with an incredible voice who has to contend with an industry desperate to make her a pop-star, it’s a bit on the nose but it’s played and sung wonderfully by Gaga. The record runs concurrently with that of the film. It’s an eclectic bunch but they are all bound together by some beautiful compositions and great, albeit cliche songwriting. These all range across multiple genres from pure instrumentals, to rock, country and even synth-pop. This review, however, is going to be aimed at critiquing the proper full-length original songs on the record, for which there are an impressive 19. The aforementioned soundtrack consists of 34 tracks, including a majority of key dialogue moments from the film itself. The film itself was fantastic, but the real emotional kick came from it’s accompanying soundtrack. I found myself inexplicably desperate to hear the songs once more. Especially considering I have quite a critical opinion on Lady Gaga’s recent output (aside from The Cure, a pure pop masterpiece).ĭespite this, something quite unexpected happened after I left the movie theatre and returned home. However, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I was particularly excited to watch the film as I walked into the cinema, or even to hear the music in fact. The trailers had peaked my interest and having witnessed Bradley Cooper appear on stage to film the Glastonbury scene at the festival last year, I was certainly interested to see the movie that had managed to get a place on music's biggest stage. I’ve been intrigued by A Star Is Born for the past few months.