Original Soundtrack - Once

Even those allergic to musicals may be won over by Once, a tender-hearted Irish romance with songs by Czech Republic–born Markéta Irglová and Frames frontman Glen Hansard. (The film's director, John Carney, actually used to play bass in the group.) The trick here is that Irglová and Hansard also play the leads; because their characters are shown busking, writing music, or rehearsing, the songs are smoothly integrated in the film. The overall acoustic mood won't surprise fans of the Frames--some tracks ("Say It to Me," "When Your Mind's Made Up") have even popped up on the band's albums, though the arrangements are more pared-down here, befitting the scruffy, street-musician setting. Being the lesser-known entity, Irglová feels like a revelation; she sounds a bit like a folkie Björk on "If You Want Me," and her song "The Hill" is downright heartbreaking. Irglová and Hansard had already made the 2006 album The Swell Seasontogether, so their collaboration here feels really organic--they sound particularly good together on the title track, for instance. Now that's the kind of magic you want from musicals. --Elisabeth Vincentelli Amazon.com

 best CD ever
This is the best CD I've purchased in a while. It has all the music from the movie. Even if you haven't seen the movie, the music is amazing and very worth listening to. Even if you're having doubts...buy it! The music captures the emotions and awesome story of the movie. May 5, 2008

 Excellent soundtrack to a wonderful movie
I had to buy this soundtrack as soon as I saw the movie, "Once." The soundtrack did not disappoint. Of course it includes the incredible Oscar winning song, "Falling Slowly," but it also includes many other moving musical gems. It's a fairly mellow listen, but the angst of Glen Hansard's character over his lost love comes through on several tracks. These are songs about being in love and losing love, and they are well worth buying the full CD. April 29, 2008

 Enjoyable CD
I saw the movie "Once" and enjoyed the original and upbead music. I encourage anyone that has seen the movie (or if you haven't seen the movie) to add this CD to your music collection. April 21, 2008

 Lovely
I'm not a musician, nor do I have an ear for music...so I can't give a technical review.....I can only say that this is one of my favorite CD's now, the lyrics are wonderful. April 16, 2008

 Lackluster, no triumph in music.
I had the misfortune of watching this film in theaters. Drawn in on promises of a thrilling musical score and a story based on a struggling musician's life, I was sorely disappointed.

I will keep my opinion of the actual film separate from this review, as this is just the sound track.

Bottom line is that this musical score, is lacking, especially for a soundtrack of a film so centered around music. The vast majority of the songs take beginners guitar chords and place it against mediocre vocals which often repeat themselves to the point that it becomes apparent that the writers thought up one basic hook and failed to come up with anything more.

Perhaps the sound track truly does not deserve a 1 star rating, but I am putting the rating of this score that low to counter balance other people's overrating reviews.

These songs failed miserably to wow me. The composers seemed scared to venture out of their comfortable zone, creating a uniformly bland album. You would be better off saving your money for this one trick pony soundtrack. April 15, 2008

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