These came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got ’em. Here’s what I said about them back then (with some minor editing):
In the same way that cruddy Hollywood shlockbusters crowd indie films out of theatres, their crass, classic-rock companion CDs shove small film scores off the racks.
Well, score two for the little guys with these newly issued soundtracks from a pair of classic Jim Marmusch flicks. Composed by Lounge Lizards’ king saxman John Lurie (who also acted in both pix), these works are like Jarmusch’s films — bohemian, blackly comic and slightly surreal. The jazzy score for the ’86 jailbreak romp Down By Law (co-starring Tom Waits and Roberto Benigni) highlights Lurie’s familiar noirish sax and snaky ethnic rhythms. The disc for ’85’s Stranger Than Paradise is a more sombre and elegant affair, starring a string quartet that offsets the shabby-chic world of this weird road-trip tale. One quibble: The extra tracks from other Lurie projects are welcome, but film dialogue — especially Waits’ hipster raps and Benigni malapropisms like “I ham a good egg” — would have been better. Of course, now you have a reason to watch the movies again.
