Search - Jonny Greenwood :: Bodysong

Gems glittering among the dirt

Atli Hafsteinsson | Viborg, Denmark | 08/30/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have never seen "Bodysong", the movie by Simon Pummell on the journey of life from conception to death. And I hold on to the possibility that you must, in order to fully appreciate the composition that Mr Greenwood of Radiohead has cooked up to accompany the ingenious filmwork. Being a huge Radiohead fan myself, I was, and still am, surprised at what I heard. I followed this solo project of Radiohead's beloved 'abusive' guitarist practically from day one. Yet whatever it was that I was expecting to hear, this was anything but.



Bodysong the album is not pop. It's not an album packed with 'songs', for singing along to. Melodies are most often not the key here. Indeed, many of the tracks feel like very violent sequences where something visual is the key (prime examples 'Trench' and 'Convergence'). Even if you are a Radiohead fan, that is no golden ticket to your falling in love with Jonny Greenwood's first solo project.



There are, however, and very notably, jewels to be found such as no one but a Radiohead member could invent. "Clockwork Tin Soldiers" starts out sounding like the title, but then strolls into a haunting, glockenspiel-supported electro-track. "Peartree" is a delightfully reflective track with plenty of room for self-interpretation. The melody, one of the few, is a soaring journey through an indescribable sonic landscape. The three-part track "Bode Radio/Glass Light/Broken Hearts" flows together so seamlessly that you can't tell where one `song' ends and the other begins. If, indeed, that is what Greenwood meant by the title. For the first minute or so, there is no real melody; like a movie you keep moving on. But the initial electronic sound effects soon vanish to allow for what I can safely say is the most heart-tremblingly stunning piece of music that this album has to offer; a synthesiser leading into multiple violins and a cello, playing a melody that words can not describe.



As you can see, Bodysong is not for everybody. I still don't like it as a whole. Apart from the tracks I especially pointed out in the last paragraph, of course, which to this day kill any doubts I might have as to whether the purchase was worth it. But, of course, the three tracks are those that appeal to me, especially. The remaining melodies have a kind of jazz ambience to them, like "Milky Drops from Heaven" and "Splitter". "Moon Trills" is a nice melody, no doubt... I don't know. This is not an album made together of songs, but a soundtrack built up by scenes, whether musical or otherwise. For the former, I strongly recommend this cd if you are curious. It is certainly good."

Some great music!

T. Trinchera | Hudson Valley, USA | 06/19/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this disc so I could have the track "Convergence" after hearing it used so effectively in "There Will Be Blood." I was quite surprised at the whole disc; it will be very enjoyable to anyone who has an appreciate for instrumental music."

Sloppily intricate experimental movie soundtrack

IRate | 08/05/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"3 1/2



Compellingly produced score for this relatively obscure birth/death doc of sorts will have little trouble finding its way into intense Radiohead fans catalogues, not only because Jonny Greenwood is basically the unsung songwriting hero of the band who here is able to let loose and create a kind of unhinged Kid A, but also because we are witness to some of his convincingly arranged classical and jazz flirtations."