Search - Michael Kamen :: The Iron Giant: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

English poet laureate Ted Hughes originally conceived The Iron Giant as an instructive diversion for his and wife Sylvia Plath's children. In the 80's, the Who's Pete Townshend adapted it as a rock-oriented album and stage musical. But in transforming it into a feature-length animated film, director Brad Bird (The Simpsons, King of the Hill) added a hipster retro-'50s sensibility that colorfully evokes the era's various obsessions with cold war angst, flying saucers, space travel, and hi-fi. The film's soundtrack captures those often-anxious preoccupations with loopy delight, offering up a smart sampling of exotic eclectica that ranges from the cocktail jazz cum proto hipster rap of Edd "Kookie" Byrnes' "Kookie's Mad Pad" to the smooth pop harmonies of the Ames Brothers ("Destination Moon") and the Space Age roots R&B of the Tyrones ("Blast Off") and Jimmy Lloyd ("I Got a Rocket in My Pocket"). And those who appreciated the trash/outre musical sensibilities of Pecker should love Jimmie Haskell's "Rockin' in the Orbit," the Nutty Squirrels' Chipmunk-ish "Salt Peanuts," and the late great Mel Torme's hilariously earnest "Comin' Home Baby." Composer Michael Kamen's suitably dramatic underscore is also represented by a brief orchestral suite that manages to be both wistful and sprightly. --Jerry McCulley