ONE DAY - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2011)

It’s all very romantic, isn’t it? A boy and a girl dropping in on each other on the same day, year after year, for 20 years. While we aren’t too sure whether something like that happens in real life, we know for sure that the music to accompany this dreamy fairy tale is one romantic treat.

The 67 minute soundtrack album to this Lone Scherfig directed film contains 17 songs spanning the decades. Things go all nostalgic with English rock band Black Grape’s “Reverend Black Grape”, Scottish alternative band Primal Scream’s “Rocks”, English DJ Fatboy Slim’s (aka Norman Cook) “Praise You” and English new wave band Tears for Fears’ “Sowing the Seeds of Love”. These artistes, whose songs conquered the airwaves during the 1980s and 1990s, are apt inclusions on this album.

English singer songwriter Elvis Costello pens a brand new track “Sparkling Day” for the movie. His older hit “Tear Off Your Own Head (It’s A Doll Revolution)” is also included on the disc. Both tunes capture the romanticism and idealism of the story.

Elsewhere, Scottish pop rock guitar band Del Amitri performs the upbeat and cheerful “Roll To Me”, while radio friendly songs like “Angels” (by boy band Take That member Robbie Williams) and “Life Is A Roller Coaster” (by another boy band Boyzone member Ronan Keating) pleases the younger listeners.

Points also go the soundtrack for including composer Rachel Portman’s score. Here, you get about 10 minutes of lovely music over four tracks. Although they are not thematically strong, cues like “One Day Main Theme”, “Wedding Chorus” and “July 15^th” are agreeable enough to ensure a soothing listening experience. The highlight is the closing track “We Had Today” which paints a poetically beautiful of a boy and a girl who love each other so much that they make an effort to drop in on each other on the same day, year after year, for 20 years.

ALBUM RATING:

Recommended Track: (17) We Had Today – Rachel Portman

Review by John Li