Track Listing

1. Ruthless Gravity
2. Wake Up In New York
3. Miracle
4. Amber
5. Finding Beauty
6. Waltz
7. Inhaler
8. Hymn 2
9. Snow
10. Starless II
11. Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
12. Niente
13. Sea Song
14. Let It Be Love
15. Choral Ending

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8655 in Music
• Released on: 2002-04-15
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
As If To Nothing follows Armstrong's soundtrack work for Baz Luhrmann's Romeo & Juliet and the recent musical extravaganza Moulin Rouge which explains why the second "artist" album from the multi-award winning Scottish composer is perhaps predictably heavy on evocative cinematic atmospherics. Steering closer to his debut Space Between Us than his melodic pop songwriting tendencies (which have in the past resulted in tracks such as Texas' "I Don't Want A Lover"), Armstrong creates a sensuous aural massage built upon the harmonic and string-based musical foundations laid by the arrangement of the dramatic opening track "Ruthless Gravity". Despite the unifying musical thread giving the album a somewhat symphonic feel, the continual shift in mood keeps it intriguing throughout. The epic orchestral compositions also benefit from a diverse selection of vocal contributors. Former Lemonhead, Evan Dando is first up, lending a melancholy voice to the acoustic desolation of "Wake Up In New York" while Mogwai's charmingly evocative Indian-influenced tones immediately transcend the gloom. U2 frontman turned political crusader, Bono, pipes up on the mediocre "Stay (Faraway, So Close)" while it's left to David McAlmont to provide the album's most pompous theatrical moment "Snow". But, despite the odd sniff of pretension, As If To Nothing remains a comfortable if somewhat safe blanket of orchestral ambience. --Christopher Barrett

CD Description
Renowned for his work as a film composer, with scores including, Moulin Rouge and Romeo & Juliet, 'As If To Nothing' isCraig Armstrong's second full album. Teaming up with various artists including, Bono and The Edge, Mogwai, and David McAlmont, Armstrong adds a new dimension to his distinctive orchestral style. The single 'Wake Up In New York', with Evan Dando, is also included.

Customer Reviews

More of the same - but in a good way...
Craig Armstrong, known to many perhaps mainly as a film composer, here delivers his second solo album of original material. Musically this is a real advance on his previous Melankolic offering "The space between us", which suffered from being too closely tied to his work with Massive Attack, and featured among some admittedly brilliant individual pieces, a fair amount of stuff he probably put together in rather a hurry.

So, what is it like? Well, there are the trademark big, lush, sombre strings, some fairly cool bleeps courtesy of Rupert Parkes (Photek) and some quite nice crooning from a number of mega rock stars (eg Bono). Standout track is the fabulous "Wake up in New York", which also has a truly phenomenal acoustic guitar sound on it, complete with creaks. The vocal isn't bad either (!) Other things that stick in the mind include a truly bizarre German expressionist piece he is probably wishing didn't make the cut. Anyone who was at The Barbican show earlier this year will know what I'm talking about.

Overall the album has the gorgeous quality we have come to expect from Armstrong in recent years, having been recorded and mixed as usual by the best team on the planet (Geoff Foster at AIR studios), and will not dissapoint film music heads on that score.

It is good to see Armstrong continuing to make his own music while managing to maintain a presence in the vipers nest that is the Hollywood film music business. He is obviously onto something here: there is a real interest in this kind of intelligent music that bridges the Classical and dance music worlds, but apart from Armstrong and in a slightly darker way Max Richter, there are very few thoughtful composers working that seam.

What will this musical genious compose next !
Probably best known for his collaborations with Massive Attack Craig Armstrong is one of the most creative composers at present. His music cannot be placed into one specific genre, as the scope of sounds created in his music is endless, most considerably the use of thought provoking orchestral melodies, with however the use of drum beats typical to dance which makes his music accessable to everyone. If you're looking for something innovative, atmospheric, and have a keen ear for the classical then this albulm and his previous can't be recommended more. Those who know his contributions to Massive Attack will not be disappointed.

Certainly different
What can one say? I never follow newspaper reviews but after reading one absolutely ecstatic review I followed the masses and bought the CD.

I don't think I've ever quite heard anything like it- that's not true, elements of it I have, but not the combination on one CD. It's something like Massive Attack (not suprisingly) verses Preisner or Arvo Part's 'Miserere' (two melancholically beautiful classical CDs) with a bit of slow rock vocals thrown in for good measure. It's numbing.

The dramatic opening track is the only track that can become wearing- the trip hoppy acidic synthesisers don't mix as well on this track as I think Armstrong believed they might- but elsewhere he gets it perfect. The combination of the sweeping orchestra and gentle hidden trip hop is best exemplified on Photek's contribution track "Hymn 2" -this and the Choral Ending remind me particularly of the two aforesaid classical CDs.

Most of the tracks are instrumental, and fare much better than the vocal led tracks. Bono's contribution to "Stay" brings it slightly beyond a sickly sweet poppy vocal track, but only just. All the tracks are intensely emotional, what you'd expect from Armstrong, and the best track has to be "Starless II" a downtempo, slightly electronic song with a great sample that will have you pressing the repeat button for along time after purchase.