Track Listing

1. Village - Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
2. Tracks Of My Tears - Robinson, Smokey
3. Okie From Muskogee - Haggard, Merle
4. Hello I Love You - Doors
5. White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane
6. Barnes Shoots Elias - Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
7. Respect - Franklin, Aretha
8. Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay - Redding, Otis
9. When A Man Loves A Woman - Sledge, Percy
10. Groovin' - Rascals
11. Adagio For Strings - Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22075 in Music
• Released on: 1999-10-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Original language: English, Vietnamese
• Dimensions: .21 pounds
• Running time: 120 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
In a musical collection that is as much soundtrack as it is score, Oliver Stone's Platoon is a breakthrough for its ability to embody the extremes of the human condition in Vietnam. While most of the songs by themselves are commonly found as representative of the era, together they become a personality. Smokey Robinson's soulful and heartfelt "Tracks of My Tears" is offset by the down-home pride of Merle Haggard's "Okie from Muskogee". In turn, they are challenged by the escapist fantasies of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and Otis Redding's "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay". The glue that held these social groups together in Vietnam, however tenuous the bond, was the common experience of combat. Here this combat takes form as Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings; Barber's violins play first at the aftermath of the torching of a Vietnamese village and then again as the undercurrent for Charlie Sheen's reflective monologue at the film's finale. Each time, they embody the pain and anguish of the previous moments, searching for cause but finding only loss and despair. The strings become the screams of the wounded, the souls of the lost and the conscience of the living, and in doing so, the Adagio for Strings itself serves as a testament to an experience that must be faced to be understood. --James Stockstill

Customer Reviews

Deceptively good...
This CD had many good tracks, but it is the "Adagio For Strings" that really stands out. Other tracks of note are "Hello, I Love You" by The Doors and "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane. These songs capture the atmosphere of Vietnam as well as the film did. If you like any Vietnam films or just great music you'll love this.

One of the best soundtracks around.
A rare example of a soundtrack where the score and song choices complement each other perfectly without the context of the moving image. You can pretty much see the movie while you listen to this. The songs are typically iconic of the era, yet they all carry the same undertow of melancholy, of idealised innocence and the storm that sweeps it away. The "Adagio for Strings" is one of the most powerful pieces you'll ever hear, a lament on the grandest scale.

The only thing about this CD that some may find irritating is the inclusion of sound clips from the film in the score tracks. Although the monologue fits perfectly with the mood of the final piece, you may not want to hear it every time you stick the CD in. Likewise, the sound of fire and explosions in "Village" can distract from the music. Still, your mileage may vary. I don't think it's that big of a problem.

This is the most consistently good soundtrack CD I've found. Well worth acquiring for any fan of cinema.