Track Listing

1. Rock Island, 1931
2. Wake
3. Just The Feller
4. Mr. Rance
5. Bit Borrowers
6. Murder (in four parts)
7. Road To Chicago
8. Reading Room
9. Some Day Sweetheart - The Charleston Chasers, Benjamin Spikes
10. Meet Maguire
11. Blood Dog
12. Fin McGovern
13. The Farm
14. Dirty Money
15. Rain Hammers
16. A Blind Eye
17. Nothing To Trade
18. Queer Notion - Fletcher Henderson And His Orchestra, Coleman Hawkins
19. Virign Mary
20. Shoot The Dead
21. Grave Drive
22. Cathedral
23. There'll Be Some Changes Made - Chicago Rhythm Kings, Gene Krupa, Joe Sullivan, Mezz Milton Mezzrow, Frank Teschmacher, Red McKenzie, Jim Lannigan, Eddie Condon, Billy Higgins
24. Ghosts
25. Lexington Hotel, Room 1432
26. Road To Perdition
27. Perdition - Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Tom Newman

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11291 in Music
• Released on: 2002-09-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .23 pounds
• Running time: 70 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Director Sam Mendes's much-anticipated follow-up to his Academy Award-winning American Beauty finds him exploring the period gangster film--but with a moral fibre and undercurrent of family tragedy familiar from his Oscar triumph. As he did with Beauty, Mendes again wisely entrusts the film's music to Thomas Newman, a composer with an instinctive knack for getting inside a film's characters via innovative and often orthodox methods. As many of Newman's preceding scores have been rhythmically driven and rife with improvisation-driven experimentalism, it’s good to hear his equally distinctive writing for orchestra largely take centre stage here again. But Newman's inquisitive musical instincts can't be denied, and his melancholy string writing is leavened first with subtle uilleann pipe flourishes that echo the characters' Irish-American roots, then with savoury, yet ever-restrained touches of his own ethnic-defying instrumental colour and rhythmic accents. It's another moody and introspective gem, seasoned with some lively period jazz (courtesy of the Charleston Chasers, Fletcher Henderson and his Orchestra, and Chicago Rhythm Kings) and a warm, final surprise: a duet of John M Williams's autumnal title track performed by none other than stars Tom Hanks and Paul Newman.--Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

What a Way to Relive the Movie!
No doubt about it, Thomas Newman is one hell of a composer. And this soundtrack proves just that. I had seen the movie and absolutely loved it from start to finish, and I remembered the music really standing out to me. It was dark, haunting, and touching, all at the same time. So, I decided to get the soundtrack, and I am glad I did.

It really is like reliving the movie. I really enjoyed listening to the movie score. It's breathtaking and amazing. It can be soft, dark, haunting, and beautiful. The music really is something to hear. I especially enjoy the piano playing that takes place on this score. The soundtrack also includes some actual jazz songs that appeared in the film, as well.

I really enjoy all of the tracks, but the ones that stand out to me the most are "Rock Island, 1931," "Murder," "Blood Dog," "Grave Drive," "Road to Chicago," "Ghosts," "Lexington Hotel, Room 1432," "Road to Perdition," and the "Perdition" piano duet performed by Tom Hanks and Paul Newman. But the other ones that I did not list are very amazing as well.

If you love the movie and you love a great movie score, "Road to Perdition" is the one for you. In the tradtion of "Unbreakable" and "Insomnia," this score gives you different moods, like happiness, dread, fear, danger, sadness, anger, and redemption. A great purchase, if you ask me.

An amazing spell-binding and bewitching score...........
From the moment the cinema lights dimmed and the orchestra struck up Thomas Newman's magical score, I knew that I'd be online in a few hours ordering my own copy (sad...I know)
And listening to it now at home, it's even more haunting and breath-taking than I remembered.
Thomas Newman is the master of spine-tingling simple melodies, whether it be the heart-breaking 'Brooks was here' scene from the Shawshank Redemption, or the uplifting subtlety of the tv show 'Six Feet Under'.
This (in my opinion) is his most passionate and moving score to date (and he's done many). The cresendo of the strings while argueing with the gentle piano melodies, is a wonder to behold, and will move even the hardest of heart!
The only criticism is the ordering of the CD. There are 3 naff 1940's Rhythm King style tracks (sorry if you're a fan) that totally break the magical and bewitching work that Newman weaves. But it's a small sacrifice to make for a great soundtrack. What's that THUDDD I hear......could it be an Oscar nomination.???? I think so..........

Great!
Don't let my giving this score 'only' four stars fool you, this is a great score. However i dislike giving out 5-Star ratings to anything that is not an absolute work of art. In recent years the only scores i would give a five star ating to would be Howard Shore's beautifully magical score for 'Lord of the Rings,' and John Williams' eye scorching tunes for 'Schindler's List'. Newman has created beautiful scores, and it would be a crime if he never got at least one Oscar for best Scoring, which he deserved for the 2002 Oscar awards.
What i love about Newman's scoring is that it has the ability to be personal, melancholy and rousing at the same time, like his tune in 'American Beauty' when you see Rickie's character for the first time, Gorgeous! For this score he again shows his diversity, with both tunes that are beautifully large in their sounding, like 'Road to Chicago' and 'Rock Island', but also beautifully quiet and discreet, like 'The Farm' and 'Grave Drive'. Mendes' realistic, personal portrayal of people complemets well to Newman's music, or the other way around. The movie 'Road to Perdition' was a beautiful one, with the Directing, Acting, Music, Production Design, Costumes and Conrad Hall's inspired Cinematography all complementing each other in a movie that deserved more Oscars, one of which should have been for best scoring.
Sure, like my roomates say (who don't all apprieciate my love for Movie scores) not all songs are brilliant, like the three useless 'Jazz' singles, or serveral rather overly flamboyant tunes ('Meet Maguire', 'Murder') but it is truley an great score and one every modern 'classical' music lover should own.