One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Soundtrack CD

 Once heard - always remembered
The mainly jazz composer, Jack Nitzsche, isn't one of the world's most celebrated artists. But this 1975 soundtrack for Czech Milos Forman's film based on the Ken Kesey classic novel is definetely one of the most characteristic soundtracks ever made. Even though two of the tracks ("Charmaine", and (of course) "Jingle Bells") aren't Nitzsches own, there are plenty of other catchy tunes to choose from. All of the tracks are quite melodic. But how can 12 simple instrumental tracks be so memorable? Simply because they're both original and incredibly melancholic. The most charcteristic track is perhaps "Medication Valse" that, in musical terms, really underlines the horrible medical pacification of the meantal patients. Several tracks resembles the "Hawaiian" atmosphere that characterized the easy-listening music of the bourgeois 1950s. In between you can hear some happy rhythmic pieces such as "Bus Ride To Paradise". The vibrating saw played on the title track (and the extended reprise with drums in the end) is perhaps the most tear-jerking piece. But still... It's damn beautiful!
Submitted by c-4 (Odense, Denmark)
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