Jarhead Soundtrack CD

Composer: Thomas Newman.
Personnel: Thomas Newman (Wurlitzer organ); Rick Riccio (whistling); George Doering (guitar, trumpet); Bill Bernstein (guitar); Eun Mee Ahn, Al Hershberger, John Wittenberg, Anatoly Rosinsky, Robert Matsuda, Laurence Greenfield, Harris Goldman, Barbara Porter, Ken Yerke, Julian Hallmark, Edmund Stein, Debra Price, Kimiyo Takeya, Horia Moroaica, Norman Hughes, Eve Butler, Daniel Shindaryov, Irma Neumann, Jay Rosen, Kevin Connolly, Mark Robertson , Patricia Johnson , Roberto Cani, Natalie Leggett, Armen Garabedian, Darius Campo, Michael Markman, Liane Mautner, Josephina Vergara, Dimitrie Leivici, Michele Richards, Berj Garabedian, Charlie Bisharat, Mario Diaz de Leon, Haim Shtrum (violin); Matt Funes, Kenneth Burward-Hoy, Dan Neufeld, Aaron Oltman, Mimi Granat, Don McInnes, Karie Prescott, Carrie Holzman-Little, John Hayhurst, Michael Nowak, Marilyn Baker, Robert Becker, Brian Dembow, Janet Lakatos, Danny Seidenberg, Victoria Miskolszy, Harry Shirinian, Denyse Buffum, Andrew Duckles (viola); Christina Soule, Vahe Hayrikyan, Dan Tobin Smith, Rowena Hamil, Kevan Torfeh, Earl Madison, Suzie Katayama, Larry Corbett, Erika Duke-Kirkpartick, Stephen Erdody, Armen Ksadjikian, Dane Little, Todd Hemmenway (cello); Steve Tavaglione (duduk, ney, clarinet, EWI); Michael Fisher (drums, tambourine, crotales); John Beasley (drum programming); George Budd (turntables).
Audio Mixer: Tommy Vicari.
Recording information: Newman Scoring Stage, 20th Century Fox; Signet Sound Studios; Sony Music Studios, New York, NY.
Unknown Contributor Role: George Doering.
For the soundtrack to his 2005 war film, JARHEAD, director Sam Mendes called upon composer Thomas Newman for an eclectic and inventive set of mood pieces. With an instrumental palette that includes reverse hammer dulcimer, resynthesized flutes, and bowed ukulele, the score is fascinatingly atmospheric and quite unusual, occasionally offering nods to the movie's Middle Eastern setting. Adding even more variety to the album are tracks by artists ranging from T. Rex and Tom Waits to Public Enemy and Bobby McFerrin.
Composer Thomas Newman has carved out a niche for himself with atmospheric scores that blend the traditional with cutting-edge technology, so it comes as no surprise that his work on director Sam Mendes' Gulf War drama Jarhead radiates with the kinetic energy of battle while mirroring its emotional complexities with regional instrumentation and thoughtful cues that reflect the human side of war. That said, Newman has chosen to orchestrate Desert Storm with a baton that's been dipped in Mendes' signature black humor, referencing techno, worldbeat, and even hip-hop within the confines of a traditional action score. Mendes, who along with Kathy Nelson executive produced the soundtrack, works contemporary pieces in by everyone from Bobby McFerrin ("Don't Worry Be Happy") to Public Enemy ("Fight the Power") with both a wink and a jibe, resulting in one of the more visceral collections of film music since the Dust Brothers' work on David Fincher's Fight Club. ~ James Christopher Monger