This compilation of Harvey's various works for film mostly covers his work for obscure German and Australian indie films (most of which I have never heard of let alone seen). Harvey has an exceptional amount of skill that is hidden much of the time, even on his own solo albums. Here he explores palettes and tones of a much more subtle manner compared to his day jobs. The emphasis is, of course, on mood and tension. Not all of the compositions are brilliant but most of them are prime examples of Harvey firing on all cylinders.
Mute
There is little emphasis on Chopper as the full soundtrack is already available so it can be safely glossed over. The three pieces from it included here provide enough of a glimpse into that soundtrack without extending to unnecessary repetition. Instead there is plenty of room to explore Harvey's far more unknown works. The opening piece "Two Guitars," taken from the film Lighting Fires, is a far cry from any of Harvey's work that I have heard before. As the title suggests, the music is made up of two guitars playing with each other, making a glorious, glistening and minimalist start to the album. The refrain is revisited later on "Three Guitars" (taken from the same film), the simple and stark beauty of these two pieces is astonishing. Not to say that the rest of the album is any less good but Harvey definitely had his "I'm writing a fucking great piece of music" hat on when he did Lighting Fires.
The album does dip around the middle with the material from Frank Hurley – The Man Who Made History. I think if I saw the documentary I might be of a different opinion as Hurley's photography is strong enough on its own without the need of a musical accompaniment. It is a daunting task to soundtrack them. It feels like Harvey is holding back as the pictures on the screen should speak thousands of word. However, without the imagery to with the music I find it hard to connect with what I am listening to. The brevity of these pieces also adds to difficulty in enjoying them on their own; they very easily fade into each other and into the background.
The album is well laid out. Most of the time music taken from the same film is all grouped together but in the case of Lighting Fires and Chopper the pieces are scattered throughout the disc. In the case of these last two, this arrangement stops the repetitive nature of film music getting in the way of the quality of the pieces. The other films do not tend to have as obviously repetitive themes or at the very least blend into each other better so it is not such a problem for them to be grouped together.
Overall, Motion Picture Music '94-'05 is a wonderful and varied album that covers some of Harvey's best work as a solo artist. I hope he continues to make such interesting music outside the Bad Seeds as I would love to hear more material like this. It is hard to find soundtrack music that exists just as powerfully without a film to go with it but Harvey's attempts can be appreciated on their own merit very easily.
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