Stewart Copeland - "Rumble Fish" (Soundtrack, 1983)

Soundtracks can sometimes be a bit tricky, it can be difficult to ignore the images and feelings one has from the movie, so objective listening becomes difficult, or the music may tend to get too atmospheric and formless without its visual complement. Concerning the soundtrack to Rumble Fish, it's the first dilemma I often end up in. I've seen the movie so many times, I know it by heart, so every song has a hard time standing for itself without my brain producing images from the movie. I'm having difficulties hearing the music just as music.

It was Coppola who directed the film, he also produced it along with some others. He started making the film's music himself, some sort of percussion-based music that would symbolize the passage of time. He realized, however, that he needed help and recruited the drummer of The Police, Stewart Copeland. And quite quickly, Coppola realized that Copeland was his superior when it came to composing music, and gave him free hands.

Stewart Copleland

Stewart Copeland plays most instruments himself, and he does it well. All songs are instrumental except the opening song, Don't Box Me In, where Stan Ridgway sings. Apparently it became something of a hit and got some radio play. Not a personal favorite, though. For being a soundtrack, the album is pretty OK. There are no atmospheric compositions to be found, rather it's usually a clear beat and lots of energy in the music, Copeland is a drummer after all. There's no risk of falling asleep. However, in the long run, it may become a bit repetitive, Copeland seems to have found his sound on the album and sticks to it. It's the same instrumentation overall, the music is often played in some kind of backbeat, giving the songs a specific characteristic, and some themes are repeated, as it often is  on soundtracks.

I found the record recently in one of the local stores for used records, and couldn't resit buying it. Mostly as a nostalgic nod to the younger version of myself who had Rumble Fish as the absolute favorite movie and inspiration in life.

Motorcycle Boy, the film's hero

Tracklist

Side A
1 Don't Box Me In 4:36
2 Tulsa Tango 3:45
3 Our Mother Is Alive 4:13
4 Party At Someone Else's Place 2:32
5 Biff Gets Stomped By Rusty James 2:22
6 Brothers On Wheels 4:08

Side B
1 West Tulsa Story 4:00
2 Tulsa Rags 1:33
3 Father On The Stairs 3:01
4 Hostile Bridge To Benny's 1:52
5 Your Mother Is Not Crazy 2:48
6 Personal Midget / Cain's Ballroom 5:54
7 Motorboy's Fate 2:06