[1] Eric Clapton: Change the World (Kennedy/Kirkpatrick/Sims) - 3:54
[2] Bryan Ferry: Dance With Life (The Brilliant Light) (Page/Taupin) - 6:14
[3] Aaron Neville Featuring Robbie Robertson: Crazy Love (Morrison) - 4:28
[4] Taj Mahal: Corinna (Davis/Mahal) - 2:59
[5] Jewel: Have a Little Faith in Me (Hiatt) - 4:23
[6] Peter Gabriel: I Have the Touch (Gabriel) - 5:27
[7] Marvin Gaye: Piece of Clay (Jones/Sawyer) - 5:11
[8] The Iguanas: Para Donde Vas (Cabral/Hodges) - 3:16
[9] Dorothy Moore: Misty Blue (Montgomery) - 3:38
[10] J.J. Cale: A Thing Goes On (Cale) - 2:37
[11] Thomas Newman: The Ochard (Newman) - 2:33
A simple, small-town garage mechanic suddenly develops extraordinary
intelligence - including telekinetic powers and an unquenchable thirst
for knowledge - which affects his life in unexpected ways. The
government wants to investigate him, scientists want to study him, and
the townspeople become afraid of him, to the point of ostracism. With
the love and support of a young single mother, he is finally able to
accept his lot in life.
Released theatrically in the USA July 3, 1996. Color by Foto-Kem;
prints by Technicolor; in Panavision widescreen. Additional cast:
Michael Milhoan (Jimmy); Ashley Buccille (Glory); Elisabeth Nunziato
(Ella). Songs include: "Crazy Love," performed by Aaron Neville "Change
the World," performed by Eric Clapton "I Have the Touch," performed by
Peter Gabriel Rated BBFC PG by the British Board of Film Classification.
In a small town an average Joe named George Malley, becomes a different
man when he is struck by a bright streak of light on his 37th birthday.
George is suddenly a genius, suddenly able to play chess, speak a new
language, and read numerous books in a day, amongst other abilities.
George is also endowed with telekinetic powers, able to move objects
with his mind. Although George's sweet personality remains the same
throughout all this, his newfound abilities breed jealousy and
insecurity amongst some of his ne'er-do-well buddies. Furthermore, it
appears that George's immense intelligence could actually be harming
him physically - and might even shorten his life.
"I'll tell you what I think I am.... I'm what everybody can be." - George Malley (JOHN TRAVOLTA)
Copyright 1981-2001 Muze Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.
Phenomenon Soundtrack Explores Mystical Heartland
HOLLYWOOD (June 1996) - "There's a place out there, in the middle of
America where this story unfolds, that's like no other on earth. And
there's a certain sound that belongs only to that place. It's almost
impossible to describe unless you've been there, but once you've made
the connection, you never forget it. It's a place we called 'the
mystical heartland.'"
So says Robbie Robertson of the impetus and point of creative departure
for one of the most remarkable soundtrack albums in recent memory.
Phenomenon, directed by John Turteltaub and starring John Travolta,
with Kyra Sedgwick, Forrest Whitaker and Robert Duvall, is a film that
tells of extraordinary events in the lives of ordinary people; a story
that, by its very nature, suggests the spiritual realities surrounding
us. The task of evoking, enhancing and expanding on those realities
relies, to an unprecedented degree, on a soundtrack that ranges far and
wide to capture the mood of this rare and resonant film.
Music from the motion picture Phenomenon, released by Reprise Records,
is already an out-of-the-gate smash thanks to its debut single "Change
The World," featuring the potent combination of an Eric Clapton
performance with production by Babyface. It's the sort of innovative
musical mix-and-match that not only evokes the timeless quality of that
"mystical heartland" but points the way to an entirely new kind of
creative synergy.
That synergy, in turn, is mirrored in the, remarkable teamwork that
went into the creation of the Phenomenon soundtrack. Along with
Robertson, Executive Soundtrack Producer for the project, the album
brings together the diverse talents and encyclopedic experience of such
executives and producers as Kathy Nelson, President of Music for the
Wait Disney Motion Picture Group; Danny Bramson, newly appointed Senior
Vice President of Soundtrack Development for Warner Bros. Records,
Inc.; film score composer Thomas Newman and acclaimed producers Don
Was, Trevor Horn and the abovementioned Babyface.
"It was a real pleasure working in the studio with Eric Clapton,"
remarked Babyface of the historic London session that yielded "Change
The World." "His music is legendary and he is truly one of the
entertainment industry's musical geniuses."
Genius is a word that might fairly be applied to a number of key
Phenomenon selections. Where else, for example, would you find Aaron
Neville performing a Don Was production of Van Morrison's "Crazy Love"
with Robbie Robertson on guitar? Or Bryan Ferry performing "Dance With
Life. (The Brilliant Light)," a song written especially for the film by
Bernie Taupin and Martin Page and produced by Trevor Horn? Or, for that
matter, fast-rising newcomer Jewel singing John Hiatt's "Have A Little
Faith In Me," with Was once again behind the board?
"Phenomenon is one of those unique soundtracks that defines the very
best of what this business can be," says Danny Bramson, a man who, with
credits ranging from the multi-platinum Singles to the smash Higher
Learning, knows whereof he speaks. "It was especially gratifying for me
to be able to bring this in as the first project at my new job here at
Warner Bros. and Reprise Records, it just doesn't get any better."
That sentiment is echoed by Disney's Kathy Nelson, whose own credits
include such substantial hits as Ghostbusters and Jurassic Park. "From
the very beginning we knew we had both a very special film and a rare
opportunity to create some great music around that film. There was a
quality to the script that just naturally lent itself to a musical
interpretation."
For Don Was, helping to shape the Phenomenon tunestack offered a chance
to interface with the film's director John Turteltaub. "Kathy sent me
the script," the Grammy-winning producer explains, "and it was simply
one of the best I'd ever read. But what was really unique about working
on this project was the input provided by John. Here was a director who
not only knew what he wanted out of the music, but trusted his
instincts implicitly. Front the very beginning we knew where we were
going and that made all the difference in getting there."
"I worked as closely as possible with Kathy and Robbie and everyone
else involved in the music," concurs Turteltaub. "Together we evolved
this notion of an canhy, timeless sound from the heartland, although we
went around the world to find that quality. One of the great things
about working with this team was that nothing, absolutely nothing, tied
us down. If we could think of it, we could think of a way to make it
happen."
"After we saw a rough cut, we started putting together clues, trying
out notions and ideas that might fit," explains Robertson, best known
in film realms for his work with Martin Scorcese, including most
recently, Casino. "For instance, the Forrest Whitaker character in the
film is a major Motown fan. We wanted to find something in that vein,
but it had to be unique, which meant none of the obvious choices.
That's how we came up with "Piece of Clay."' An obscure Marvin Gaye
track, "Piece Of Clay" is another Phenomenon highlight and an example,
as Robertson puts it, of "what's fun about putting together
soundtracks. You get the chance to turn people on to music they might
not have ever heard. The Dorothy, Moore track "Misty Blue," for
example, is a song I've always loved. I've just been waiting to find
the right place to put it. The same is true of "Corinna" by Taj Mahal
and J.J. Cale's "A Thing Going On." I'm also a huge fan of New Orleans
music and, in the film, there's a sequence that his a distinct Hispanic
flavor. I was able to combine the two with "Para Donde Vas," by The
Iguanas, a New Orleans band with a real Latin texture to their music."
In addition to the richly hued songs on Phenomenon's soundtrack is the
evocative orchestral piece "The Orchard," from Thomas Newman's
exquisite score. Phenomenon's new selections demonstrate the same sort
of inspired approach to the art of matching sound and vision. Creating
an opportunity for Trevor Horn to work with Bryan Ferry on a Bernie
Taupin and Martin Page original is the personification of that
approach. "It's always a great experience," asserts Horn, "when you get
to work with an artist like Bryan, who you admire greatly but may not
have the chance to produce, an entire album with. It's pan of the
wonderful chemistry that only soundtracks can really afford."
The same is true of another prime Phenomenon cut, "I Have The Touch,"
by Peter Gabriel. "We really liked the song as it was originally
recorded," explains Turteltaub, "but the arrangement was too
sharp-edged and techno for the feet of the scene. So Robbie got
together with Peter and essentially re-did the entire song, adding his
own guitar to provide the earthy feel we were after."
But perhaps the best example of the powerful team spirit brought to
bear on the Phenomenon soundtrack is with the album's centerpiece, the
abovementioned Eric Clapton and Babyface collaboration, "Change The
World." "I had gotten a publishing demo of the song," explains Kathy
Nelson, "and thought it had real possibilities for the theme of the
movie. Lyrically, it had little to do with the story, but that
'mystical heartland' essence was right there. We had always thought it
would be great to have Eric Clapton somewhere in this score because he,
perhaps better than anyone, captured that essence. Robbie put in a call
to Eric and I put in a call to Babyface, without even knowing that the
two of them had been wanting to work together for a couple of years. It
was the perfect alignment of timing, talent and material.
Music from the motion picture Phenomenon is more than simply an aural
souvenir of a magical movie experience. It is the cutting edge of a
collaborative art-form whose time has come.
Review copied from the MovieTunes WWW site, which also include sound samples from the album.
This one steers away from the now-standard recruitment of alterna-stars
(often doing covers), instead recruiting established artists with a
couple neo-folkies (Jewel) and neo-traditionalists (The Iguanas) for
good measure. Aaron Neville's heavenly touch on Van Morrison's "Crazy
Love" is flavored by executive producer Robbie Robertson's tasty guitar
work, and Marvin Gaye's "Piece Of Clay" is an unnervingly prescient
plea to parents to treat their children well. Eric Clapton is
improbably teamed up with producer Babyface with pleasant, if not
groundbreaking, results. It's more than made up for by Dorothy Moore's
"Misty Blue," a true neglected classic, and a muted "I Have The Touch"
by Peter Gabriel. On the whole, a mixed bag, perhaps a bit polite save
for J.J. Cale's swampy "A Thing Going On," but enjoyable nonetheless.
Ed Hewitt, CDNow.com
Phenomenon is about the blossoming of human potential, as is
Scientology. Star John Travolta is a noted practitioner of the latter;
draw your own conclusions about the film's potential for proselytizing.
Not surprisingly, its soundtrack doles out one track to scorer Thomas
Newman and the rest to "uplifting" modern pop perfectly characterized
by Eric Clapton's ubiquitous "Change the World" and Peter Gabriel's
once charming "I Have the Touch." If this is human potential, God help
us.
Jerry McCulley, Amazon.com
Designed for adult contemporary listeners, the soundtrack to the John
Travolta movie Phenomenon has a cross-section of singer/songwriters,
mellow blues, and synthesized soul-inflected pop. Out of all the
contributors - which include such heavy-hitters as Peter Gabriel, Bryan
Ferry, John Hiatt, J.J. Cale, Taj Mahal, and a duet between Aaron
Neville and Robbie Robertson - the standout track is "Change the
World," a song Babyface wrote and produced for Eric Clapton. The two
musicians work surprisingly well together, creating a laidback, soulful
number that is quietly seductive. Nothing on the album works quite as
well, but it is a pleasant listen, if not a particularly memorable one.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All-Music Guide
3 Stars - Good - "...devoted to conservative, adult-contemporary pop.
No one has brought more pleasure to mainstream music in recent years
than the soft-R&B specialist Babyface, who produced this album's
appealing first single, Eric Clapton's `Change The World'..."
Rolling Stone 8/22/96
Eric Clapton's performance of "Change The World" won the 1997 Grammy
Awards for Record Of The Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The
song, written by Gordon Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick and Tommy Sims, won
the Grammy for Song Of The Year.
PHENOMENON is a study in soundtrack as collaborative art form. A
variety of producers, overseen by veteran Robbie Robertson, worked
together to create a collection of songs that resonates with the
spirituality of the film, which is about a small-town man (John
Travolta) who suddenly becomes a super-human genius.
The uniting of diverse songwriters, musicians, and producers yields
unique and delightful results. Singer Aaron Neville teams up with
guitarist Robertson on Van Morrison's "Crazy Love," and Jewel covers
John Hiatt's "Have A Little Faith in Me." Another standout is a new,
more softly- and acoustically-arranged version of Peter Gabriel's "I
Have the Touch," which also includes guitar work by Robertson. Each
collaboration feels serendipitous and slightly magical, paralleling the
film itself.
If I can reach the stars,
Pull one down for you,
Shine it on my heart
So you could see the truth:
That this love I have inside
Is everything it seems.
But for now I find
It's only in my dreams.
And I can change the world,
I will be the sunlight in your universe.
You would think my love was really something good,
Baby if I could change the world.
And if I could be king,
Even for a day,
I'd take you as my queen;
I'd have it no other way.
And our love would rule
This kingdom we had made.
Till then I'd be a fool,
Wishing for the day...
That I can change the world,
I would be the sunlight in your universe.
You would think my love was really something good,
Baby if I could change the world.
Baby if I could change the world.
I could change the world,
I would be the sunlight in your universe.
You would think my love was really something good,
Baby if I could change the world.
Baby if I could change the world.
Baby if I could change the world.
CORRINA
I got a bird what whistles, baby got a bird
Honey got a bird ... it would sing, baby got a bird
Honey got a bird ... it would sing
Without my Corrina, sure don't mean ..., sure don't mean a natural thing
I learned to love you baby, honey for I call
Baby for I call your name, baby for I call
Honey for I call your name, I love you Corrina
It sure don't mean, it sure don't mean a natural thing
Have mercy, have mercy, baby on my hard luck
Honey on my hard luck soul, baby on my hard luck
Honey on my hard luck soul
I got a rainbow round my shoulder
Looks like silver, shines like Klondike1 gold
Well I love you honey, honey tell the world, baby tell the world I do
Honey tell the world I do, baby tell the world I do
Ain't no woman in fourteen counties, love me baby like the way I do
I got a bird what whistles, baby got a bird
Honey got a bird ... it would sing, baby got a bird
Honey got a bird ... it would sing
Without Corrina, sure don't mean, sure don't mean a natural thing
