The Iron Giant (soundtrack)
Two albums: a song compilation and an award-winning score.
The Iron Giant (soundtrack) refers to two albums released for the 1999 animated science fiction film directed by Brad Bird. The first is a compilation of 1950s and 1960s songs, while the second features Michael Kamen's original score, which won the Annie Award for Music in an Animated Feature Production. Both albums were issued by Rhino Entertainment and Varèse Sarabande in August 1999.
Quick Facts
- Artist
- Various artists
- Released
- 3 August 1999
- Genre
- classical
- pop
- jazz
- Label
- Rhino
Facts from the source article.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blast Off | 2:28 |
| 2 | Rockin' In The Orbit | 1:50 |
| 3 | Kookie's Mad Pad | 2:06 |
| 4 | Salt Peanuts | 2:18 |
| 5 | Comin' Home Baby | 2:43 |
| 6 | Cha-Hua-Hua | 2:09 |
| 7 | Let's Do The Cha-Cha | 2:07 |
| 8 | Blues Walk | 6:43 |
| 9 | I Got a Rocket in My Pocket | 2:21 |
| 10 | Searchin' | 2:45 |
| 11 | Honeycomb | 2:17 |
| 12 | Destination Moon | 2:30 |
| 13 | You Can Be... (music used: "The Eye of the Storm" and "Bedtime Stories") | 4:48 |
| 14 | ...Who You Choose To Be (music used: "Souls Don't Die") | 4:07 |
| Total length | 41:12 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Eye of the Storm | 2:31 |
| 2 | Hogarth Hughes | 0:21 |
| 3 | Into the Forest | 3:33 |
| 4 | The Giant Wakes | 1:25 |
| 5 | Come and Get It | 1:46 |
| 6 | Cat and Mouse | 0:54 |
| 7 | Train Wreck | 1:05 |
| 8 | You Can Fix Yourself? | 1:20 |
| 9 | Hand Underfoot | 2:02 |
| 10 | Bedtime Stories | 2:26 |
| 11 | We Gotta Hide | 0:50 |
| 12 | His Name Is Dean | 0:48 |
| 13 | Eating Art | 0:43 |
| 14 | Space Car | 0:59 |
| 15 | Souls Don't Die (performed by Michael Kamen and Eric Clapton) | 4:10 |
| 16 | Contest of Wills | 4:35 |
| 17 | The Army Arrives | 1:34 |
| 18 | Annie and Dean | 1:19 |
| 19 | He's a Weapon | 2:43 |
| 20 | The Giant Discovered | 4:27 |
| 21 | Trance-Former | 4:26 |
| 22 | No Following | 4:02 |
| 23 | The Last Giant Piece | 1:44 |
| Total length | 49:43 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Eye of the Storm | 2:30 |
| 2 | Hogarth Hughes | 0:21 |
| 3 | Creepy Music / Hogarth Investigates | 1:30 |
| 4 | Into the Forest | 3:33 |
| 5 | The Giant Wakes | 1:24 |
| 6 | Hogarth in Car / Sting for FBI Man: Suite | 0:56 |
| 7 | Come and Get It | 1:45 |
| 8 | Shut Off Switch / Rock Tree: Suite | 1:04 |
| 9 | Cat and Mouse | 0:53 |
| 10 | Train Wreck | 1:07 |
| 11 | Magic Rebuild / Hand Underfoot: Suite | 2:55 |
| 12 | Chew Your Food | 2:01 |
| 13 | Amerika | 1:23 |
| 14 | Great Ride | 1:14 |
| 15 | We Gotta Hide | 0:49 |
| 16 | His Name Is Dean | 0:47 |
| 17 | He Can Stay | 0:39 |
| 18 | Eating Art | 0:42 |
| 19 | Space Car | 0:58 |
| 20 | Souls Don't Die | 4:07 |
| 21 | Contest Of Wills | 4:34 |
| 22 | The Army Arrives | 1:34 |
| 23 | Annie and Dean | 1:18 |
| 24 | I'm Superman | 0:30 |
| 25 | He's a Weapon | 2:43 |
| 26 | Giant Discovered | 4:28 |
| 27 | Trance Former | 4:26 |
| 28 | No Following | 4:02 |
| 29 | The Last Giant Piece | 1:07 |
| 30 | End Credits: Suite | 8:23 |
| 31 | Bedtime Stories | 2:25 |
| 32 | Wild Tam-Tam | 0:19 |
| 33 | Chew Your Food Pickup | 0:44 |
| 34 | Duck and Cover | 0:30 |
| 35 | Early Demo #1 | 2:40 |
| 36 | Early Demo #2 | 3:52 |
| 37 | Souls Don't Die (performed by Michael Kamen and Eric Clapton) | 2:45 |
| Total length | 76:58 | |
Track listing from the source article.
Production
Bird's temp score of Bernard Herrmann cues from 1950s and 1960s sci-fi films initially intimidated Kamen. Believing the orchestra's sound was crucial, Kamen sought an old-fashioned ensemble in eastern Europe, eventually selecting the Czech Philharmonic after hearing them conduct Strauss's An Alpine Symphony under Vladimir Ashkenazy. The score was recorded unconventionally over one week at the Rudolfinum in Prague, without standard syncing, allowing the music to be played as classical repertoire.
Reception
Heather Pheras of Allmusic described Kamen's orchestral score as reflecting the childlike wonder and impressive quality of the film. James Southall of Movie Wave called it his personal favorite, praising the Czech Philharmonic's performance and Steve McLaughlin's recording, and noted the score's structural journey. Filmtracks.com wrote that the music relies on its weight and great recording, but speculated that better-enunciated themes for the boy and robot might have made it more rewarding. Jonathan Broxton referred to it as one of the most surprisingly accomplished film scores of the year, hoping it would dispel misconceptions about Kamen's talent.
Track listing
The Iron Giant (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is a compilation of classical, pop and jazz songs from the 1950s and 1960s, including seven that appear in the film and five inspired by it, plus two tracks from Kamen's score. It was released by Rhino Entertainment on August 3, 1999 on CD and cassette. The Iron Giant (Original Motion Picture Score), released by Varèse Sarabande on August 24, 1999, contains 23 score tracks and the song "Souls Don't Die" performed by Kamen and Eric Clapton. A 2-disc vinyl edition was published by Mondo on September 18, 2014. A deluxe edition with 37 tracks, including extended and pre-recorded cues, was released by Varèse Sarabande on March 11, 2022, with a vinyl two-disc set following on July 22.
More in Rhino Entertainment Soundtracks
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced