NEW YORK, NY. (Top40 Charts/ Columbia Records) - "August Rush -
Music From The Motion Picture," the soundtrack album from the widely anticipated Warner Bros.
Pictures film, is available now from Columbia Records/Sony
Music Soundtrax.
"August Rush - Music From The Motion Picture" is a showcase of the soul-stirring sounds which drive the critically acclaimed motion picture starring Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers with Terrence Howard and Robin Williams.
"August Rush - Music From The Motion Picture" premieres a range of extraordinary new music including two original songs penned by Five For Fighting's John Ondrasik ("King of the Earth," performed by Ondrasik, and "Break," performed by Jonathan Rhys Meyers with Ondrasik on piano); a brand new cut ("Someday") from R&B pop master John Legend; two transcendent performances from female guitar virtuoso Kaki King ("Bari Improv," "Ritual Dance"); and four revelatory tracks - including "Break," "This Time," "Moondance," and "Something Inside" - sung by Jonathan Rhys Meyers (the Golden Globe winning actor has sterling musical credentials, having sung his own parts as a David Bowie-inspired glam-rock star in Todd Haynes' "Velvet Goldmine" as well as his current role as a charismatic Irish guitarist and singer in "August Rush").
The album also includes a variety of cover performances including Chris Botti & Paula Cole's interpretation of Billie Holiday's "God Bless The Child," Leon Thomas III's reinvention of the traditional Mexican folk tune "La Bamba" (which became a signature hit for the late Ritchie Valens in 1958), and Rhys Meyers' take on Van Morrison's "Moondance" (also covered by Chris Botti as a bonus track on the album).
Rounding out "August Rush - Music From The Motion Picture" are variations on Johann Sebastian Bach's "Prelude from Partita No. 3" and Edward Elgar's "Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85, Adagio-Moderato" as well as selections from the film's musical score written by the Grammy Award winning composer ("Tarzan") Mark Mancina.
"August Rush" - the film and its music - have been drawing raves from the press:
"Tunefully romantic," wrote Marshall Fine for Star magazine. "'August Rush' hits all the right notes."
"Phenomenal," raved the Film Advisory Board's Janet Stokes. "'August Rush' is magical."
"Sheer movie magic," Michael Faust observed in Artvoice. "It makes you fall in love with music all over again through the ears of a child."
"A must see for the holiday," said ABC-TV's Jim Ferguson. "It's like taking a ride on a magic carpet of music."
"Your heart will be singing and your spirit will soar!" exclaimed CBS-TV's Mark S. Allen.
Maria Salas, of Soundtrack Channel called "August Rush," "One of the best films of the year, you feel the music all around you. Inspirational! Amazing!"
"A modern day musical fairy tale," said Greg Russell, from Detroit's WMYD-TV.
Parade.com's Jeanne Wolf discovered in "August Rush," "A captivating fantasy full of suspense, emotional surprises and the most original music of the year."
"August Rush," in theaters November 21, tells the story of a charismatic young Irish guitarist (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and a sheltered young cellist (Keri Russell) who have a chance encounter one magical night above New York's Washington Square but are torn apart, leaving in their wake an infant, August, orphaned by circumstance. Now performing on the streets of New York and cared for by a mysterious stranger (Robin Williams), August (Freddie Highmore) uses his remarkable musical talent to seek the parents from whom he was separated at birth. The film, which also stars Terrence Howard, is directed by Kirsten Sheridan and produced by Richard Barton Lewis from a screenplay by Nick Castle and James V. Hart, story by Paul Castro and Nick Castle.
"August Rush - Music From The Motion Picture" Tracklisting:
1. Main Title - Mark Mancina
2. Bach/Break - Steve Erdody and Jonathan Rhys Meyers
3. Moondance featuring Jonathan Rhys Meyers
4. This Time - Jonathan Rhys Meyers
5. Bari Improv - Kaki King
6. Ritual Dance - Kaki King
7. Raise It Up - Jamia Simone Nash and Impact Repertory Theater
8. Dueling Guitars - Heitor Pereira and Doug Smith
9. Elgar/Something Inside - Steve Erdody and Jonathan Rhys Meyers
10. August's Rhapsody featuring Freddie Highmore - Mark Mancina
11. Someday - John Legend
12. King of the Earth - John Ondrasik
13. God Bless the Child - Chris Botti and Paula Cole
14. La Bamba - Leon Thomas III
15. Moondance - Chris Botti (Hidden Track)
