Performance (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Sometimes a gem occurs just over the edge of time and space , beyond genre, and critique . on this soundtrack there is an unfathomable and rare masterpiece. of music . -- -- - "Memo from Turner " is one of the greatest tunes ever produced, recorded and performed . period ! thanx to mick's smirky vocals , keith's composition of a fun and wicked vision and more than anything >! ... ry cooder's stunning artistry on slide guitar.. just download the sucker and Groove !! .

This film is still to this day (to me at least) pretty edgy (I know this is supposed to be a strictly music review, but oh well). It was hard for me to take my eyes off of Anita Pallenberg in this, who is seductive, strong, and gorgeous, James Fox is two trips and a half, and Mick Jagger is at times cold, calm, empathetic, and a live wire. There are real gangsters in it and the setting (particularly Turner's flat) add even more of an element of cinema verite. Add to that a knockout soundtrack and you're in for a hell of a ride. I could have probably done without the half-naked old dudes though.Too bad the soundtrack doesn't include Jagger's acoustic take of "You Got To Move."

.."Waiting At The Station With A Heavy Loaded Sack"..Yes; This certainly was one Intense Cinematic Experience when we first saw it in the Art House Movie Theatre in Boston! (And later on; Numerous times at Local Colleges!)-{From the "Perfomance Soundtrack" Sessions; Came the seeds of "Gimmie Shelter" and "Crazy Horse"}=(Two of my all-time Favorite Arrangers/Players/Producers; Ry Cooder & Jack Nitzsche; Who have gone on to many other Musical Collaborations over the years!)-The Music on "Performance" still grabs you @40 years later; As did this Delightfully Decadent "Film Noir" when it arrived in the U.S.!-"Get Away" Again Tonight!...by Grimmbo.

"Memo from Turner" is one of the greatest songs Jagger ever did (and that's saying something!). The version on this soundtrack is much better than the Rolling Stones version found on their "Metamorphosis" album. Dirty, gritty, and evil...too bad the Stones never play this one live.

Performance was an obscure movie even at the time of its release. Many of us went to see this movie simply because Mick Jagger was in it; what we found instead was an intense wild ride, much like “LSD” or other psychedelic drugs of that time. For those of us brave enough to look in the “mirrors” (a key element of the movie) we got much more than we bargained for. The soundtrack was (and is) an essential component of this multimedia experience. The Ry Cooder tracks, are the most comfortable, creating musical environments that seduce you to visit them again and again. While other tracks such as the contribution by “The Last Poets” remind us of one of the essential messages of the movie: though we may be in the same room we live in different worlds. Randy Newman rocks in a way that will surprise many of his fans’. Jaggers, “Memo from Turner” is worthwhile but not the only reason to buy this album. It is difficult to explain why, but “Performance” has remained my all time favorite movie. The first time through this album is not one that you are likely to enjoy as a whole, though each of its parts will stretch your musical sensibilities if you will give them a chance. Its possible that much like the Movie, the soundtrack will haunt you and draw you back to it over and over. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

This masterpiece became one the day it was printed on vinyl. Mick Jagger, Ry Cooder, the Last Poets, Merry Clayton and friends relay the message of the times on this album. Drugs, racism, corruption, violence, death are topics of the time and topics in which the performers on this great 60s icon are awesome. Merry Clayton, who's fine voice also appeared with the Rolling Stones on "Gimme Shelter," tears it up as always. Jack Nitzsche's shocking, hip lyrics in his songs on this album precede a Quentin Tarantino-esk audio-style by three decades. Ry Cooder's guitar work is magnificant and Randy Newman's piano on "Gone Dead Train" is a big surprise. The shattering "Wake up n....rs" by The Last Poets leaves you in a sea of uneasiness. "Wake up," is rap by black poets talking about trying to stay alive in the ghetto and racism and insanity in the late 60s. Jagger is as always a center point of attention. His role in the movie is as shocking as Stanley Kubrick's, "A Clockwork Orange." I highly recommend this masterpiece as a true reflection on the dark side of the 60s..

As far as the film goes, this is really Donald Cammell's film, not Nick Roeg's and Mick Jagger does an excllent job (probably because he's acting like Mick Jagger) and James Fox is truly scary and also sympathetic. Anita Pallenberg and Michell Breton are outstanding also It is also the only film I've seen that truly depicts the psychedelic experience accurately (unlike most of those films of the 60's that use all those hokey effects). The soundtrack is outstanding including one of the Stones' best songs - "Memo from Turner" and truly brilliant work by Ry Cooder, Merry Clayton and Jack Nitsche. Check out "Poor White Hound Dog" and "Gone Dead Train" (a song about impotence). The original vinyl recording is one of my most precious albums. Buy this !!