A PERFECT PLACE (OST)

Mike Patton fans and those simply curious will want to consider picking this one up. This movie soundtrack is quite different from his work on the Tzadik label (Adult Themes for Voice and Pranzo Oltranzista) and also more tempered and accessible.

A Perfect Place is packaged with both a short film and it's music together on two separate discs. Neither film or music is a total masterpiece, but each has moments of brilliance and intrigue to keep the eyes and ears attuned. What is great about Mike Patton as a film composer is that he doesn't simply rely on a string section alone like many film scores do. Like his friend and mentor John Zorn, Patton is unafraid to pull from Rock, Avant, Big Band, and general noise-making (two tracks are of a radio dial being tuned) to suit the right mood for each piece.

All that said however I don't really think as a album it holds up as strong as it could. The CD is only a scant 35 minutes, mostly consisting of instrumentals, but there are a few moments where Patton gets to flex his vocals a bit in the way he did in his Mr. Bungle days. I don't play this CD much, but when I do I come away feeling it was a good purchase.

There are a great number of reasons for everyone to get this album. The mere facts that it's bundled with the short movie and that it's the 100th recording released on Ipecac records were good enough for me. What makes it even better is the fact that it's a great release!

While keeping in mind that it's a soundtrack Mike Patton has still managed to carve out songs that I can listen to on their own without connecting them to the short film. Especially if you consider the fact that the score itself is actually approximately 10 minutes longer than the film I guess that it's not completely inseparable from the movie.

Since the material here is quite versatile A Perfect Place can serve as an excellent introduction to Mike Patton and his music career. Check it out if you haven't already done so!

***** star songs: A Perfect Twist (Vocal) (2:44) Batucada (2:18) Catholic Tribe (2:28)

**** star songs: Main Title (3:15) A Perfect Place (3:30) Car Radio (AM) (1:01) A Little Poker Tomorrow Night? (3:10) Seriously Disturbed (1:18) A Dream of Roses (2:34) A Perfect Place/Main Title (Reprise) (2:45) Another Perfect Place (1:42) Car Radio (FM) (1:55) Swinging the Body (1:57) Il Cupo Dolore (2:06) A Perfect End (2:46)

Total rating: 4,21