The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

iTunes Review

The Twilight Saga films have enlisted some of Hollywood’s most accomplished composers — Carter Burwell, Alexandre Desplat, and Howard Shore — to write music for the popular teenage vampire series. But the pop songs used in the movies, chosen by music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas, also play a key role, and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is an impressive album. It opens with “Eclipse (All Yours),” by the Canadian band Metric and the track’s controlled drama and sense of vulnerability and romance is a perfect fit for the movie. Muse’s “Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)” brings to mind the operatic intensity of Queen or Rufus Wainwright, and the Bravery does not shy away from histrionics on “Ours.” The Black Keys display their love of Southern-rooted sounds on the chugging “Chop and Change” while the Dead Weather, another band fond of blues and garage rock, turns in a moody, ‘70s-style track, “Rolling In On a Burning Tire”. Beck and Bat for Lashes’ “Let’s Get Lost” is a distinctive Goth-tinged production with hints of the dance floor. Howard Shore’s reflective solo piano piece, “Jacob’s Theme,” wraps things up.