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Rating: It's always a bit difficult to talk about a soundtrack without also discussing the film. Especially if the film was made to be seen at maximum volume, as Todd Haynes suggests before the film begins. "Velvet Goldmine" is, in essence, the story of the rise and fall of a rock star, Brian Slade (played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers), talented, ambiguous, and captivating, imprisoned by the character he created, this "Maxwell Demon" who came from space. Meanwhile, outside, glam rock rages on, with its glitter, its sexual revolution ("everyone is bisexual") and the guitar riffs that would pave the way for punk.
As can be easily inferred, the character of Brian Slade is modeled after David Bowie during the Ziggy Stardust era; so much so that Brian Slade's "flame" is Kurt Wilde (Ewan McGregor), rebellious and toxic, who is none other than the alter ego of Iggy Pop. However, the Thin White Duke did not appreciate at all either the character inspired by him or the film, so, apart from the title, which is that of one of his songs, there's no trace of Bowie's music throughout the soundtrack. As often happens in such cases, a restriction can spur creativity, so the producers (Haynes himself and Michael Stipe) pulled other protagonists of the era from their hat, whom Bowie's titanic figure had overshadowed: T Rex, Roxy Music, Lou Reed, Steve Harley. In the film, you can also hear (but not on the soundtrack, which excluded them) some other hits from the glam era, such as "Do you wanna touch me" by Gary Glitter, "Cuz I luv you" by Slade, and many, many other songs lost in the memory of time. Even if you can enjoy the sugary sounds of original tracks like "Virginia Plan" by Roxy Music, or "Satellite of love" by Lou Reed, the film/soundtrack is far from being a homage to a distant and "dreamy" era, even if it often walks the line of "those extraordinary years".
The rebellious and romantic spirit of glam lives on in modern indie bands; here are Placebo performing a beautiful version of "20th century boy" by T-Rex, Teenage Fanclub in "Personality crisis" (voiced by Donna Matthews of Elastica), and other bands have contributed with their own pieces, somewhat dressed up in glitter and makeup for the occasion: the piece by Pulp ("We are the boys") and that by Grant Lee Buffalo ("The whole shebang") are beautiful. Some stories, in short, repeat themselves, the stories of those who wear masks hard to unveil, the story of those who prefer excesses to rock n' roll (often Kurt Wilde seems more the nemesis of Kurt Cobain than of Iggy Pop), the stories of all the adolescents who find something in rock that finally represents them and stops them from feeling isolated. And it's precisely being a "fan" of rock, the key to it all, the devotion and the passion. And there are two fan bands created for the occasion; on one side, the Venus in Furs, Slade's band, and on the other, the Wild Ratttz, alter ego of the Stooges. Here there's a true parade of stars: from the Ashleton brothers to Thurston Moore, and a surprising Ewan McGregor on vocals. Okay, he’s not Iggy Pop, but he still gives it his all (in the film, the Ratttz’s performance in "Tv eye" is splendid). The real surprise is the Venus in Furs, who mostly cover Roxy Music's pieces ("LadyTron", "Bitter-Sweet", "Baby's on fire"), and have Tom Yorke on vocals. Whether you are or aren't fans of Radiohead, listening to "2HB" is a must. The song is wonderful, and Tom Yorke brings out extraordinary tones in his voice, tones never heard before, and proves to be an extraordinary singer, so far from today's squeals.
Devotion, love. This is a great soundtrack, with or without the film, it has everything it should have.
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