RELEASE YEAR: 1993
FILM GENRE: MYSTERY/THRILLER/ROMANCE
BACKGROUND: Hot off BASIC INSTINCT in 1992, Sharon Stone jumped right into this adaptation of Ira Levin's 1991 bestseller about a divorced Manhattan book editor who moves into a sleek, skinny highrise apartment building that turns out to have a grim history of fatal accidents. Before long, she discovers that the place is bugged with a hidden surveillance system - and her new lover just might be behind the whole thing, including those fatal accidents. Will she wind up dead like the others - or will she cross over to the dark side?
Well, in the original ending, Carly (Stone's character) crossed over to the dark side and ran off with Zeke (Billy Baldwin), even after it was revealed that he was the killer all along. Unfortunately, test audiences hated that ending and Paramount was forced to quickly re-shoot the ending to something more tame. Too bad, because I've seen the original ending, and it's pretty good. Just waaaaaay ahead of its time.
At any rate, while SLIVER the movie may have been a misfire when it came out, its musical soundtrack was most definitely a smash hit. Please note that this isn't the score of the film, which is the instrumental "mood" music that plays over scenes. That music by composer Howard Shore has never seen an official release, nor an unofficial one. It remains unavailable to this day.
Nope, this album is comprised of the 13 songs that play during various scenes of SLIVER. They are uniformly great, with the best being the tracks by New Age group Enigma, and the peppy, energetic reimagining of Elvis Presley's classic ballad "Can't Help Falling In Love With You" by UB40.
These songs are vibrant, soulful, and hum with a soft intensity - perfectly appropriate for a film that is essentially about a woman who travels to the dark side of love, and consciously chooses not to return (at least in the original ending, which I vastly prefer to the re-shot one). In the end, SLIVER was meant to be a dark, sinister romance - and this soundtrack reflects that...
TRACK LISTING:
1. "Can't Help Falling in Love"
Performed by UB40
2. "Carly's Song"
Performed by Enigma
3. "Slid"
Performed by Fluke
4. "Unfinished Sympathy"
Performed by Massive Attack
5. "The Most Wonderful Girl"
Performed by Lords of Acid
6. "Oh Carolina"
Performed by Shaggy
7. "Move with Me"
Performed by Neneh Cherry
8. "Slave to the Vibe"
Performed by Aftershock
9. "Penthouse and Pavement"
Performed by Heaven 17
10 "Skinflowers"
Performed by The Young Gods
11. "Star Sail"
Performed by Verve
12. "Wild at Heart"
Performed by BIGOD 20
13. "Carly's Loneliness"
Performed by Enigma
FINAL ANALYSIS: Clearly, some care was put into choosing the songs for SLIVER's soundtrack. One rumor I heard stated that Enigma was actually asked to score the whole film, but frontman Michael Cretu didn't want to make such a huge commitment. So the producers settled by having Cretu and his group produce the tracks "Carly's Song" and "Carly's Loneliness" which are basically Sharon Stone's character's themes.
These tracks are the strongest of the album, tying with UB40's vibrant remake of "Can't Help Falling In Love With You" which is also thematically appropriate because Carly is falling in love with someone who may or may not be a killer - but can't help it.
The rest of the songs come from such great artists as Massive Attack, Neneh Cherry, Slid, Young Gods, Verve, and more - and they all bear the same compelling elements as the pieces by Enigma and UB40.
All in all, SLIVER's soundtrack was ahead of its time and paved the way for later soundtracks that are put together with the intent of echoing their movies' themes - and not just a random hodge-podge of songs.
SCORE: **** out of *****
SAMPLES:
1. "Can't Help Falling In Love With You" by UB40
2. "Carly's Song" by Enigma
4. "Unfinished Sympathy" by Massive Attack
7. "Move With Me" by Neneh Cherry
13. "Carly's Loneliness" by Enigma
