Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: The Motion Picture Soundtrack

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Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: The Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
ReleasedDecember 18, 2007
Recorded2007
GenreSoundtrack
Length71:26
LabelNonesuch
ProducerMike Higham
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: The Motion Picture Soundtrack is a soundtrack to the film of the same name, released on December 18, 2007.

In a change from the original, Sondheim cut the show's famous opening number, "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd", explaining, "Why have a chorus singing about 'attending the tale of Sweeney Todd' when you could just go ahead and attend it?"[2] Sondheim acknowledged that, in adapting a musical to film, the plot has to be kept moving, and was sent MP3 files of his shortened songs by Mike Higham, the film's music producer, for approval. Several other songs were also cut, and Sondheim noted that there were "many changes, additions and deletions... [though]... if you just go along with it, I think you'll have a spectacular time."[2] To create a larger, more cinematic feel, the score was reorchestrated by the stage musical's original orchestrator, Jonathan Tunick, who increased the orchestra from twenty-seven musicians to seventy-eight.

The Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Deluxe Complete Edition soundtrack was released on December 18, 2007. Johnny Depp's singing was described by a

New York Times reviewer as "harsh and thin, but amazingly forceful".[3] Another critic adds that, though Depp's voice "does not have much heft or power", "his ear is obviously excellent, because his pitch is dead-on accurate... Beyond his good pitch and phrasing, the expressive colorings of his singing are crucial to the portrayal. Beneath this Sweeney's vacant, sullen exterior is a man consumed with a murderous rage that threatens to burst forth every time he slowly takes a breath and is poised to speak. Yet when he sings, his voice crackles and breaks with sadness."[4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by

Not While I'm Around
" (**)Edward Sanders, Helena Bonham Carter4:1120."Final Scene" (* ***)Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, Laura Michelle Kelly, Alan Rickman10:21

* Not on the "Highlights" version of the soundtrack.
** Tracks that are significantly longer than their "Highlights" counterparts.
*** Song is either written specially or adapted for the film.

Additional album personnel

  • Executive soundtrack album producers: Tim Burton and Robert Hurwitz
  • Executive in charge of music for Warner Bros. Pictures: Doug Frank
  • Album Produced by Mike Higham
  • Orchestra recorded by Jake Jackson and Geoff Foster at Air Lyndhurst Studios, London
  • Conducted by Paul Gemignani
  • Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
  • Additional orchestrations by Julian Kershaw
  • Additional arrangements by Mike Higham and Alex Heffes
  • Vocals for Mr. Depp produced by Bruce Witkin
  • Vocals recorded by Andy Richards at Out of Eden, London
  • Rugby School Chapel Organ by Andy Richards
  • Music editors: Sam Southwick, John Warhurst
  • Mixed by Andy Richards at Out of Eden, London
  • Mastered
    by Robert C. Ludwig at Gateway Mastering & DVD, Portland, ME
  • Design by Gabriele Wilson
  • Photograph of Stephen Sondheim by Jarry Jackson
  • For Nonesuch Records:
    • Production supervisor: Katrina Beznicki
    • Production manager: Eli Cane
    • Editorial coordinator: Robert Edridge-Waks

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[5] 45
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[6] 33
French Albums (
SNEP)[7]
 49
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8] 40
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[9] 49
UK Albums (OCC)[10] 38
US Billboard 200[11] 16
US Billboard Top Soundtracks[11] 3

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[12] Silver 60,000*
United States — 375,363[13]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ AllMusic review
  2. ^ a b Buckley, Michael (2007-12-16). "Stage to Screens: Logan, Zanuck and Parkes of "Sweeney Todd," Plus "Atonement" Writer Hampton". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2007-12-18. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
  3. ^ Scott, A. O. (2007-12-21). "Murder Most Musical". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  4. ^ Thomasini, Anthony (2008-01-12). "An Actor Whose Approach to Singing Lets the Words Take Center Stage". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  5. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Soundtrack – Sweeney Todd". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  6. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack – Sweeney Todd" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  7. ^ "Lescharts.com – Soundtrack – Sweeney Todd". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  8. GfK Entertainment Charts
    . Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  9. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Soundtrack – Sweeney Todd". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  10. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". Billboard. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
  12. ^ "British album certifications – Stephen Sondheim – Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber Of Fleet". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  13. ^ "UMGD New Releases". Universal Music Group. 2014. p. 62. Retrieved 25 April 2019 – via Scribd.

External links

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