A Titanic Comeback

Sony Classical

As 2012 is the 100^th Anniversary of the tragic sinking of the Titanic, Sony Classical has released an Anniversary Edition of the chart topping soundtrack to the record-breaking movie. The movie itself was also re-released to theaters in a digital 3D format to commemorate the anniversary. The Anniversary Edition also includes a second disc, which contains unreleased film music by I Salonisti (the ships band in the film), while the Collector’s Anniversary Edition contains a third disc entitled Back to the Titanic and a fourth disc that features popular songs from the early 1900’s.  Both include four Titanic luggage stickers as a bonus.

To say this soundtrack is an epic moment in pop culture history would be an understatement at best. The album is full of iconic pieces such as the gentle and hopeful sound of “Southampton,” the romantic sound of “Rose,” and the introspective “A Life So Changed.”  Of course, the coupled “The Sinking” and “Death of the Titanic” will make you nervous all over again as they musically recount the film’s climax. Titanic’s love theme remains its centerpiece though. Celine Dion’s absolutely stunning vocal on “My Heart Will Go On” will soften even the harshest of critics. It’s quite literally the performance of a lifetime and firmly cemented the song, the film, the soundtrack, and the artist herself as a quintessential piece of popular culture of the 1990’s.

The second disc included here is entitled Gentlemen, It Has Been a Privilege Playing With You Tonight. This part of the collection features the band I Salonisti, known best for performing as the Titanic’s house band in the film. The songs here are considered to be pieces that would have been played on popular cruises in the early 1900’s as re-recorded by the band. “Valse Septembre” opens the collection in a dynamic way that surely would have encouraged formal dancing. “Wedding Dance” and “Blue Danube” are still well-known pieces that would have lent themselves to the theme of the evening’s festivities. “Song Of Autumn” appears towards the end of the collection. It is rumored to be the song actually played as the Titanic went down and does not appear in the film.  Disc Two wraps up with a beautiful rendition of “Nearer My God to Thee,” a traditional hymn that has probably never been more perfectly placed in a film.

Overall, this is a collection that is very hard to ignore. You may not like classical music, Celine Dion, big budget movies, or soundtracks, but this one overcomes them all. The music James Horner composed for this film is timeless and tells the story of the film as brilliantly as the film itself.

Reviewed by Mark Fisher