Its most powerful moments are among the best of Gaga’s
career. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper make
a bid for even greater Oscar glory on this emotional, effective OST.
Movie soundtracks are big business in 2018. Been awhile since I’ve been looking forward
to seeing something like this in the cinema.
The soundtrack moves chronologically through the story,
including snatches of dialogue to jog the memory (or generate light spoilers).
It begins with Black Eyes, a swaggering rock’n’roll song performed by Cooper’s
country rocker Jackson Maine, which ladles up big dollops of The Seeker by the
Who with a drizzling of Lynyrd Skynyrd
and My Morning Jacket.
The guitar shredding, meanwhile, is like Neil Young without
the ragged edges – unsurprising perhaps given that a major creative force here
is Lukas Nelson (son of Willie) whose band Promise of the Real currently back
Young. Nelson has numerous co-writing credits across the soundtrack, alongside
Gaga, Cooper, Mark Ronson, Jason Isbell, and
Diane Warren.
“By the wayside. I’m by the wayside”, Cooper croons. As
opening tracks go, it’s a perfect fit, subtly hinting at the personal demons
that become entirely too clear as his character, singer Jackson Maine,
progressed throughout the film. Nelson’s involvement also elevates the track
from being standard soundtrack fare – it sounds refreshingly believable on
screen and goes far in ensuring that Cooper’s transformation into a boozy
troubadour doesn’t feel too contrived.
As the movie and album progress, the focus becomes Ally. She
is rightfully scouted by a manager after touring with Jackson. Excellent
piano-bop “Look What I Found” launches a series of pop singles that are catchy,
wonderful and The Fame-adjacent in their execution.
In every incarnation of A Star Is Born, it takes the
survival of tragedy to turn the lead into a star. Overall though, A Star is
Born is one of the best Hollywood soundtracks of recent years. Far from being
Oscar bait, these are songs that could feasibly shine on their own – and ones
that feel entirely believable. Along with Best Actor gongs for Gaga and Cooper,
a musical gong might just be in order too.
Cooper sketches out his rockstar in admirably fine lines:
boozy, bluesy but it is Gaga who is the true star: a woman capable of every
kind of pop. All hail the Queen GAGA for she’s blessed with enormous talents.
All hail the queen!
