Moss Side Story

No

Just didn't gel with the album. Like an awkward first date, the chemistry isn't there, and without the chemistry nothing sexy is going to happen.

Nice to have a go to album for Halloween now

This was necessarily bad but like, why? It felt like a proto-Pulp Fiction soundtrack. It's 2.5 stars, rounded down.

Making the score for a non existent movie is a cool idea that sounds on paper mostly like a project for a music school composition exercise - this has a basic noir feel to it, fancied up with swirling psych organs and 70s action funk. Good stuff to put on for reading detective genre fiction.

I genuinely have no idea why a fake movie soundtrack by some British dude I've never heard of is considered essential listening. There were points during this album where I genuinely couldn't tell anything was on. When it was discernible, it mostly just sounded like instrumental jazz-rock stuff with an eccentric edge to it. I can easily see this being good as a movie soundtrack, but it's far from great as an album, and even worse as an essential album to listen to before you die. It just does nothing for me.

It’s interesting, well produced.

Interesting, but not particularly engaging. 3/5

So this album very effectively accomplishes it's goal of sounding like a movie soundtrack. I like the concept of having an imaginary movie in your head and writing a score to fit. It leaves a lot open to interpretation for the listener. Fantastic idea and well done. I do think for the sheer uniqueness of this album it deserves a spot on this list. I'll never listen to it again but it was fun once. 3/5 mostly for the originality of the idea.
Having said that, all I could think while listening to this album was that Barry Adamson must have been something like:
"I know! Hollywood is where the money is at! I'll submit music for movie soundtracks!"
(one year and exactly 0 movie deals later): "Those bastards. I'll make a soundtrack anyway."

Ein angebliches „Soundtrack-Album zu einem nicht existierenden Film“ – und genau so fühlt es sich an: ziellos, überambitioniert und letztlich leer. Statt Spannung und Atmosphäre gibt es wirre Klangcollagen, die eher an ein überlanges Hörspiel erinnern als an Musik. Die düstere Noir-Ästhetik wirkt aufgesetzt, die Tracks verlieren sich in bedeutungsschwerem Getöse. Wer hier ein musikalisches Meisterwerk erwartet, bekommt stattdessen einen Haufen Nonsens mit viel Konzept und wenig Substanz.

Another concept soundtrack to a movie that doesn't exist, that's weirdly two in a row now.... NEXT!

It has been rare on this list to get an album that I did not know anything about and had never heard of the artist.

I enjoyed this a lot. It is definitely reminiscent of a soundtrack to a noir film, dark and atmospheric. A great find and definitely an album I will be returning to.

This literally is the equivalent of a film soundtrack. But not a film soundtrack with hit songs like Saturday Night Fever or Guardians Of The Galaxy. No, it’s film incidental music with the odd sound effect.

And as such it’s not really complete without the accompanying film. 


So, since only half of the project is here, then I’ll mark it out of 2½

A soundtrack to a crime film available at no movie theater near you, Moss Side Story is an unexpected and frustrating classic. As a concept, it's pure indulgence and posture. I'm not interested in trying to visualize the script for which this record is the sonic backdrop. But it triumphs musically, and b/c it's a collection of instrumental jazz with strings attached, it succeeds conceptually as well: scenes of lawlessness are cinematically displayed whether you like it or not. It's not the greatest crime-film soundtrack ever made - that'd be Miles Davis's Ascenseur pour l'échafaud - but it is one of the more entertaining records I've heard. Advice to the skeptic, w/ whom I can sympathize: it's not that serious. Crime films aren't high art anyway.

Absolutely never heard of this before. It's certainly interesting, and I may need to give it multiple listens to really decide what I think about this. It's got that combination of odd and intriguing.

There's some interesting sounds in this album. Especially in 1989? Its very industrial. But does an album exist solely to manifest a career in soundtracks count as an actual album? I mean I understand it's an album to visualize, but it only feels like a half idea.

I didn't hate it, but I had no fun listening to it, and I can't see anytime I'd put this on again.

I legitimately thought it was a movie score before looking it up, so it definitely gets points for achieving what it was going for. It's got some really great strings and bass work in it.

This really didn't work for me.

The thing about soundtracks is that they're made to support and expand things that are happening on screen. Except there is no screen, and no movie.
The album itself is not bad by any stretch, but it's not super interesting either. A few good ideas, but way too much footsteps/broken dialogue for anything to shine.

I truly don't understand the point of this.

Atmostpheric sound track, from sensual to uncomfortable to thrilling, a great work.