Ali [Original Soundtrack]

Overview

Classic R&B heroes unite with the new saviors of soul on this outstanding soundtrack. Two epic gospel grooves from R. Kelly, including the soaring single “The World’s Greatest,” share the spotlight with “Fight,” a Shaft-style, funked-up new track from pop prodigy Alicia Keys. The old guard weighs in with amen-inducing tracks by Al Green with Booker T and the MG’s (an ecstatic live rendition of the Sam Cooke classic “A Change Is Gonna Come”) and Aretha Franklin (the grande dame’s passionate “Ain’t No Way”). Bilal’s Prince-ly, sparse, syncopated “Sometimes” and Angie Stone’s pursed-lipped “20 Dollars” toss off tales of everyday life with an effortless old-school vibe. The disc also includes haunting, ambient pieces by cellist Martin Tillman (the trippy “Odessa”) and Gladiator soundtrack chanteuse Lisa Gerrard with Pieter Bourke (the celestial, atmospheric “See the Sun”). Interestingly enough, there are no musical contributions by the film’s star, Will Smith, nor are there any tracks from Ali's I Am the Greatest, a mostly spoken-word disc he made in 1963. Fortunately, there is enough talent on this rousing soundtrack to make Ali the greatest in more ways than one.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/27/2001
Label:	Interscope Records
UPC:	0606949317324
catalogNumber:	493173
Rank:	83904

Tracks

1. The World's Greatest
2. Fight
3. Hold On
4. A Change Is Gonna Come
5. Ain't No Way
6. Sometimes
7. 20 Dollars
8. For Your Precious Love
9. Bring It on Home to Me
10. The Greatest
11. Mistreated
12. Tomorrow
13. All Along the Watchtower
14. Odessa
15. See the Sun

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Walt Whitman & the Soul Children   Choir, Chorus
Salif Keita   Track Performer
Booker T. & the MG's   Track Performer
Aretha Franklin   Track Performer
Green   Track Performer
Soul Children   Choir, Chorus
Yvonne Gage   Choir, Chorus
Percy Bady   Keyboards
Dewey Browder   Bass
Jonathan DuBose   Guitar
Donnie Lyle   Guitar
Jeffrey Morrow   Choir, Chorus
James Poyser   Organ
Rachel Robinson   Choir, Chorus
Johnny Rutledge   Choir, Chorus
Angie Stone   Track Performer
Martin Tillman   Track Performer
Andre Booth   Keyboards
Norman Hedman   Percussion
Stevie Robinson   Choir, Chorus
Joan Collaso   Choir, Chorus
?uestlove   Drums
Arty White   Guitar
Matthew Robinson   Choir, Chorus
Kendall D. Nesbitt   Keyboards
Rodney Davis   Keyboards
Bilal   Track Performer
Alicia Keys   Piano,Keyboards,Vocals
Amber Morrow   Choir, Chorus
Joseph Morrow   Choir, Chorus
Leah Robinson   Choir, Chorus
Simbryt Whititngton   Choir, Chorus
David Elliott   Track Performer
Truth Hurts   Track Performer
Robin Robinson   Choir, Chorus

Technical Credits

Everlast   Producer
Tony Black   Engineer
R. Kelly   Arranger,Producer
Keith Ciancia   Producer
Lisa Gerrard   Producer
Trevor Horn   Producer
Michael Mann   Executive Producer
James Poyser   Producer
Paul Riser   String Arrangements
Jon Smeltz   Engineer
Michael Verdick   Engineer
Pieter Bourke   Producer
Jon Peters   Producer
Chad Fischer   Producer
Tom Vedvik   Producer
Kathy Nelson   Producer
Tim Donovan   Engineer
Edwin "Eddie Ed" Ramos   Engineer
Steve Stoute   Producer
Lia Vollack   Producer
Carl Robinson   Engineer
?uestlove   Producer
Abel Garibaldi   Programming,Engineer
Drew FitzGerald   Art Direction
Kerry Brothers   Producer,Engineer,Digital Programming
Ian Mereness   Programming
Gerald Isaac   Arranger,Producer,Engineer,Vocal Arrangements
Ray Murray   Producer
Alicia Keys   Producer
Soulquarians   Producer

Editorial Reviews

Michael Mann's film biography Ali had one of the most hyperactive soundtracks in memory. Music underscores nearly every minute of the film, which seems at times to move less from scene to scene than song to song. Ever since Mann's Miami Vice days, his stylistically diverse, richly textured, and often dark musical selections have done as much to set the tone for his projects as the fast-paced editing and invariably "stone-washed" look of the cinematography. Mann and his composers, Pieter Bourke and Lisa Gerrard, masterfully set the emotional tone of each scene without resorting to emotionally manipulative clichès. But the sheer volume of the music in Ali sometimes overwhelms the substance of the story. The ice-cool style and the constant barrage of music keep the audience gliding on the surface without ever truly revealing the emotional core of the film's fascinating subject. And yet, despite all that music, the producers of this soundtrack album (the first of two released by Interscope) somehow felt the need to add songs that were never used in the movie. Unfortunately, they favored a pair of schmaltzy R&B-pop ballads by R. Kelly ("The World's Greatest" and "Hold On") over the fine Bourke/Gerrard score, which is represented here only by the trancey ambient song "See the Sun." But there are several strong tracks here that were used in the film, including Truth Hurts' soulful Motown ballad "For Your Precious Love," Everlast's moody half-rap "'The Greatest," and especially Selif Keita's powerful African anthem "Tomorrow," which was used powerfully in two of the film's more important moments.

All Music Guide - Evan Cater