| Thelma & Louise: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Soundtrack album by various artists | |
| Released | April 30, 1991 (original) May 30, 2023 (extened) |
| Genre | |
| Length | 49:06(original) 59:41 (extended) |
| Label | MCA (original) La-La Land (extened) |
| Producer | Kathy Nelson
|
| Singles from Rain Man | |
| |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
Thelma & Louise: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album from the film of the same name released in 1991 by MCA Records.
The soundtrack features some worlds greatest hit rock country music hits including the hit single for Glenn Frey, Part of Me, Part of You. As well as English musician Pete Haycock of the Climax Blues Band and Electric Light Orchestra Part II who added on slide guitar contributed on Thunderbird, the theme music for the film. [2] The soundtrack for Ridley Scott's feminist road parable contains just what you'd expect—plenty of driving music. You can get the gist of Scott's message from Toni Childs' "House of Hope" and Marianne Faithfull's electro-pop cover rendition of the hit "Ballad of Lucy Jordan," but you can find music to help you down those long stretches of road in Chris Whitley's "Kick the Stones" as well as covers by Martha Reeves (Van Morrison's "Wild Night"), Charlie Sexton (John Hiatt's "Tennessee Plates") and Kelly Willis (X's "Little Honey"). [3] [4]
Hans Zimmer whose credits includes Rain Man , Driving Miss Daisy , and Days of Thunder composed and arranged his keyboards and synth programming music in addition to Scott who directed him since the action crime film Black Rain . [5] Before their collaborations to several films including Gladiator , Hannibal , Black Hawk Down (both 2001) and Matchstick Men (2003). It was Zimmer's second synth score.
In 1991, the soundtrack was released by MCA Records on cassette and compact discs with 11 tracks in every album. [6] [7] [8] The extended version was re-released on May 30, 2023, by La-La-Land Records which features the original motion picture score to the landmark 1991 feature film starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, and directed by Ridley Scott. [5]
Thelma & Louise: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Part of Me, Part of You" | Glenn Frey | 5:59 | |
| 2. | "Badlands" | Charlie Sexton | 5:34 | |
| 3. | "House Of Hope" | Toni Childs | 4:51 | |
| 4. | "I Can't Untie You from Me" | Grayson Hugh | 4:59 | |
| 5. | "Better Not Look Down" | B.B. King | 4:13 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Little Honey" |
| Kelly Willis | 4:43 |
| 2. | "Kick The Stones" | Chris Whitley | Chris Whitley | 3:51 |
| 3. | "Wild Night" | Martha Reeves | 3:18 | |
| 4. | "Tennessee Plates" |
| Charlie Sexton | 3:30 |
| 5. | "Ballad Of Lucy Jordan" | Shel Silverstein | Marianne Faithfull | 4:06 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thunderbird" | Zimmer | Hans Zimmer featuring Pete Haycock | 4:03 |
Thelma & Louise: Music from the MGM Motion Picture
In 2023, the "Special Extended Version" was remastered, and was written by renowned composer Hans Zimmer's original motion picture score to the acclaimed 1991 feature film Thelma & Louise.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Going To Mexico" | 2:10 |
| 2. | "J.D." | 0:50 |
| 3. | "The Hell With Texas – Happy Birthday Lady" | 1:51 |
| 4. | "Picking Up J.D." | 0:41 |
| 5. | "Oilfields" | 0:58 |
| 6. | "Watching Him Go – Jimmy Pops The Question" | 3:04 |
| 7. | "Ride Of The FBI" | 0:58 |
| 8. | "Louise’s Theme" | 2:47 |
| 9. | "Giving Up" | 3:39 |
| 10. | "Getting Out Of State" | 1:33 |
| 11. | "Charged With Murder" | 3:02 |
| 12. | "Learning From TV" | 0:45 |
| 13. | "Chase – You’ve Always Been Crazy" | 10:20 |
| 14. | "Thelma & Louise End Titles" | 3:58 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thelma & Louise 2000 Concert Suite (Demo)" | 6:39 |
| 2. | "Thelma & Louise Main Title (Film Version)" | 2:20 |
| 3. | "Giving Up (Alternate)" | 3:39 |
| 4. | "Suck My Dick (Film Version)" | 1:39 |
| 5. | "I Got A Knack - Getting Out Of State (Film Version)" | 2:20 |
| 6. | "Charged With Murder (Film Version)" | 2:12 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thunderbird" | 4:05 |
The Thelma & Louise (1991) soundtrack received positive reception for its atmospheric mix of country, rock, and blues, which perfectly complemented the film's Southwestern setting. [9] Hans Zimmer's score was highly praised for balancing character, action, and, specifically, the iconic "Thunderbird" theme.
The way Zimmer blends his personal pop-rock keyboard stylings with the southern and southwestern instrumental textures is excellent, the small set of thematic ideas get plenty of air time, and of course ‘Thunderbird’ itself is iconic – one of the best musical creations of his first decade in film music. I would say that you have to have a high tolerance for what is essentially ‘instrumental country music’ in order to appreciate Thelma & Louise – banjos and fiddles, harmonicas and guitars, and the like – but if you do, as I do, then the score offers a half hour or so of superb evocations of the genre and the geography. [9]