今年金球奖最佳剧情的得主，墨西哥导演Alejandro González Iñárritu的力作《通天塔》的电影原声。 这部融合多民族风格以及多线索交叉的影片不光是金球奖的赢家，估计在奥斯卡上也会有不错的成绩。原声由上界奥斯卡得主《断背山》配乐阿根廷人Gustavo Santaolalla操刀，因为体裁风格的广泛性，各民族之间的融合成为这张专辑比较棘手的问题，同为拉美文化代表的两人在都深信对方能给自己带来最大的发挥，而这也不是两人第一次合作，早在电影“21 Grams”两人就确立了良好的合作关系，此片也获得了当年奥斯卡的提名。Gustavo不光在自己本职的专辑中的拉丁文化下足了工夫，还深入了解了电影所经历的文化代表，比如亲自探访北非的民族艺术；邀请了日本艺人坂本龙一；以及墨西哥本地艺术家Daniel Luna等等，所以发行方不多见的出版了双CD也足见此原声的广泛性。这张精彩的原声也获得奥斯卡最佳电影音乐的提名，这丝毫不能影响此专辑的经典性，交叉文化的代表作也就此展现。 The soundtrack to Alejandro Gonzalez Iárritu's film Babel — which takes place on two continents and in three countries — is a whopping double disc of cues with original score cuts by the venerable — and prolific — Gustavo Santaolalla, with other material including beautiful folk songs by Chavela Vargas, ambient cuts by David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto, original compositions by the great oud master Hamza el Din, urban/soul/funk by Earth, Wind & Fire, house music by Fatboy Slim, Japanese pop by Susumu Yokata, and Mexican popular music by Los Tucanes de Tijuana, El Chapo, Nortec Collective, and others — a truly international mixed bag. This said, other than the tune by Hamza, it was left to Santaolalla to capture many of the other Moroccan moods and themes in his cues — he did a tremendous job. But this is also where the problem lies. These two discs are such a sprawling mass with moods and textures that compete and clash, without the storyline to tie them together, that they don't always work as a stand-alone soundtrack. Some will have no trouble with great leaps in style over two discs, and for the engaged listener, Babel's soundtrack is a true delight. A case must be made, however, for a separate recording of Santaolalla's haunting and deeply moving score, accomplished with a minimum of instrumentation, immediate and intimate production, and plenty of space. This takes nothing away from the rest of the music here; it's just that the original score comprises 19 different cues in a total of 36 and deserves to be heard as a complete piece. If there's any doubt, try recording his own cuts to your iPod and hearing the result for yourself. For those who have seen the film, it is true that this set does not carry or reflect the gut-tightening tension inherent within it — and yes, that's a very good thing. It does serve as a pleasurable listen over one disc at a time. Cautiously recommended.