Ravenous (soundtrack)


Ravenous is the score for the film of the same name. It was written and performed by Damon Albarn and Michael Nyman. The score was actually not a collaboration, according to Nyman: "Ravenous was a joint composition in the sense that Damon Albarn composed 60% of the tracks and I did the rest." It features Nyman's first writing for banjo since his 1981 self-titled album.
The tracks known to be composed/arranged by Nyman include:
  • Hail Columbia & Noises Off and Welcome To Fort Spencer. These were written for and performed by Foster's Social Orchestra, a group of non-musician artists Nyman assembled under the inspiration of the Portsmouth Sinfonia.
  • Cannibal Fantasy.
  • Stranger At The Window.
In addition, the tracks most recognisably in Nyman's idiom include:
  • The "Ives" tracks.
  • Trek To The Cave.
  • Checkmate.
  • Ives Torments Boyd And Kills Knox.
While the only tracks clearly known to be composed by Albarn are "Boyd's Journey" and "Colqhoun's Story" per the aforementioned DVD commentary, the following tracks share similar rhythmic and electronic characteristics, based upon looped samples and distortions:
  • He Was Licking Me
  • Let's Go Kill That Bastard
  • The Pit
  • Martha And The Horses
  • Saveoursoulissa
  • Manifest Destiny
The long track, "The Cave," features many characteristics of Albarn's other tracks while also sampling a sting from Nyman's rejected score to the film Practical Magic.
The "End Titles" track features alternate recordings of "Boyd's Journey" and "Cannibal Fantasy".
Individual pieces from the score have shown up in two different movies:

Track listing

  1. "Hail Columbia" 2:42
  2. "Boyd's Journey" 3:02
  3. "Welcome to Fort Spencer" 1:41
  4. "Noises Off" 1:54
  5. "Stranger at the Window" 1:48
  6. "Colquhoun 's Story" 4:43
  7. "Weendigo Myth" 1:23 written and sung by Quiltman
  8. "Trek to the Cave" 4:24
  9. "He Was Licking Me" 1:41
  10. "The Cave" 8:01
  11. "Run!" 2:10
  12. "Let's Go Kill that Bastard" 3:51
  13. "The Pit" 4:37
  14. "Ives Returns" 0:49
  15. "Cannibal Fantasy" 2:13
  16. "A Game of Two Shoulders" 2:25
  17. "Checkmate" 2:17
  18. "Martha and the Horses" 3:14
  19. "Ives Torments Boyd and Kills Knox" 2:16
  20. "Manifest Destiny" 5:20
  21. "Saveoursoulissa" 8:40
  22. "End Titles" 5:01

Personnel

The Michael Nyman Orchestra, led by Jackie Shave, conducted by Michael Nyman

British release

The British version of the soundtrack album features three tracks remixed by William Orbit, "Boyd's Beauty pt. A", "Screech Jam", and "The Pit." Due to the length of the album, this necessitated the omission of three tracks: "Ives Returns," "Manifest Destiny," and "End Credits."

Track listing

  1. Hail Columbia 2:42
  2. Boyd's Journey 3:02
  3. Welcome to Fort Spencer 1:41
  4. Noises Off 1:54
  5. Stranger at the Window 1:48
  6. Colquhoun's Story 4:43
  7. Weendigo Myth 1:23 written and sung by Quiltman
  8. Trek to the Cave 4:24
  9. "He Was Licking Me" 1:41
  10. The Cave 8:01
  11. "Run!" 2:10
  12. "Let's Go Kill that Bastard" 3:51
  13. "The Pit" 4:37
  14. Cannibal Fantasy 2:13
  15. A Game of Two Shoulders 2:25
  16. Checkmate 2:17
  17. Martha and the Horses 3:14
  18. Ives Torments Boyd and Kills Knox 2:16
  19. Saveoursoulissa 8:38
  20. Boyd's Beauty pt. A* 4:21
  21. Screech Jam* 3:31
  22. The Pit* 4:40

Additional personnel for EMI release

*Additional production and mix by William Orbit
  • Recorded and mixed at Guerilla Studios
  • Keyboards and tweaks by William Orbit and Damian Legassick
  • Pro Tools programming and engineering by Sean Spuehler
  • Head of soundtracks for EMI Records: Vivian Baber