Justin Hurwitz – La La Land (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Great neon blue color (matches the Seb’s sign), jacket/sleeve leaves more to be desired but still a great album. Surface noise is present after spin clean but not overall distracting, noticed more on Side A on Mia snd Sebastian theme than on Epilogue on Side B

LP120x
Ortofon 2m Blue

Awesome pressing. Sounds great! La la land blue is beautiful and matches the jacket and the film to a T!

B side has a lot of skips and pops bit annoying

Overall it’s an okay pressing. Although in my copy highs are a little muddy in planetarium and audition. Don’t know if other people have the same experience

This is to my ears a very good pressing - though it does fall short of flawless. Big, boomy soundstage where it needs to be and subtle on the quieter parts like when Emma Stone sings a cappella.

Born to a family that includes a mother and an older sister that love musicals means that I’ve been exposed to that genre since I was a toddler. You might say that my soft spot for melodies can be traced back to them constantly playing their favourite soundtracks or movies in the background at home, so some of these became part of my first “melodic memories”.

Still, I’m not a lover of the musical genre by any means. I really like “My Fair Lady”, “Sweeney Todd” and “The Phantom Of The Opera” but that’s about it.

In 2016, though, there was some buzz around Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land”, so I gave it a go.

I won’t discuss the movie here. Let’s just say that, despite considering Ryan Gosling one of the blandest actors in Hollywood’s history he suffices here. Emma Stone nails her role, the story hits home with me at many points, and the epilogue just destroyed me.

Anyway, about the music: Hurwitz understood the script’s main ideas, and manages to create a delightful bunch of melodies here, most revolving around the beautiful main “Mia And Sebastian’s Theme”, and perfectly updates the musical genre with a modern, jazz infused (addressing Sebastian's ion for the genre) twist.

Songs like the opener “Another Day Of Sun”, “Someone In The Crowd” or “A Lovely Night” will put a smile on your face, while the different incarnations of “City Of Stars” will leave you in a dreamy, reflective and nostalgic mood. “Planetarium” is a gorgeous moment and, together with “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” and “Epilogue” (an expanded reprise of the first) are the sentimental highlights of the score. These last two are especially effective, with the last one being partially responsible for the emotional blow of the movie’s closing scene.

I also like the fact that Ryan and Emma sing their parts. I think it makes the movie more believable. Despite not being professional musicians, they do a great job at singing and dancing their bits.

A great asset to a genre that is not as dated as some might think thanks to movies like this one.

Mix is a bit odd; bass forward, mids low, and vocals should be clearer, but it still works. Noise floor isn't as quiet as desired after lengthy ultrasonic cycles, but the crackle (no pops) gives the music a vintage context which eases the commercial sheen a bit.

Despite a skip at the first seconds of A side, pressing is great. Not a single noise between tracks and a few ones on the more rythmic tracks so not so noticeable. A wonderful soundtrack from Justin Hurwitz. However I regret a black vinyl (even if a blue one exists) and these artworks considering movie aesthetic. Can’t wait for a new release matching it.

Do not buy CD's made in argentina, the booklet is cheaply made, the print on the disc looks terrible and the jewel case shattered almost instantly

I'll second the last two comments: back cover is slightly different, vinyl itself sounds good with a little surface noise, no pops or skips