''William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet: Music from the Motion Picture'' is the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

to the 1996 film of the same name. The soundtrack contained two separate releases: the first containing

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

from the film and the second containing the score to the film composed by

Nellee Hooper Nellee Hooper (born Paul Andrew Hooper on 15 March 1963) is a British record producer, remixer and songwriter known for his work with many major recording artists beginning in the late 1980s. He also debuted as a motion picture music composer w ...

, Craig Armstrong and

Marius de Vries Marius de Vries (born 1961) is an English music producer and composer. He has won a Grammy Award from four nominations, two BAFTA Awards, and an Ivor Novello Award. Education Marius de Vries was educated at St Paul's Cathedral School, Bedfor ...

''Volume 1''

The first soundtrack album to accompany the film was released on the Capitol Records label. It features songs by a number of artists including Garbage, Butthole Surfers and Radiohead (their song "

Exit Music (For a Film) ''OK Computer'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in Japan on 21 May 1997 and in the UK on 16 June 1997. Radiohead self-produced the album with Nigel Godrich, an arrangement they have used for their subsequ ...

", which appears over the end credits, was not included on the soundtrack however, but appeared a year later on Radiohead's album '' OK Computer''). The soundtrack was a popular and solid seller, reaching No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart and went triple-platinum sales in the U.S. It was especially successful in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, where it was the second-highest selling album in 1997, going five times Platinum in sales. A number of hit singles also resulted from the soundtrack, including "

Lovefool "Lovefool" is a song written by Peter Svensson and Nina Persson for Swedish rock band the Cardigans' third studio album, '' First Band on the Moon'' (1996). It was released as the album's lead single in Sweden in mid-1996 and on 9 September 1 ...

" by

The Cardigans The Cardigans is a Swedish rock band formed in Jönköping, Sweden, in 1992 by guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead singer Nina Persson. Post-hiatus shows sin ...

, the love theme " Kissing You" by

Des'ree Desirée Annette Weekes (born 30 November 1968), known by her stage name Des'ree (), is an English pop recording artist who rose to popularity during the 1990s. She is best known for her hits " Feel So High", " You Gotta Be", "Life", and " Kiss ...

, and a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of "

Young Hearts Run Free "Young Hearts Run Free" is a disco song written by David Crawford and originally recorded by American soul singer Candi Staton in 1976. In 1996, it was covered by American house music singer Kym Mazelle for the triple-platinum selling soundtr ...

" by

Kym Mazelle Kym Mazelle (born Kymberly Grigsby; August 10, 1960) is an American singer. She is regarded as a pioneer of house music in the United Kingdom and Europe. Her music combines R&B, soul, funk, house music, dance, and pop. She is credited as " The ...

Quindon Tarver Quindon Dan Tarver (August 4, 1982 – April 1, 2021) was an American singer. He was best known for his covers of Prince's "When Doves Cry" and Rozalla's " Everybody's Free" for the 1996 film ''William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet''. Life and ca ...

's choral rendition of

Rozalla Rozalla Miller (born 18 March 1964), better known as simply Rozalla, is a Zimbabwean electronic music performer who was born in what was then Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). At the age of 18, she moved with her parents to her father's country ...

's "

Everybody's Free (To Feel Good) "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" is a song by Zambian-born Zimbabwean singer Rozalla, released in August 1991 as the second single from her second album, '' Everybody's Free'' (1992). It had been a staple in the clubs in Ibiza and Mallorca in ...

" was later used in Luhrmann's "

Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young", commonly known by the title "Wear Sunscreen", is an essay written as a hypothetical commencement speech by columnist Mary Schmich, originally published in June 1997 in the ''Chicago Tribune' ...

" single. The album featured bonus tracks in the 10th Anniversary re-release in 2007.

Track listing

* "Introduction to Romeo", "Kissing You (Love Theme from ''Romeo + Juliet'') Instrumental" and "Young Hearts Run Free (Ballroom Version)" originally appeared on the ''Volume 2'' album.

''Volume 2''

The soundtrack was later followed by a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

, ''William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet: Music from the Motion Picture, Volume 2'', which featured the film's orchestral score, dialog from the film, and songs not featured on the previous album. The score to ''Romeo + Juliet'' was composed by British music producer

, Scottish composer Craig Armstrong, and English music composer and producer

. It was arranged, orchestrated, and conducted by Craig Armstrong using the

London Session Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

and The Metro Voices. The score fuses bombastic choral sequences produced by The Metro Voices as well as flamboyant orchestral pieces by the London Session Orchestra. It also contains Hooper's favorite

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...

sequences, especially seen in the track "Introduction to Romeo". Some high-beat techno tunes were fused with the chorus and orchestra in the track "Escape from Mantua". Dialogue from the film was also inserted into several of the tracks. Justin Warfield of One Inch Punch as well the Butthole Surfers and Mundy also contribute vocals to the score. A cover of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

's "

When Doves Cry "When Doves Cry" is a song by American musician Prince, and the lead single from his sixth studio album '' Purple Rain''. According to the DVD commentary of the film '' Purple Rain'' (1984), Prince was asked by director Albert Magnoli to write a ...

" by Quindon Tarver features on the album; it became a hit for him in Australia in 1997. Craig Armstrong's ''Film Works 1995–2005'' solo disc work contained several of these tracks. The score won

BAFTA Award for Best Film Music This is a list of winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Original Music, formerly known as the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music, which is presented to film composers, given out by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts si ...

for best film score in 1997. Composer Nellee Hooper was also awarded BAFTA's Anthony Asquith Award for Music for his composition of the score in 1998.

Track listing

Chart positions

''Volume 1''

Year-end charts

''Volume 2''

Uses in other media

Evanescence Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer and musician Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording independent EPs as a duo in the late 90's, and a demo CD, Evanescence released their debut ...

sampled "Death Scene" and "O Verona" from ''Volume II'' in the 2nd and 3rd demo versions of their song "Whisper". * '' The X-Files: Fight the Future'' used "Escape from Mantua" from ''Volume II'' in its theatrical trailer. * British TV talent show ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' uses "O Verona" regularly in the pre-title sequences and as the judges' entrance tune *

Wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...

used "O Verona" as part of his entrance for

Wrestlemania 30 WrestleMania XXX was the 30th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It took place on April 6, 2014, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana and was the first WWE ...

when he went up in a losing effort against Daniel Bryan for the chance to be in the

Triple Threat Match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

for the

WWE World Heavyweight Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown ...

against

Batista Batista is a Spanish or Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player * Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also known as Batista * Edina Alves Batis ...

and Randy Orton. * "O Verona" is used in the trailer for ' Quills' starring Geoffrey Rush and Kate Winslet.

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Romance film soundtracks 1996 soundtrack albums 1997 soundtrack albums 1990s film soundtrack albums Capitol Records soundtracks Craig Armstrong (composer) soundtracks Music based on works by William Shakespeare Crime film soundtracks Drama film soundtracks