Today only, Amazon has marked down the MP3 album, The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 and Beyond to just $2.99. This album features such artists as Taylor Swift, Arcade Fire, Maroon 5 and Neko Case, and contains 16 tracks.
As always, we remind you that all Amazon MP3s are DRM-free and totally compatible with iTunes, iTunes Match and iCloud.
Amazon Hall of Fame Vine Voice and Top 50 Reviewer E.A. Solinas says:
“The Hunger Games” is one of the most anticipated movies of the entire year — and so the music is almost as anticipated.
Well, despite the presence of Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift, it’s a very NON-poppy collection of songs — it’s a smooth combination of folk, rock, and country, imbued with a sense of ominous bittersweetness. There are a few rock numbers mixed in, but “The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 And Beyond” is a very quiet, haunted affair.
It kicks off with Arcade Fire’s slow-blazing “Abraham’s Daughter”; it really brings across a dark, desperate feeling with a girl’s swirling vocals in the middle of it all, with danger roaring on every side of her. It is AWESOME.
From there, we hear a string of quieter songs — the Secret Sisters’ softly uplifting “Tomorrow Will Be Kinder”; Neko Case’s rippling “Nothing To Remember”; the Civil Wars’ trembling duet “Kingdom Come”; the Low Anthem’s murky “Lover is Childlike”; Jayme Dee’s warmly contemplative “Rules”; and finally Birdy’s bittersweet piano ballad “Just A Game.”
Maroon 5 also abandons their usual sound, producing a rippling, dark ballad called “Come Away To The Water.” As for Taylor Swift… “Safe and Sound” is a misty, soft-edged ballad that sounds beautiful, but “Eyes Open” is sharper and a bit shriller.But in the midst of all this mellow, softer stuff, there are a few rock numbers. There’s Kid Cudi’s buzzing, threatening “The Ruler and the Killer,” and Glen Hansard’s overwrought “Take The Heartland.” And God bless ’em, the Decemberists produce a perfect fusion of folk/country and rock in “One Engine.”
I expected a few more fast-moving rock numbers in “The Hunger Games,” since the movie is about a fight-to-the-death tournament — meaning there’s probably lots of action. But instead, it’s a slow, steady stream of acoustic guitars ringed with bass, a thin stream of blazing guitar and occasional piano. The entire album has a homespun, earthy feel.
The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 and Beyond – get it today, while it’s just $2.99.