Columbia Records/Sony Music Soundtrax Release 'August Rush - Music From The Motion Picture'

Soundtrack Album Premieres New Tracks by John Ondrasik, John Legend, Kaki King, Chris Botti & Paula Cole, Jonathan Rhys Meyers & More

Critically Acclaimed Warner Bros. Pictures Film, 'August Rush,' - An Incredible Journey Moving at the Speed of Sound - Opens Nationwide Wednesday, November 21

PRNewswire
NEW YORK
11/21/2007

"August Rush - Music From The Motion Picture," the soundtrack album from the widely anticipated Warner Bros. Pictures film, is available now from Columbia Records/Sony Music Soundtrax.

"August Rush - Music From The Motion Picture" is a showcase of the soul-stirring sounds which drive the critically acclaimed motion picture starring Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers with Terrence Howard and Robin Williams.

"August Rush - Music From The Motion Picture" premieres a range of extraordinary new music including two original songs penned by Five For Fighting's John Ondrasik ("King of the Earth," performed by Ondrasik, and "Break," performed by Jonathan Rhys Meyers with Ondrasik on piano); a brand new cut ("Someday") from R&B pop master John Legend; two transcendent performances from female guitar virtuoso Kaki King ("Bari Improv," "Ritual Dance"); and four revelatory tracks -- including "Break," "This Time," "Moondance," and "Something Inside" -- sung by Jonathan Rhys Meyers (the Golden Globe winning actor has sterling musical credentials, having sung his own parts as a David Bowie-inspired glam-rock star in Todd Haynes' "Velvet Goldmine" as well as his current role as a charismatic Irish guitarist and singer in "August Rush").

The album also includes a variety of cover performances including Chris Botti & Paula Cole's interpretation of Billie Holiday's "God Bless The Child," Leon Thomas III's reinvention of the traditional Mexican folk tune "La Bamba" (which became a signature hit for the late Ritchie Valens in 1958), and Rhys Meyers' take on Van Morrison's "Moondance" (also covered by Chris Botti as a bonus track on the album).

Rounding out "August Rush - Music From The Motion Picture" are variations on Johann Sebastian Bach's "Prelude from Partita No. 3" and Edward Elgar's "Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85, Adagio-Moderato" as well as selections from the film's musical score written by the Grammy Award winning composer ("Tarzan") Mark Mancina.

"August Rush" -- the film and its music -- have been drawing raves from the press:

  "Tunefully romantic," wrote Marshall Fine for Star magazine.  "'August
  Rush' hits all the right notes."

  "Phenomenal," raved the Film Advisory Board's Janet Stokes.  "'August
  Rush' is magical."

  "Sheer movie magic," Michael Faust observed in Artvoice.  "It makes you
  fall in love with music all over again through the ears of a child."

  "A must see for the holiday," said ABC-TV's Jim Ferguson.  "It's like
  taking a ride on a magic carpet of music."

  "Your heart will be singing and your spirit will soar!" exclaimed
  CBS-TV's Mark S. Allen.

  Maria Salas, of Soundtrack Channel called "August Rush," "One of the best
  films of the year, you feel the music all around you.  Inspirational!
  Amazing!"

  "A modern day musical fairy tale," said Greg Russell, from Detroit's
  WMYD-TV.

Parade.com's Jeanne Wolf discovered in "August Rush," "A captivating fantasy full of suspense, emotional surprises and the most original music of the year."

"August Rush," in theaters November 21, tells the story of a charismatic young Irish guitarist (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and a sheltered young cellist (Keri Russell) who have a chance encounter one magical night above New York's Washington Square but are torn apart, leaving in their wake an infant, August, orphaned by circumstance. Now performing on the streets of New York and cared for by a mysterious stranger (Robin Williams), August (Freddie Highmore) uses his remarkable musical talent to seek the parents from whom he was separated at birth. The film, which also stars Terrence Howard, is directed by Kirsten Sheridan and produced by Richard Barton Lewis from a screenplay by Nick Castle and James V. Hart, story by Paul Castro and Nick Castle.

  "August Rush - Music From The Motion Picture"
  Tracklisting

  1. Main Title - Mark Mancina
  2. Bach/Break - Steve Erdody and Jonathan Rhys Meyers
  3. Moondance featuring Jonathan Rhys Meyers
  4. This Time - Jonathan Rhys Meyers
  5. Bari Improv - Kaki King
  6. Ritual Dance - Kaki King
  7. Raise It Up - Jamia Simone Nash and Impact Repertory Theater
  8. Dueling Guitars - Heitor Pereira and Doug Smith
  9. Elgar/Something Inside - Steve Erdody and Jonathan Rhys Meyers
  10. August's Rhapsody featuring Freddie Highmore - Mark Mancina
  11. Someday - John Legend
  12. King of the Earth - John Ondrasik
  13. God Bless the Child - Chris Botti and Paula Cole
  14. La Bamba - Leon Thomas III
  15. Moondance - Chris Botti (Hidden Track)

  augustrushmovie.warnerbros.com
  columbiarecords.com

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

SOURCE: Columbia Records

CONTACT: Claire Mercuri for Columbia Records, +1-917-940-2499,
Claire.Mercuri@gmail.com

Web site: http://www.columbiarecords.com/
http://augustrushmovie.warnerbros.com/