JACKSON

Original Soundtrack from JACKSON directed by J.F. Lawton. Music by Frankei Blue (THE LAST RIDE). From a rare indies label.

Director's Note for the Soundtrack for Jackson

I worked on and off on the screenplay for Jackson for over 15 years before I finally began shooting it. There was something in the Don Quixote story of two homeless men, Donald and Sam, that I couldn't get out of my system. But there always seemed to be something missing. On one level, Jackson is simply the story of two bums killing time on a single day with a pan handled twenty dollar bill. There is no reason to believe this day was any different than the day before. Despite some comic misadventures, both men end up exactly where they were before with little prospect tomorrow will be any different. Yet it is a very special day. While nothing happens, somehow everything happens. It wasn't until I finally got serious about shooting it, that the missing part came to me. To take advantage of the power of music, in particular some of the greatest opera arias ever written, to make clear the great emotional stakes of their simple journey. It was then that I approached composer Frankie Blue with this strange idea of making an opera about the homeless. Neither of us knew at the time it would take another six years of dedicated work achieve this vision. But the result I feel is magical, not only thanks to genius of Mozart, Puccini, Donizetti, Tchaikovsky and Verdi but to Frankie's unique interpretation of their music, as well as his own incredible original score. Jackson became not just a life changing experience for it's characters, but one for me. From the simple story of two bums I not only have a film I am immensely proud of, but a soundtrack of timeless music that stands on its own. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

J. F. Lawton

1 O Mio Babbino Caro
2 A Jackson
3 Champagne Aria
4 Great Day
5 The Sextet
6 I Wish I Was In Dixie Land
7 A Great General
8 Una Furtiva Lagrima
9 He Really is Crazy
10 Ibn Hakia
11 Spiritual Rain
12 Va Pensiero