Rent (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Chris Columbus admitted that he was a fan of the original cast album. However, he felt that as the cast album was recorded in three days and the show was ongoing, hence they had a lot of technical problems with the album. He was unhappy with the tracks "Rent" and "Out Tonight" as they are of poor quality and are stronger rock and roll numbers which would have much power if being stemmed. He further thought it leaned slightly "a little too far to the Broadway side of it" which was closer to a really strong rock and roll record.[2] He collaborated with Green Day's record producer Rob Cavallo after listening to the band's 2004 album American Idiot, which he called it as "one of the best sounding rock records I've heard in the last ten years". He further met Cavallo and asked whether he would be interested in doing the film, which he agreed to do so.[2] Jonathan Larson's "Love Heals" was included in the film as well as in the soundtrack as it was not used in the Broadway production.[3]

The music was well received by critics. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic felt that "the soundtrack takes a close second to the original cast recording", praising the vocals, production and recording and rated 4 out of 5 to the album.[4] The Harvard Crimson writer Maura A. Graul also gave 4 out of 5 stars admitting that the soundtrack "delivers a fresh sound from a group of refreshed veterans, as good as they have ever been".[5]

Calling the soundtrack as a "potent mixture of show-tune pop, rock, funk, even tango", Orlando Sentinel called "Seasons of Love", "La Vie Boheme" and "Love Heals" as "clear standouts" of the album.[6] Writing for Today, John Hartl criticised the film's music, saying "A musical lives or dies on the strength of its songs, and the late Jonathan Larson’s rock tunes for Rent simply don’t measure up. The music is more bombastic than melodic; the lyrics are banal and gratingly predictable — an affliction they share with much of the dialogue. Despite its Pulitzer and its Tonys, and despite one catchy number ("Seasons of Love"), it fails to soar."[7]

Rent (Selections from the Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the second album featuring selections of the original tracks used in the film. It was released on October 21, 2005 by Warner Bros. Records.[12]

To promote the film, Warner Bros. Records had dance remixes of several of the songs commissioned. Two extended plays of the remix albums were sent to clubs and also made available for purchase on digital download.[13][14]

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[15]