B-

Danger Mouse is clearly a fan of spaghetti westerns. Listening to the two Broken Bells albums, Broken Bells and Meyrin Fields, one can almost visual a Sergio Leone film. Indeed, Rome uses musicians who performed on Ennio Morricone‘s scores (notably The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly), a prominent spaghetti western composer. Thus, it’s not surprising how Rome plays out like a western, with Jack White playing the hero (or villian?) and omnipresent guest artist Norah Jones as the temptress. There are many instrumental tracks as well, further lending to the feeling that Rome is the soundtrack for a film. However, the soundtrack quality of the album may actually detract from the experience. Typically when listening to a soundtrack, the listener has a connection to the film and can recall the images, plot, and characters. With Rome, the listener doesn’t have that luxury, so the instrumental interludes can be easily overlooked. The lyrical “story” is also a bit thin, so it’s difficult to parse if there is an overarching theme (aside from the obvious spaghetti western). Still, Danger Mouse is a brilliant producer, so the music holds up well. My hope is that Danger Mouse will collaborate with James Mercer of the Shins again for a proper rock-opera Broken Bells album.