One of the better things to come from the Eragon movie was the original score composed by Patrick Doyle and orchestrated by James Shearman. Punk rock singer Avril Lavigne and popular female artist Jem both recorded original songs released with the soundtrack.
Doyle is a two-time Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominee best known for his work on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Thor. Despite universal disappointment with the Eragon movie, the soundtrack enjoyed success, averaging 4.5 stars – one of the very few upsides to the otherwise-dreadful film adaptation.
The composition’s highs and lows beautifully capture the spirit of the story and books. It’s a great set of music to listen to while reading through the Cycle (or any epic fantasy), or when writing your own book. All fourteen of Doyle’s songs are available in an embedded Youtube playlist below. The full album is also available for streaming on Spotify, Amazon, and iTunes!
In addition to Patrick Doyle’s fourteen song score, two popular artists recorded original songs for the film:
“Keep Holding On” (Avril Lavigne)
Punk rock singer Avril Lavigne (of “Sk8r Boy” and “Girlfriend” fame) wrote and recorded an original song and music video, “Keep Holding On,” for the movie. The music video features Lavigne playing piano interspersed with clips from the film.
“Keep Holding On” enjoyed chart success in the United States and abroad as a regular on pop music radio stations and the charts. The Cycle community’s consensus seems to be that both songs are rather cheesy and generic in nature (applicable to any coming-of-age story).
“Once in Every Lifetime” (Jem)
Jem is a electronica and pop rock singer and songwriter known for her hits including “They” and “24” (recorded for Ultraviolet). She wrote and recorded “Once in Every Lifetime,” based on the film.
