O Brother, Where Art Thou? (soundtrack)
| O Brother, Where Art Thou? | ||
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| Soundtrack album by Various Artists | ||
| Released | December 5, 2000 | |
| Genre | Country, bluegrass | |
| Length | 61:24 | |
| Label | Lost Highway/Mercury | |
| Producer | ||
| Music sample | ||
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O Brother, Where Art Thou? is the soundtrack of music from the 2000 American film of the same name, written, directed and produced by the Coen Brothers and starring George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Goodman.
With the film set in Mississippi during the Great Depression, the soundtrack, produced by T-Bone Burnett, uses bluegrass, country, gospel, blues, and folk music appropriate to the time period. With the exception of a few vintage tracks (such as Harry McClintock's 1928 single "Big Rock Candy Mountain"), most tracks are modern recordings.
The soundtrack was reissued on August 23, 2011, with 14 new tracks that were not included in the original album, "including 12 previously unreleased cuts from music producer T-Bone Burnett's O Brother sessions."[1]
Contents |
Development and sound [edit]
The soundtrack was originally conceived as a full member of action, not as a background to support. That's why it was decided to record a soundtrack before filming.[2] T-Bone Burnett was invited to design collections of music.[3] One member of The Stanley Brothers, Ralph Stanley, personally took part in recording the music for Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, singing a cappella folk song O Death.[4][5][6]
With the film set in Mississippi during the Great Depression, the soundtrack, produced by T-Bone Burnett, uses bluegrass, country, gospel, blues, and folk music appropriate to the time period. With the exception of a few vintage tracks (such as Harry McClintock's 1928 single "Big Rock Candy Mountain"), most tracks in the film are modern recordings.
There is a notable use of dirges and other macabre songs, a theme often recurring in Appalachian music,[7] such as in "O Death," "Lonesome Valley," "Angel Band," and "I Am Weary", in contrast to the bright, cheerful songs, like "Keep On the Sunnyside" and "In the Highways", in other parts of the film.
"Man of Constant Sorrow" has five variations: two are used in the film, one in the music video, and two in the soundtrack. Two of the variations feature the verses being sung back-to-back, and the other three variations feature additional music between each verse.[8] The voices of the Soggy Bottom Boys were provided by Dan Tyminski (lead vocal on "Man of Constant Sorrow"), Nashville songwriter Harley Allen, and the Nashville Bluegrass Band's Pat Enright.[9]
Reception and legacy [edit]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [10] |
The soundtrack CD became a best seller, certified eight times platinum as of October 2007[11] with sales of 7,421,000 copies in the United States up to November 2008.[12] It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2001, the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals (for singer Dan Tyminski, whose voice overdubbed George Clooney's in the film on "Man of Constant Sorrow", Nashville songwriter Harley Allen, and the Nashville Bluegrass Band's Pat Enright), and the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "O, Death" by Ralph Stanley.
Some of the artists on the soundtrack played a concert at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, which was recorded in the documentary film, Down from the Mountain.
In 2006, the album ranked #38 on CMT's 40 Greatest Albums in Country Music. In 2009, Rhapsody ranked it #8 on the "Country's Best Albums of the Decade" list.[13] The 9513 Country Music Blog named ranked it #5 on the "Country's Best Albums of the Decade" list.[14] In 2010, All Songs Considered, a program on NPR, included the soundtrack on their list of "The Decade's 50 Most Important Recordings."[15]
In August 23, 2011, a 10th anniversary edition was released, with 14 new tracks that were not included in the original album, "including 12 previously unreleased cuts from music producer T-Bone Burnett's O Brother sessions."[16][17]
Track listing [edit]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Po' Lazarus" | traditional | James Carter and the Prisoners | 4:31 | |
| 2. | "Big Rock Candy Mountain" | McClintock | Harry McClintock | 2:16 | |
| 3. | "You Are My Sunshine" | Davis, Mitchell | Norman Blake | 4:26 | |
| 4. | "Down to the River to Pray" | traditional | Alison Krauss | 2:55 | |
| 5. | "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" (radio station version) | Dick Burnett | Soggy Bottom Boys & Dan Tyminski | 3:10 | |
| 6. | "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" | James | Chris Thomas King | 2:42 | |
| 7. | "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" (instrumental) | Burnett | Norman Blake | 4:28 | |
| 8. | "Keep On the Sunny Side" | Blenkhorn, Entwisle | The Whites | 3:33 | |
| 9. | "I'll Fly Away" | Brumley | Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch | 3:57 | |
| 10. | "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby" | traditional | Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch | 1:57 | |
| 11. | "In the Highways" | Carter | Leah, Sarah, and Hannah Peasall | 1:35 | |
| 12. | "I Am Weary, Let Me Rest" | Roberts (Kuykendall) | The Cox Family | 3:13 | |
| 13. | "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" (instrumental) | Burnett | John Hartford | 2:34 | |
| 14. | "O Death" | traditional | Ralph Stanley | 3:19 | |
| 15. | "In the Jailhouse Now" | Blind Blake, Rodgers | Soggy Bottom Boys & Tim Blake Nelson | 3:34 | |
| 16. | "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" (with band) | Burnett | Soggy Bottom Boys & Dan Tyminski | 4:16 | |
| 17. | "Indian War Whoop" (instrumental) | Hoyt Ming | John Hartford | 1:30 | |
| 18. | "Lonesome Valley" | traditional | The Fairfield Four | 4:07 | |
| 19. | "Angel Band" | traditional | The Stanley Brothers | 2:15 | |
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Total length:
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61:24 | ||||
Personnel [edit]
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Chart performance [edit]
Album [edit]
| Chart (2000–2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Soundtracks | 1 |
| Canadian Albums Chart | 3 |
Singles [edit]
| Year | Single | US Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | "Man of Constant Sorrow" | 38 |
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Germain, David. New 'O Brother' set serves up more old-timey music Yahoo! News (August 22, 2011). Retrieved August 22, 2011
- ^ Ridley, Jim (May 22, 2000). "Talking with Joel and Ethan Coen about 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?'". Nashville Scene. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ^ "O Brother, why art thou so popular?". BBC News. February 28, 2002. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ^ Ellison, Michael (June 18, 2001). "American high". The Guardian. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
- ^ Kumer, Anita (September 9, 2008). "Bluegrass Legend Ralph Stanley Endorses Obama". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
- ^ "Museum Honoring Music Legend Ralph Stanley Set to Open October 16". Ralph Stanley Museum. 2004. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
- ^ McClatchy, Debbie (2000-06-27). "A Short History of Appalachian Traditional Music". Appalachian Traditional Music — A Short History. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ Long, Roger J. (2006-04-09). ""O Brother, Where Art Thou?" entry page". Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^ "Soggy Bottom Boys Hit the Top at 35th CMA Awards". Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ O Brother, Where Art Thou? (soundtrack) at Allmusic Allmusic Review
- ^ "RIAA certifications". Billboard.
- ^ Grein, Paul (December 10, 2009). "Chart Watch Extra: Ropin' The Biggest Country Hits". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
- ^ "Country’s Best Albums of the Decade" Retrieved 12 January 2010.
- ^ Staff (December 10, 2009). "Top Country Albums of the Decade (#10-#1)". The 9513. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
- ^ ""The Decade's 50 Most Important Recordings"". NPR. November 16, 2009. Retrieved 2010.
- ^ Germain, David (August 22, 2011). "New 'O Brother' set serves up more old-timey music". Associated Press. Yahoo! News. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
- ^ Lewis, Randy (August 23, 2011). "'O Brother,' is it 10 already?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
External links [edit]
| Preceded by Under Rug Swept by Alanis Morissette |
Billboard 200 number-one album March 23 - April 5, 2002 |
Succeeded by Now! 9 by various artists |
| Preceded by I Need You by LeAnn Rimes Inside Out by Trisha Yearwood I'm Already There by Lonestar Pull My Chain by Toby Keith Greatest Hits by Martina McBride Greatest Hits Volume III: I'm a Survivor by Reba McEntire Scarecrow by Garth Brooks Drive by Alan Jackson No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems by Kenny Chesney |
Top Country Albums number-one album February 24 - April 27, 2001 June 30 - July 13, 2001 July 21 - September 14, 2001 September 22 - October 5, 2001 October 27 - November 9, 2001 November 17–23, 2001 January 19 - February 1, 2002 March 16 - May 10, 2002 June 29 - July 5, 2002 |
Succeeded by Coyote Ugly by Various Artists I'm Already There by Lonestar Pull My Chain by Toby Keith Greatest Hits by Martina McBride Greatest Hits Volume III: I'm a Survivor by Reba McEntire The Road Less Traveled by George Strait Drive by Alan Jackson No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems by Kenny Chesney No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems by Kenny Chesney |
| Preceded by Greatest Hits by Tim McGraw |
Top Country Albums number-one album of the year 2002 |
Succeeded by Up! by Shania Twain |
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