O Brother, Where Art Thou?

The Coen brothers have worked their magic again with their excellent film "O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?" The unique vision and perspective of the film is rivaled only by the excellence of its soundtrack, which might just be the best movie soundtrack I've heard.

Quite simply, there is not one weak track on this CD, period. Not one. There are highlights, to be sure, but the greatest aspect of this soundtrack might be that the diverse array of recordings and styles presents the listener with something new to appreciate every time they play the CD.

Some tracks deserve special mention, however. Ralph Stanley's "O Death" is a haunting, passionate song , especially if one recalls the scene in which it appears during the movie. "Down In The River To Pray" by Alison Krauss is another excellent track; when my friend heard the the harmonies of this song, so wonderfully ethereal and poignant, she simply said: "that's beautiful." And the Peasall Sisters are outstanding on "In The Highways," singing with the innocence of children but harmonizing like adults as well.

In my opinion, however, the true gems of this soundtrack are the recordings by the Soggy Bottom Boys, featuring Tim Blake Nelson and Dan Tyminski. "In The Jailhouse Now" is just fun to listen to, and knowing that Tim Blake Nelson and John Tuturro actually sang their parts for the movie rather than lip-synching adds an authenticity that is hard to get from Hollywood these days.

"I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow" is, however, the spiritual center of the movie and the most outstanding part of the soundtrack. In the movie, George Clooney did such an excellent job lip-synching that moviegoers swore he was really singing the tune. It was actually the work of Dan Tyminski, though Tim Blake Nelson and John Tuturro again sang their own parts. This song simply sticks in your head and stays there, and for once that's a good thing. Tyminski's vocals are outstanding, and the two recordings are distinctive enough that one appreciates both versions being included on the soundtrack.

Another noteworthy aspect of this CD is the liner notes by the Coen brothers, who unabashedly lament the disappearance of this style of music from Nashville in favor of 'modern country music.' It is an interesting perspective from two filmmakers who always seem to have something important to say through their art.

At first I was thinking: why even review this? I suspected that most people wouldn't need the help of a review when deciding whether to buy this particular CD--they probably saw the movie and realized at about thirty seconds in to "Man of Constant Sorrow" that they had to have the soundtrack. But then I thought, people might be taking a look over the track list because of one or two favorite artists, trying to decide if they really want to take the plunge. If that description fits you: don't hesitate. Buy it. This is perhaps the most sublime compilation ever arranged of Americana: a mix of folk, blues, bluegrass, and gospel music, the full effect of which transcends period or genres. After getting this, I have about three or four new artists on my wish list for buying new CDs.

Outstanding tracks are both vocal versions of "Man of Constant Sorrow,""Down In The River To Pray,""O Death,""Hard Time Killing Floor Blues," and "I'll Fly Away," but you can listen to this from beginning to end, over and over, and not easily tire. As someone else pointed out, this is not like other soundtrack CDs--there are no weak links or unevenness here, no filler. Every cut is grade-A choice. Some, in fact, are dangerously addictive. I've owned the CD less than a day and played "Man of Constant Sorrow" about twenty times now. I feel like a rat pushing its lever again and again to get a buzz of sheer bliss.

When an album of old-time music goes platinum and hits #1 on the country chart with no significant radio airplay, one may rightly wonder what the hell is going on. The star power of George Clooney in this depression-era Coen Brothers film may have drawn attention, but the soundtrack stands on its own as a remarkable achievement. The 19 rustic tracks here are mountain music, primitive gospel, and the hobo vein of folk, the ancestors of bluegrass and country. You can feel the desperation, simplicity, and reverence of another era through performances by Ralph Stanley, Gillian Welch, Norman Blake, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, John Hartford, Chris Thomas King, the Fairfield Four, the Whites, the Cox Family, and others, along with a field recording of a chain gang ("Po Lazarus" by James Carter & the Prisoners), Harry McClintock`s 1928 hobo fantasy "Big Rock Candy Mountain," and the Stanley Brothers classic "Angel Band." Union Station takes on the musical identity of the three star characters onscreen, known as the Soggy Bottom Boys, and their stark, unvarnished renditions of "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" and "In the Jailhouse Now" are arresting. Ditto for Ralph Stanley, who raises the hairs on the back of the neck with his acapella mountain singing on "O Death," and the Fairfield Four on "Lonesome Valley." The emotional purity and grit of this soundtrack will take the buildup of the plaque of modern living and peel it right off.

Don't take the word "soundtrack" too seriously with this album: it absolutely stands on its own as a lovely collection of old-timey/bluegrass/folk from the Depression era and doesn't come across as a pre-packaged film promotion. Indeed, the liner notes suggest that the soundtrack was created before the film was actually made, with the music intended to add color to the film. I am eagerly awaiting this movie, and after having listened to the entire CD twice in a row upon receiving it, I am looking forward even more to seeing it to see how well the music fits into the overall experience.

Featuring well-known artists like Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski, and the Cox Family, the album also showcases some other performers that I'm not familiar with (and therefore won't comment on their reputations and show my ignorance). There are also some original recordings (such as Harry McClintock's "Big Rock Candy Mountain", for one).

The liner notes contain a lot of information about the genesis of the album and the part the music plays in the movie. It's clear that those involved in the making of this album put a lot of care into it and respect for the music.

Standout tracks for me: The Whites' "Keep on the Sunny Side" and Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch's cover of "I'll Fly Away".

Never in my wildest dreams would I have dared to imagine the collection offered in the soundtrack for "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Traditional music champions Norman Blake and Gillian Welch, bluegrass giants Ralph Stanley, Alison Krauss and Union Station (featuring Dan Tyminski), newgrass pioneers Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, and Stuart Duncan, and gospel masters The Whites and The Cox Family, join the very best a capella group ever (in my humble opinion), the Fairfield Four, for an unparalleled evocation of a singularly magical time and place.

I especially appreciate the four renditions of Carter Stanley's "A Man of Constant Sorrow," which showcase the variety of expression found in traditional country music. Chris Thomas King's rendition of "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" has me sold on this (new to me) artist. As for Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, and Gillian Welch's rendition of the lullabye "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby," these sirens can carry me away anytime.

Best of all, this music makes you think, deep and hard. Who can remain unmoved by the overpowering humanity of "Big Rock Candy Mountain" (with the original lyrics- this ain't the song you learned in grade school) and "O Death?" This music stems from real human experience and will touch your soul.

Who knows? With this CD's popularity, maybe country musicians will start singing the blues again!

I think many, many people almost fell out of their seats at the 2002 Grammy Awards when 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' won the Grammy for Album of the Year. When you think about it, it never should have happened. The disc received almost no radio airplay. Country stations wouldn't touch it. The disc (and the film) gained a following mainly through word-of-mouth. So what makes this collection of country-folk-bluegrass music so popular as we begin the 21st Century?

I believe that audiences (especially those 30 years of age and older) are tired of the trend of mostly mindless electronic music that either has no originality or recycled songs from the past. As our lives and society have become more complex, we need something to counterbalance that complexity, something to carry us back to times and ideas that are more simple. There is nothing musically or lyrically complex about the songs here. They have very simple structure musically and can be easily understood. But the songs also (many of them) appeal to spiritual matters. You won't hear spiritual themes in music played on most radio stations. "Down to the River to Pray," "I'll Fly Away," "O Death," "Angel Band," and many others deal with spiritual issues that, let's face it, we all have thought about or will think about. Our country gets almost no spiritual nourishment from any entertainment medium: television, film, novels, theatre, or popular music. I think people, whether they realize it or not, are drawn to this type of music and make a connection with it. I don't think it's too much to say that the recognition this disc has received is a major turning point in popular music. Who knows where it will go from here?

As music goes, the 'O Brother' soundtrack is the front door of a mansion with many rooms. So many styles are represented here: folk, spirituals, work songs, country, bluegrass. The disc should be looked upon as a starting point for a universe American roots music that is vast and amazing. Take the plunge and enjoy.

I simply can not stop listening to this marvelous collection. I spent my teenage years in the 1960s with the Beatles, Janis Joplin, etc., but I also grew up in Deep East Texas. These songs tug at the heart, with memories of the soil and culture that surrounded my youth. I think I have a different favorite from this CD each week. At first, the sirens' song of "Didn't Leave Nobody But the Baby" refused to leave my mind. Then it was the haunting beauty of "Down in the River to Pray." But the chilling rendition of "O Death" lingers and lingers. I can't say enough about this soundtrack. If you have country roots, no matter how far removed in time and place, these songs will bring them back, not in simple nostalgia, but because the emotions they evoke are implicit and eternal within our souls. Don't miss this one.

As rich as the history of modern film-making has been, the history of its accompanying music has unfortunately been less so. Looking back over the course of so many films the viewer is quick to recall the few outstanding soundtracks: Ennio Morricone's score for Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and the score for The Godfather among others. Sometimes the soundtrack to a film has overshadowed or even outclassed the film that it was meant to support; the Eurythmics soundtrack for 1984 and the soundtrack of The Cotton Clubimmediately come to mind.

Ideally a film soundtrack should be the crowning glory of a movie, evoking a sense of time and atmosphere while subtlety conveying to the audience the vagaries of plot direction. The music used in the film Platoon was a perfect example of music and film working in harmony. Armed with an apparently discordant collection of sixties rock and orchestral movements, the soundtrack of Platoon gave the movie (and the viewer) a rich sense of time and place..and drama. Examples of poor soundtracks in films are legion and not worth discussing; even worse, the recent trends of releasing soundtracks "in the spirit of " movies -where the songs included are not in the movie, nor nearly relevant to it- is an execrable example of crass commercial exploitation.

No, a good soundtrack should not be an addition to a movie, it should be an integral part of it. It is that very quality which makes the soundtrack to Ethan and Joel Coen's O Brother, Where Art Thou? such an excellent one.

Set in the American South sometime in the 1930's the movie centers around the trials and tribulations of three escaped cons- centering around their journey of escape. To support this story famed record producer T Bone Burnett has assembled some of the most evocative and engaging music to be included in a film in a long time. Relying primarily on the Country Bluegrass and Mountain Music traditions Burnett has assembled a stellar repitoire to accompany this film. From recordings of prison gang cadences done by the great music historian Alan Lomax ("Po Lazarus") to songs composed specially for the movie ("I am a man of constant Sorrow") Burnett treats the reader to a musical sampling which first engages, then entrances the listener.

To be sure, this music is not for everyone, this is real country music, real angst set against a backdrop of what might be derisively called "twang and boing" music. But it is the very earthy qualities of this music, stripped of technological pretense, which makes its impact so visceral. No thinking person could listen to the stirring song "O Death" without almost instantly feeling a deep compassion for the people who lived through the times and conditions which elicited such a song. Conversely, songs such as "In the Highways" and "Big Rock Candy Mountain" bring light and joy to the soundtrack without denying the spirit and circumstance of the song's origins.

The soundtrack for "O Brother Where Art Thou?" is entertaining and informative on its own, taking the listener on a journey to remote areas of the American South in a time long past; leaving the listener wiser and perhaps a bit more thoughtful. On its own this soundtrack is an important addition to any music lover's archive and is bound to win awards. As an adjunct to the movie it's bound to send the movie Oscar bound.

After a two-year trend of giving Album of the Year awards to recipients who deserved it 25 years ago, they took a further step in 2001: giving the award to a collection of music that predates the Grammys themselves. Past songs and groups don't endure this long without good reason. And this rustic traditional collection is performed by top-notch modern artists all the way, from rockin' bluesman Chris Thomas King to country siren Gillian Welch to the movie's Soggy Bottom Boys - currently the bluegrass equivalent of Spinal Tap. Accessible and enjoyable whether you're a fan of rock, country or pop, this is one of those rare genre-spanning achievements that's found equal praise among listeners of all ages and tastes.

If you're a country fan, you'll probably know the names Gillian Welch and Allison Krauss already. If not, take a listen to Krauss's mesmerizing turn on "Down to the River to Pray" and you'll want to repeat the track ten or twelve more times. Elsewhere we're treated to some real old-time country singing; twangy guitars and voices that only come with decades of whiskey and cigarettes. Ralph Stanley's "O Death" can give shivers and the Fairfield Four's "Lonesome Valley" is positively chilling. The centerpiece "Man of Constant Sorrow" is the best kind of blues, a tale of hardship set to an infectious toe-tapping beat. John Hartford's sad violin paints a picture of a lonely jail cell, and Norman Blake's guitar is part grungy Delta blues and part swamp funk.

I've probably said enough. Between the acclaim from the already-converted and the reviews I'm going to be buried under (this is a big Grammy winner after all), you've probably got a good idea what the album is like by now. If you're curious about the roots of modern music, buy this. If you like country or bluegrass, buy it. If you want to show a little more support for a genre that's been criminally subdued by the music industry, buy it. Heck, if you're just curious what all the fuss is about - buy it. All the five-star reviews here aren't kidding: it's THAT good.

Let me tell you first off, being a 13 yr old girl, in the middle of the pop world, I hate country. I would beg my parents in the car to let me listen to my Pop/Rock/Rap stations, but one day my dad popped in this Cd, and now we all sing along to it on road trips, or trips to the store.

1)Po Lazarus... man, this 1950's was originally recorded by a prision chain gang, the song being written by James Carter. I just wish that the chopping didn't drown out the lyrics.

2)Big rock cany mountians.... the original adult version. This funny song is no Willy Wonka favorite.

3) You are my sushine... Such a sad, touching song. I love this song, with it's syncappated country sound.

4) Down to the river to pray... this is my favorite song to sing and listen to. I love picking out all the bacground harmonys. it is a beautiful song, with Aloson Krauss as lead vocalist.

5) Man of Constant Sorrow.. a catchy, great song. If you've seen the movie, how could you think of anything other than George Clooney's eyebrows?

6)Hard time Killing Floor Blues.. a beautiful song. Chris Thomas King's voice is so rich. Very thought-prevoking

7) Man of constant Sorrow.. a beautiful guitar instrumental that gets you in a mood for music appreciation.

8)Keep on the sunny side.. the titel says it all. A happy true-bluegrass number

9)I'll fly away... an old hym that is very moving, though I like the higher pitched version in the movie better. Wonder why they changed it?

10)Didn't leave nobody but the baby.... Ahh the sirens, the vocals are supurb, but when u really listen to the lyrics, they are quite desturbing.

11) In the Highway.... if u haven't seen the movie (u need to) then u will not understand why there are three little girls singing.

12)I am weary (let me rest).... one of my favorites, the Cox family is very talented.

13)Man of Constant sorrow... I love this violin instrumental. It is my favorite song. A violin player myself, i guess I appreciate it, but it's just so beautiful!!

14)o death.... O DEATH!!!! Ralph stanley's haunting tenor voice is perfect for this song. It upsets my mom, but I love it. It makes me thankful for life.

15)In the Jailhouse now... a funny, uplifting song, with a suprising yodel. you should hear my family on this part, haha.

16) Man of Constant sorrow... The full band id behind them this time, and I like it better than Just the gitar accompaniment (sorry tommy) (see the movie)

17)Indian War Whoop... don't worry, it's not what it sounds like. it portrays the village idiots... once again, WATCH THE MOVIE

18)Lonesome valley... while this is kinda a weird song, u have to admit, the vocal harmony is amazing.

19)Angel Band.... this is a beautiful song. The stanley brothers are very good. In the movie i liked it better, but it's still wonderfull.
I hope u found this movie.