O Brother, Where Art Thou? [Original Soundtrack]

O Brother, Where Art Thou? [Original Soundtrack]

O Brother, Where Art Thou? [Original Soundtrack]

O Brother, Where Art Thou? [Original Soundtrack]

Vinyl LP(Long Playing Record - Enhanced)

$36.99 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
    Choose Expedited Shipping at checkout for delivery by Thursday, April 4
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

The critical consensus at the end of 2000 was that it had been one of the weakest film years in recent memory. Which may have been true, despite O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the Coen brothers' delightfully warm and weird Depression-era re-telling of Homer's Odyssey. But for music lovers, 2000 was an amazing year at the movies, and it produced several excellent soundtrack compilations including Almost Famous, Dancer in the Dark, Wonder Boys, and High Fidelity. Even with such steep competition, the soundtrack album for O Brother, Where Art Thou? may be the best of the year. In order to capture the sound of Mississippi circa 1932, the Coens commissioned T-Bone Burnett, a masterful producer whose work with artists like Elvis Costello, Sam Phillips, Joseph Arthur, and Counting Crows has earned him a special place in the folk-rock hall of fame, to research and re-create the country, bluegrass, folk, gospel, and blues of the era. The Coens were so taken with Burnett's discoveries that the film became a unique sort of musical revue. There are no original compositions here (though Burnett is given a "music by" credit usually reserved for composers), and the characters do not generally break into stylized song and dance numbers (as they do in, say, Everyone Says I Love You). But nearly every scene in O Brother is set to a period song, and the music frequently drives and defines the action. With two exceptions -- a stunning 1955 Alan Lomax recording of a black prison chain gang singing "Po Lazarus", and Harry McClintock's "Big Rock Candy Mountain" -- every song was recorded for the film by an impressive assembly of old-time country veterans (Fairfield Four, Ralph Stanley, the Whites) and talented newcomers (Gillian Welch, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris). These recordings, which were made without the meddling clarity of digital technology, give the film much of its power and authenticity. A significant segment of the plot hinges on the (utterly plausible) notion that Dan Tyminksi's ebullient rendition of "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" could be a runaway hit. A memorable sequence involving three riverside sirens centers around an eerie version of "Didn't Leave Nobody But the Baby." And Stanley's a cappella performance of "O Death" sets a chilling tone for a climactic struggle at a Ku Klux Klan rally. Throughout, Burnett's steady guiding hand is evident. This soundtrack is a powerful tribute not only to the time-honored but commercially ignored genres of bluegrass and mountain music but also to Burnett's remarkable skills as a producer. ~ Evan Cater

Product Details

Release Date: 01/28/2003
Label: Lost Highway
UPC: 0008817006918
Rank: 15369

Tracks

Disc 1

  1. Po Lazarus
  2. Big Rock Candy Mountain
  3. You Are My Sunshine
  4. Down to the River to Pray
  5. I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow
  6. Hard Time Killing Floor Blues
  7. I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow
  8. Keep on the Sunny Side
  9. I'll Fly Away
  10. Didn't Leave Nobody But the Baby

Disc 2

  1. In the Highways
  2. I Am Weary (Let Me Rest)
  3. I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow
  4. O Death
  5. In the Jailhouse Now
  6. I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow
  7. Indian War Whoop
  8. Lonesome Valley
  9. Angel Band

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Gillian Welch   Primary Artist,Vocals,Lead Vocals
Alison Krauss   Primary Artist,Vocals,Lead Vocals,Vocal Harmony
Dan Tyminski   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Lead Vocals,Featured Artist
Hannah & Leah Peasall   Primary Artist
Tim Blake Nelson   Primary Artist,Vocals,Lead Vocals,Featured Artist
The Fairfield Four   Primary Artist
Chris Thomas King   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
The Cox Family   Primary Artist
Emmylou Harris   Primary Artist,Vocals
John Hartford   Primary Artist,Fiddle,Vocals
Norman Blake   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Ralph Stanley   Primary Artist,Banjo,Vocals
The Peasall Sisters   Primary Artist
The Stanley Brothers   Primary Artist
Sara   Primary Artist
The Soggy Bottom Boys   Primary Artist
The Whites   Primary Artist
Harry McClintock   Primary Artist
James Carter and the Prisoners   Primary Artist
Angel Band   Primary Artist
Ed Lewis & the Prisoners   Primary Artist
Clinch Mountain Boys   Primary Artist
Colin Linden   Primary Artist
Erik Darling   Primary Artist
Hannah Peasall   Primary Artist,Vocals,Lead Vocals
Alan O'Bryant   Primary Artist,Banjo
Harley Allen   Primary Artist,Vocals,Vocal Harmony
The Kossoy Sisters   Primary Artist
Ed Lewis   Primary Artist
Van Dyke Parks   Primary Artist
Sarah Peasall   Primary Artist,Vocals,Vocal Harmony,Vocals (Background)
Leah Peasall   Primary Artist,Vocals,Vocal Harmony,Vocals (Background)
Robert Hamlett   Primary Artist,Lead,Vocals,Lead Vocals
Sharon White   Guitar,Vocals,Lead Vocals
Suzanne Cox   Vocals,Mandolin,Lead Vocals
Isaac Freeman   Bass,Lead,Vocals,Bass (Vocal)
Cheryl White   Bass,Vocals,Vocal Harmony
Dennis Crouch   Bass
Wilson Waters   Vocals,Sax (Tenor),Tenor (Vocal)
Barry Bales   Bass,Double Bass
Curtis Burch   Dobro
Carter Stanley   Guitar,Lead Vocals
David Rawlings   Vocals
Sam Phillips   Vocals,Vocals
Curley Lambert   Vocals,Mandolin
Ron Block   Banjo
Sam Bush   Mandolin
Jerry Douglas   Dobro
Maura O'Connell   Vocals
Tim O'Brien   Vocals
Chris Sharp   Guitar,Mandolin
Pat Enright   Vocals,Yodeling,Vocal Harmony
Mike Compton   Guitar,Mandolin
Stuart Duncan   Fiddle
Art Stamper   Fiddle
Buck White   Vocals,Mandolin,Vocal Harmony
Harry "Haywire Mac" McClintock   Guitar,Vocals
Sidney Cox   Banjo,Vocals,Vocal Harmony
Evelyn Cox   Guitar
Willard Cox   Vocals,Vocal Harmony
James Hill   Vocals,Baritone (Vocal),Baritone
Dub Cornett   Vocals
Joseph Rice   Lead,Vocals,Lead Vocals
First Baptist Church of Norfolk Choir   Vocals
Nathaniel Best   Lead
First Baptist Church Choir of White House, TN   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Porter McLister   Vocals
Bill Lowe   Bass,Vocals
Nathan Best   Lead Vocals
James Carter   Vocals

Technical Credits

Spencer Williams   Composer
Skip James   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Paul Roberts   Composer,Composer,Composer,Composer
The Fairfield Four   Performer
Clinch Mountain Boys   Performer
Robert K. Oermann   Liner Notes
Colin Linden   Performer
Chris Thomas King   Performer
The Cox Family   Performer
Pete Kuykendall   Composer
Emmylou Harris   Performer
Erik Darling   Performer
Carter Stanley   Arranger,Composer
Ed Haley   Arranger
Gavin Lurssen   Mastering
Charles Mitchell   Composer
John Hartford   Composer,Performer
Hoyt "Floyd" Ming   Composer
Jefferson Hascall   Composer
Rail Jon Rogut   Assistant Engineer
Mother Maybelle Carter   Composer
Jimmie Rodgers   Composer
Norman Blake   Composer,Performer
Ralph Stanley   Arranger,Composer,Performer
Hannah Peasall   Performer
The Peasall Sisters   Performer
Mike Piersante   Mixing,Engineer
A.P. Carter   Composer
Tim Blake Nelson   Performer
Gillian Welch   Writer,Arranger,Composer,Performer
Woody Guthrie   Composer
The Stanley Brothers   Performer
Alan Lomax   Writer,Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Recording
Alan O'Bryant   Performer
Albert E. Brumley   Composer
Harley Allen   Performer
T-Bone Burnett   Writer,Arranger,Composer,Producer
Alison Krauss   Arranger,Performer
The Kossoy Sisters   Performer
Jimmie Davis   Composer
Van Dyke Parks   Performer
Pete Roberts   Composer
Matt Andrews   Assistant Engineer
Ok Hee Kim   Mixing Assistant
The Soggy Bottom Boys   Composer,Performer
Nehemiah "Skip" James   Composer
The Whites   Performer
Sarah Peasall   Performer
Harry McClintock   Composer,Musician,Performer
Harry "Haywire Mac" McClintock   Composer
Henry Burnett   Composer
William York   Composer
O'Death   Composer
James Carter and the Prisoners   Composer,Performer
Leah Peasall   Performer
Robert Hamlett   Performer
Gary Garett   Composer
Peter Kurland   Engineer,Recording
Traditionnel   Composer
Hoyt Ming   Composer
Mrs. Sidney Carter   Arranger,Composer
Ed Lewis & the Prisoners   Performer
Maybelle Carter   Composer
William Batchelder Bradbury   Composer
James Carter   Performer
Dan Tyminski   Performer
Sidney Hemphill Carter   Arranger
Matthew D. Washington   Composer
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews