| O Brother, Where Art Thou? | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | December 5, 2000 |
| Recorded | (modern tracks) Spring 1999 |
| Studio | Sound Emporium, Nashville |
| Genre | |
| Length | 61:24 |
| Label | Lost Highway/Mercury |
| Producer | T Bone Burnett |
The home of the blues on reddit! Skip James cover: Larkin Poe, Hard Time Killing Floor Blues (youtube.com) submitted 28 days ago by Fossil_Light. 15 comments; share; save. I’ve been following them for some time and it’s a little frustrating how they’ve seemed to plateau. I really liked “Mad as a Hatter.”. Nov 04, 2018 The music is hard bop at its most soulful, with Kirk's strong gospel and blues roots evident on originals like 'The Call' and 'Spirit Girl.' This recording captures him as he was rapidly developing into one of the most fluently creative tenor soloists in jazz. James, Skip - James, Skip Hard Time Killing Floor Blues CD 1 01 Hardtime Killing Floor Blues 02 Sick Bed Blues 03 Washington DC Hospital Center Blues 04 Devil Got My Woman 05 Illinois Blues 06 I Don't Want A Woman To Stay Up All Night Long 07 Cherry Ball Blues 08 Skip's Worried Blues 09.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? is the soundtrack album 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.
The film is 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]
- 5Chart performance
Development and sound[edit]
The soundtrack was conceived as a major component of the film, not merely as a background or support. For this reason it was decided to record the soundtrack before filming.[2] T-Bone Burnett was invited to design collections of music.[3]
Dirges and other macabre songs recurring in Appalachian music,[4] such as 'O Death,' 'Lonesome Valley,' 'Angel Band,' and 'I Am Weary', appear in the film as a contrast to the bright, cheerful songs like 'Keep On the Sunnyside' and 'In the Highways.' Ralph Stanley of The Stanley Brothers personally recorded the a cappella folk song 'O Death.'[5][6]
Soggy Bottom Boys feat. Dan Tyminski | |
| Problems playing this file? See media help. | |
'I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow' has five variations: two are used in the film, one in the music video, and two in the album. Two of the variations feature the verses being sung back-to-back, and the other three variations feature additional music between each verse.[7] The voices of the Soggy Bottom Boys were provided by Dan Tyminski (lead vocal on 'I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow'), Nashville songwriter Harley Allen, and the Nashville Bluegrass Band's Pat Enright.[8]
Reception and legacy[edit]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 83/100[9] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [10] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[11] |
| Q | [12] |
| Rolling Stone | [13] |
| Uncut | [14] |
The soundtrack CD became a best seller, certified 8 times Platinum as of October 2007[15] with sales of 7.9 million copies in the United States as of January 2015.[16] It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2002, the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals (for singer Dan Tyminski, whose voice overdubbed George Clooney's in the film on 'I Am a 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.
In 2001, the album spent over 20 weeks on the Billboard Top Country Chart. It won the Album of the Year Award and Single of the Year Award for 'I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow' at the Country Music Association Awards.[17] It also won the Album of the Year Award at the Academy of Country Music Awards and took home 2 International Bluegrass Music Awards: Album of the Year and Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year (for Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch on 'I'll Fly Away').
Skip James Hard Time Killing Floor Blues Rar
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.[18] Engine 145 Country Music Blog ranked it #5 on the 'Country's Best Albums of the Decade' list.[19] In 2010, All Songs Considered, a program on NPR, included the soundtrack on their list of 'The Decade's 50 Most Important Recordings.'[20]
On August 23, 2011, a 10th anniversary edition was released featuring a bonus disc with 14 new tracks that were not included in the original album, all but two of which were previously unreleased songs from Burnett's original sessions.[21][22]
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' | Harry McClintock | Harry McClintock | 2:16 |
| 3. | 'You Are My Sunshine' | Jimmie Davis, Charles 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 | The Soggy Bottom Boys | 3:10 |
| 6. | 'Hard Time Killing Floor Blues' | Skip 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' | Ada Blenkhorn, J. Howard Entwisle | The Whites | 3:33 |
| 9. | 'I'll Fly Away' | Albert E. 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' | Maybelle Carter | The Peasall Sisters | 1:35 |
| 12. | 'I Am Weary (Let Me Rest)' | Pete Roberts (Pete Kuykendall) | The Cox Family | 3:13 |
| 13. | 'I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow' (instrumental) | Ed Haley | John Hartford | 2:34 |
| 14. | 'O Death' | Lloyd Chandler | Ralph Stanley | 3:19 |
| 15. | 'In the Jailhouse Now' | Blind Blake, Jimmie Rodgers | The Soggy Bottom Boys | 3:34 |
| 16. | 'I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow' (with band) | Burnett | The Soggy Bottom Boys | 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 |
| Total length: | 60:18 | |||
| 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition bonus disc | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
| 1. | 'Hard Time Killing Floor Blues' | Colin Linden | 1:15 |
| 2. | 'You Are My Sunshine' | Alan O'Bryant | 3:29 |
| 3. | 'Tishomingo Blues' | John Hartford | 2:01 |
| 4. | 'I'll Fly Away' | Erik Darling and The Kossoy Sisters | 2:32 |
| 5. | 'Big Rock Candy Mountain' | Van Dyke Parks | 1:42 |
| 6. | 'Tom Devil' | Ed Lewis & The Prisoners | 5:19 |
| 7. | 'Keep On The Sunny Side' | The Cox Family | 2:36 |
| 8. | 'Angel Band' | Hannah, Leah, Sarah Peasall and Robert Hamlett | 0:58 |
| 9. | 'Big Rock Candy Mountain' | Norman Blake | 2:18 |
| 10. | 'Little Sadie' | Norman Blake | 1:50 |
| 11. | 'In the Highways' | The Cox Family | 2:12 |
| 12. | 'Hogfoot' | John Hartford | 3:47 |
| 13. | 'The Lord Will Make A Way' | The Fairfield Four | 2:36 |
| 14. | 'In The Jailhouse Now' | Harley Allen | 3:05 |
| Total length: | 35:40 | ||
Personnel[edit]
|
|
Chart performance[edit]
Album[edit]
| Chart (2000–2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[23] | 15 |
| Canadian Albums Chart | 3 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[24] | 9 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25] | 87 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[26] | 14 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Soundtracks | 1 |
Singles[edit]
| Year | Single | US Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 'Man of Constant Sorrow' | 35 |
Certifications[edit]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[27] | 4× Platinum | 400,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[28] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[29] | 8× Platinum | 8,000,000^ |
*sales figures based on certification alone | ||
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Germain, David. New 'O Brother' set serves up more old-timey musicYahoo! 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.
- ^McClatchy, Debbie (June 27, 2000). 'A Short History of Appalachian Traditional Music'. Appalachian Traditional Music – A Short History. Retrieved November 8, 2007.
- ^Ellison, Michael (June 18, 2001). 'American high'. The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
- ^Staff writer (September 8, 2004). 'Museum Honoring Music Legend Ralph Stanley Set to Open October 16'. Ralph Stanley Museum. Archived from the original on November 22, 2010.
- ^Long, Roger J. (2006-04-09). ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?' entry page'. Archived from the original on 2007-11-03. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^'Soggy Bottom Boys Hit the Top at 35th CMA Awards'. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^'OST by O Brother Where Art Thou'. Metacritic. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
- ^Cater, Evan. 'O Brother, Where Art Thou? [Original Soundtrack] – Various Artists'. AllMusic. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
- ^Scherman, Tony (January 5, 2001). 'Various Artists: O Brother, Where Art Thou?'. Entertainment Weekly.
- ^'Various Artists: O Brother, Where Art Thou?'. Q (171): 139. December 2000.
- ^Walters, Barry (January 18, 2001). 'Various Artists: O Brother, Where Art Thou? Music from the Motion Picture'. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 23, 2003. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
- ^'Various Artists: O Brother, Where Art Thou?'. Uncut: 102.
[With] some superb country-blues fiddling from John Hartford and a couple of breezy, close-harmony stunners from the Cox Family.
- ^'Gold & Platinum'. RIAA.
- ^Jessen, Wade (January 29, 2015). 'Luke Bryan's 'Party' Still Rocking, Sam Hunt's Album Holds at No. 1'. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
- ^Price, Deborah; Stark, Phyllis (December 29, 2001). ''O Brother' One of Country's Biggest Success Stories'. Billboard - the International Newsweekly of Music, Video and Home Entertainment.
- ^'Country’s Best Albums of the Decade'Archived January 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 12 January 2010.
- ^Staff (December 10, 2009). 'Top Country Albums of the Decade (#10-#1)'. Engine 145. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
- ^'The Decade's 50 Most Important Recordings'. NPR. November 16, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 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.
- ^'Australiancharts.com – Soundtrack – O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?'. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
- ^'Lescharts.com – Soundtrack – O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?'. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
- ^'Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline' (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
- ^'Charts.org.nz – Soundtrack – O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?'. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
- ^'Canadian album certifications – Soundtrack – O Brother, Where Art Thou?'. Music Canada. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
- ^'British album certifications – Soundtrack – O Brother, Where Art Thou?'. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 July 2019.Select albums in the Format field.Select Platinum in the Certification field.Type O Brother, Where Art Thou? in the 'Search BPI Awards' field and then press Enter.
- ^'American album certifications – Soundtrack – O Brother, Where Art Thou?'. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 9 July 2019.If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.