How Bad is the "O Brother..." Soundtrack?

[doctorwho]

I'm still irate (in a non-time consuming fashion) over U2's ATYCLB not winning Album of the Year at the Grammy's. How does one album have not one but two Record of the Year awards, one Song of the Year, one Rock Song of the Year, one Pop Song of the Year, and one Rock Album of the Year and not win Album of the Year????

Nonetheless, since "O Brother..." won, I thought I'd check it out. There had to be a reason why this album has sold over 5 million copies. There had to be a reason why this album beat U2 for that coveted Album of the Year award. There had to be a reason why the album is so heavily praised. So I bought it.

My review? It was possibly one of the worst albums I have ever heard. There is a near 5 minute version of "You Are My Sunshine." It just drones on and on and on... "you are my sunshine my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey..." is repeated over and over. This cute little children's song is fine in a small dose, but to listen to this nonsense for 5 minutes, with the singer taking himself all seriously, was too much.

Now, I don't mind country. Some old country I find repititive and too twangy. And the new country is often too pop or even rock-sounding in nature. But overall, country has its place. Blue grass music can be brilliant. However, it seems that the creators of "O Brother..." picked the WORSE blue grass songs they could find and redid them.

There are a few rays of hope, but nothing that merits this album of remakes winning such a prestigious award.

U2 were robbed. They were robbed with "Achtung Baby" (easily THE best album of the 90's) and they were robbed here.

At least the album has 7 other Grammy's for it to cherish.

Anyway, if you disagree, please let me know in a civilized fashion. I'd like to be convinced why this album is good - because right now, I'm a heartbeat away from reselling it.

 

[Bonochick]

I have heard only bits and pieces of the album, but I did not like those bits and pieces. I was considering getting it, but I don't think I will like it anymore in its entirety anyway.

I wish U2 would have gotten that Grammy...but they still did outstanding overall for ATYCLB...every single won at least one Grammy...that's incredible!

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"I'm nearly great, but there's something missing..."

 

[mad1]

<is waiting for poor Sally or Sicy to have to move this to Lemonade Stand...........

Im beginnin to feel sorry for these two guys.....

 

[pub crawler]

I also listened to bits and pieces of that album at a listening station, but didn't buy it. So-called "roots" music doesn't do much for me anyway. My guess is the success of this album has as much to do with its association to the movie (which I liked a lot) as it does with the music itself.

 

[BEAL]

was this an album of cover songs????

if so, what a bunch of crap, it's not even a real album then.

 

[kobayashi]

well someone must like it.

 

[Screaming Flower]

i like it.

 

[Screaming Flower]

hey doctorwho have you seen the movie? i absolutely love the movie which probably has something to do with why i like the soundtrack. the coen brothers rule.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I like what I've heard, though I probably wouldn't buy it. I heard some of it on a long dark desert highway late at night and found it pleasingly haunting. But certainly not everyone's taste.

 

[Bonochick]

For those who like O Brother:

Do you think it deserved to win over U2?

I'm not trying to be nasty either, I'm really just asking for honest opinions.

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"I'm nearly great, but there's something missing..."

 

[doctorwho]

Originally posted by mad1:
<is waiting for poor Sally or Sicy to have to move this to Lemonade Stand...........

Im beginnin to feel sorry for these two guys.....

Well, I hope that it is NOT moved.

I thought about posting this thread there, however, considering the WEALTH of U2 items I stated in my original post, I feel it belongs here.

But as I am not a moderator of this forum, I will let them decide.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Originally posted by Bonochick:
For those who like O Brother:

Do you think it deserved to win over U2?

I'm not trying to be nasty either, I'm really just asking for honest opinions.

Not no way, not no how!!! 'Twas clearly the U2/Dylan split votes fiasco. But I appreciate O Brother nonetheless, and I actually think it was good for U2 not to have a clean sweep. Keeps 'em humble.

 

[meegannie]

Originally posted by doctorwho:

My review? It was possibly one of the worst albums I have ever heard. There is a near 5 minute version of "You Are My Sunshine." It just drones on and on and on... "you are my sunshine my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey..." is repeated over and over. This cute little children's song is fine in a small dose, but to listen to this nonsense for 5 minutes, with the singer taking himself all seriously, was too much.
B]

Actually, "You Are My Sunshine" isn't really a children's song. It was written around the late 30s/early 40s and is the LA state song.

I'm not very into bluegrass/folk music, but I actually think the soundtrack is pretty good. Gillian Welch in particular is amazing, and I'm glad that that genre, which is usually overlooked, gained some recognition.


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"I don't particularly like myth, but to me mystery is everything." --The Edge
"Left my sweet soul beneath the bedclothes/ I?m not coming down/ Walls have ears/ but no one hears/ when nobody?s around"--Starsailor

 

[meegannie]

Originally posted by Bonochick:
For those who like O Brother:

Do you think it deserved to win over U2?

I'm not trying to be nasty either, I'm really just asking for honest opinions.

I definitely don't think the album deserved to win over U2, but I don't know whether U2 deserved to win either. Obviously, I'm biased against any non-U2 album

, but I haven't heard the Dylan one yet, and I don't think ATYCLB is U2's best album.



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"I don't particularly like myth, but to me mystery is everything." --The Edge
"Left my sweet soul beneath the bedclothes/ I?m not coming down/ Walls have ears/ but no one hears/ when nobody?s around"--Starsailor

 

[wertsie]

I really like the movie, and I got my dad the soundtrack for his birthday. It's not my style of music by any means, but some of it is pretty cool.

Nevertheless, I was incredibly pissed when it won album of the year over U2. That was bullshit. Of course, I couldn't rant and rave too much because when I was watching the show, one of my roomies was with me and she LOVES that music...sigh...

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"We're one, but we're not the same..."

http://U2Baby.com

 

[rafmed]

Who cares about the grammies? they were crap before, they are now, and they will be in the future.


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Please...don't make me say please, champagne and ice cream, it's not what I want, it's what I need.

 

[BostonAnne]

Sorry to be off topic, but doctorwho, please e-mail me - I have a question for you.

cimon378@earthlink.net

Thanks!

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"There's a lot of real rubbish going on about new music & old music, can I just say we play U2 music? Is that OK?" - Bono, Us Festival 5/30/83

 

[dream wanderer]

I really don't mind bluegrass instrumental music....but once they open their mouths and start singing...I just push 'off'.....

dream wanderer

 

[BAW]

If you like bluegrass/roots/folk music, it's an excellent album. The movie wouldn't have been the same without these songs BUT...it did not deserve to win over U2.

I don't think that an album composed mostly of cover versions of old songs with new arrangements should be chosen as "album of the year" over a collection of original material like ATYCLB. It just seemed strange that it was even in the same catagory as U2.

Allison Krause and Gillian Welch have beautiful voices but their roots are in bluegrass and country music. The rest of the artists are either well respected bluegrass veterans or unknown studio musicians...great I suppose if you like that style of music but I just don't see the majority of grammy voters driving around listing to O Brother in their cars.

 

[Hewson]

I saw and enjoyed the movie...and the music worked well in the movie. But the music didn't appeal to me enough to want to buy the soundtrack, and it winning album of theyear didn't change that.(There are lots of Grammy winning albums I have no interest in).

I do think the strongest argument for U2 beating it would be that ATYCLB is an album of original material, written and performed by the artists, whereas the soundtrack is a collection of older bluegrass songs redone by contemporary artists.

 

[kariatari]

Originally posted by meegannie:
I definitely don't think the album deserved to win over U2, but I don't know whether U2 deserved to win either. Obviously, I'm biased against any non-U2 album

, but I haven't heard the Dylan one yet, and I don't think ATYCLB is U2's best album.

I bought Dylan's album and didn't exactly like it. I thought it sounded more like a country/blue-grass influenced album than a rock album. I think it's kind of weird that U2 and Dylan split the vote, because I thought that Love and Theft was more in the vein of O, Brother than ATYCLB.

Oh, well, I guess. People don't remember great albums based on how many Grammys they won anyway. ATYCLB is strong enough to stand up on it's own - with or without the Grammys. O, Brother is the kind of album that people would have forgotten had it not won the Grammy.

[This message has been edited by kariatari (edited 04-18-2002).]

 

[meegannie]

I have to say, though, that I DID get sick of the "Man of Constant Sorrow" song since I was still living in Kentucky when the movie and song came out, and they played it ALL THE TIME, not only on the country music stations, but also the city music stations.

I really liked the movie, though, because it reminded me SO much of the town where I went to college.

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"I don't particularly like myth, but to me mystery is everything." --The Edge
"Left my sweet soul beneath the bedclothes/ I?m not coming down/ Walls have ears/ but no one hears/ when nobody?s around"--Starsailor

 

[jezebel]

Originally posted by Screaming Flower:
hey doctorwho have you seen the movie? i absolutely love the movie which probably has something to do with why i like the soundtrack. the coen brothers rule.

so true, flower....I bought the soundtrack first and it didn't do much for me (especially the first track, yuck). After seeing the movie, which was GREAT, it means a lot more. For instance, O Death is a rather strange little tune, but then in the context of the KKK scene (talk about dark comedy)it comes off interesting, to say the least. This is a movie I want to see again. The jury is still out on the soundtrack, though........

 

[Hawkmoon1021]

Originally posted by rafmed:
Who cares about the grammies? they were crap before, they are now, and they will be in the future.

I would have to agree. I can't really take them too seriously when Milli Vanilli won Best New Artist in the past. Plus, U2 won 7 for ATYCLB, including Best Rock Album, so I think it was recognized by the Grammies. As for O Brother, I haven't heard it, but everyone has their own taste. Bono also said it was nice that some of those artists on the album got recognition. I think U2 got more than their fair share in the past year.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

GEEZ i cannot even escape from this album on interference!!

i'm unfortunate enough to hear this album every damn day. the worst thing my mom could've suggested was for us to see the movie when it was out in theatres last summer. my dad has since bought the soundtrack, and plays it to death like it's some masterpiece or something. of course that's only a matter of opinion, but this is coming out of the stereo of a man who hates this kind of music. in the household of people who hate this kind of music. my dad's favourite bands are the beach boys, elo, moody blues, and the cars. so where the heck did his obsession with bluegrass come from? we don't even have any elvis stuff!! (and i've lived in memphis since 1995, lol) grrr....

 

[OzAurora]

This album fully deserved to win- its f*%king awesome- a great movie and a great soundtrack......

Hillbilly, bluegrass music at its best- and ya know I love U2 but hey it was good to see a bunch of guys, who would not normally be in the mainstream, make it up there

 

[popsadie]

I Loved the soundtrack. I think Allison Krauss has the voice of an angel. I personally really enjoy bluegrass and roots music, and this sountrack had many of this genre's top artists..sure I wanted u2 to win, but this was my 2nd pick.

 

[zooropa16]

while certainly upset that atyclb lost album of the year, that was nothing compared to Achtung Baby losing to Claptons Unplugged album. That still makes me mad!!!!!!!!!!

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Don't let the bastards grind you down.

Zooropa FTP

 

[truecoloursfly]

I read this post right before I had to leave for work, and got myself all worked up 'cause I couldn't reply right away. I love the O Brother...? soundtrack -- in fact, it was the music constantly in my CD player right before, and even after, I got ATYCLB. For all that the Grammys can be a populist/political exercise, O Brother's win was one of the few that I actually didn't choke on. And here's why.

First of all -- with all due respect, folks -- the average rock fan's judgement on its inherent merit is gonna be deeply flawed. I'm a lifelong rock fan, and a recent convert to country; the common ground was that I had always been into roots-rock (Blasters, Mavericks, Lyle Lovett, rockabilly, Elvis and Jerry Lee). Two years ago I discovered that Dwight Yoakam has a LOT of classic rock in him -- Orbison, Elvis, Phil Spector -- and I liked it. He also has even more deep country in him, rural music before Nashville (which always made me gag) got ahold of it, and I was so moved by what I heard... Dwight taught me to truly hear traditional rural music. Perfect: nothing has fed my creative life more than indigenous American music (gospel, soul, rock'n'roll, blues), and finally I was learning the language of America's rural traditions.

It is a different language than rock. To criticize O Brother for being merely "cover" tunes is like knocking rock for how noisy the drums are, or for having only three chords. Look at the blues -- THERE'S your three chords! The art is in the interpretation of a deeply understood form. Can you tell the difference between Muddy Waters and some slick slide guitar in a beer commercial?? (Do you think there IS a difference?) The accomplishment of the Coen Bros' soundtrack was not in the material (although in the modern record biz, that was a radical statement in itself), but in its presentation, and in its performances, some vintage, some modern.

I still think ATYCLB is the superior musical work. But if it had to be a political decision, O Brother was a damn fine one, for the health of American music as a whole. How long has the country, or the classical, or the Latin music community had to choke on the fact that it is almost always a pop or rock record that takes Album of the Year honours?? Is that because pop and rock are inherently more -- what, musical?? than their own traditions? More "artistic," more worthy? I don't think so. Because they sell more, and they're simply more familiar to people? Possibly. The fact that the Establishment (to say nothing of the record-buying public) sat up and took notice of an album of traditional music that has NOT been mass-marketed a la Britney and the Boy Bands, that sought to be nothing more than, in Joel Coen's words, "a love-letter to the music," tells me that Clear Channel and its ilk do not have creativity by the short hairs, that the public might still be moved by something that has not been pre-digested for them.

The music of O Brother is American music in the raw. It is the other "parent," along with African percussive traditions, of the music that ultimately gave us U2. I suspect the soundtrack's popularity shares something with that of the Unplugged series -- what does music sound like when it's just people in a room, or on a porch? When it remembers, like our elders, history and community, rather than the alienation of those noisy, rebellious kids? Both have their place, of course -- one is NOT "better music" than the other.

That is my point: both have their place. And rural music was shamefully overdue to get to celebrate its place. God bless T-Bone Burnett and Gillian Welch for putting it together. And long live Big Mon and Ralph Stanley.

Deb D

 

[MEMHPIS-EVE 007]

Yeah me 2!
It`s a great soundtrack !!!

And I don`t even like country music! Well I guess I do now!




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"And there`s no mountain to high ,no river to wide. Sing out this song and I`ll be there by your side.Storm clouds may gather and storms may colide...
I love you untill the end of time.
Come what may! I will love you until my dying day!"

MOULIN ROUGE