2000’s O Brother, Where Art Thou? was far from a commercial sure bet. Joel and Ethan Coen’s film reset Homer’s Odyssey to 1937 Mississippi, set to a score of period folk music. Yet it defied the odds, garnering critical praise, Oscar nominations for its screenplay and cinematography, and perhaps most surprisingly, the biggest-selling soundtrack of the last decade. Universal has just announced that a 2-CD expansion of the original soundtrack will be released on August 16 including 13 songs recorded during original sessions for the film which remained unreleased.
O Brother sparked a resurgence in the folk, bluegrass, gospel and Americana genres, and its soundtrack even hit No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 almost 15 months after its release! 3.46 million copies were sold in 2001 alone, and its current total stands at a whopping 7.6 million albums sold. Much of this credit goes to producer and soundtrack compiler T Bone Burnett whose selections were so integral to the film itself. The 17-track second disc of the upcoming expanded edition features both artists who appeared on the original album (John Hartford, Norman Blake, the Fairfield Four, the Cox Family and the Peasall Sisters), plus some new names (Colin Linden, Alan O’Bryant, Ed Lewis and Van Dyke Parks of SMiLE fame). Of these previously unreleased tracks, only Burnett’s “Cow Road,” was actually heard in the film, so the second disc might be thought of as “Music Inspired By O Brother.” A couple of tracks by jazz legend Duke Ellington (“Mood Indigo” and “Admiration”) add another distinct style still rooted in period flavor to the disc.
The O Brother soundtrack impressively picked up a Grammy not only for Best Compilation Soundtrack but the top prize, Album of the Year, at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards! For Album of the Year, it bested Bob Dylan, U2, India.Arie and Outkast; talk about an eclectic line-up! Dan Tyminski, Harley Allen and Pat Enright (Country Collaboration with Vocals) and Dr. Ralph Stanley (Country Vocal Performance, the soundtrack’s companion album, Down from the Mountain, also took home a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album. That album preserved a Nashville concert and subsequent tour featuring many of the soundtrack’s musicians.
UMe’s expanded 2-disc soundtrack will be available on August 16. Hit the jump for the track listing for both discs plus a pre-order link!
O Brother, Where Art Thou: Original Soundtrack Recording (Lost Highway 088 170 069-2, 2001 – reissued UMe, 2011)
CD 1
- Po’ Lazarus” (James Carter and prisoners)
- Big Rock Candy Mountain (Harry McClintock)
- You Are My Sunshine (Norman Blake)
- Down To The River To Pray (Alison Krauss)
- I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow (The Soggy Bottom Boys)
- Hard Time Killing Floor Blues (Chris Thomas King)
- I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow (Norman Blake)
- Keep On The Sunny Side (The Whites)
- I’ll Fly Away (Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch)
- Didn’t Leave Nobody But The Baby (Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch)
- In The Highways (Sarah, Hannah and Leah Peasall)
- I Am Weary, Let Me Rest (The Cox Family)
- I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow (John Hartford)
- O Death (Ralph Stanley)
- In The Jailhouse Now (The Soggy Bottom Boys)
- I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow (The Soggy Bottom Boys)
- Indian War Whoop (John Hartford)
- Lonesome Valley (Fairfield Four)
- Angel Band (The Stanley Brothers)
CD 2
- Hard Time Killing Floor Blues (Colin Linden)
- You Are My Sunshine (Alan O’Bryant)
- Tishamingo County Blues (John Hartford)
- Mood Indigo (Duke Ellington)
- Cow Road (T Bone Burnett)
- I’ll Fly Away (The Kossoy Sisters)
- Big Rock Candy Mountain (Van Dyke Parks)
- Admiration (Duke Ellington)
- Tom Devil (Ed Lewis and the Prisoners)
- Keep On The Sunny Side (The Cox Family)
- Angel Band (Sarah, Hannah, and Leah Peasall)
- Big Rock Candy Mountain (Norman Blake)
- Little Sadie (Norman Blake)
- In The Highways (The Cox Family)
- That Hog’s Foot Further In The Bed (John Hartford)
- The Lord Will Make A Way (Fairfield Four)
- In The Jailhouse Now (Harley Allen)
I’m trying to decide if this is worth it or not… Love the original soundtrack release (except for the little girls singing “In the Highways,” which sounds worse than the Chipmunks to my ears and I always skip), but most (though not all) of the material on the expanded version is just different artists recording the same songs. Might be good, and perhaps the contrasts will be interesting enough, but I don’t know that I need it.
Now if they’d just pay the movie itself a little love. Why no blu-ray? Why has the dvd never been re-released as a deluxe edition with more extras?
For the life of me I can’t figure out why this movie has become Joel and Ethan’s bastard child.
I agree Bill… For all the attention the soundtrack (rightfully) got, it’s a damned good movie too. Great cast, great performances, and a very clever updating of The Odyssey.
“Damn! We’re in a tight spot!”
I always thought it was an update of “Blazing Saddles”.
Now I understand why all these white collar intellectuals got into roots music through the O Brother soundtrack. It had a connection to ancient Greece. I zlways thought it was because they liked Mel Brooks and the Three Stooges.
Geez, I meant “Take the Money and Run” and Woody Allen. My mind is getting befuddled by the internet. At least that’s what I blame it on.