O Brother Where Art Thou [2 CD Deluxe Edition]

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Original Soundtracks » O Brother Where Art Thou [2 CD Deluxe Edition]
O Brother Where Art Deluxe Edition]
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  1. Audio CD: Release Date 2011-08-23
  2. Publisher: Lost Highway
  3. Artist: Various Artists - Soundtrack
  4. Format: Soundtrack
  5. Sales Rank in Music: #4979

Product Review

It has been a decade since one of the most unlikely successes in music history was released. O Brother, Where Art Thou? is one of the 10 top-selling soundtracks of all time (according to the RIAA), the No. 1-selling soundtrack and the 17th biggest album of the 21st Century, with more than nine million albums sold. On August 23, UMe will celebrate this 10th Anniversary with an expanded two-CD set, O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Deluxe Edition, with legendary original producer T Bone Burnett personally involved in all aspects of this release.

The album that rocketed bluegrass, roots and even Americana music from the 20th Century into the new millennium features a 14-track bonus disc. Twelve of these newly-released songs were recorded during original sessions for the film, most of which went unheard on-screen. This release marks the first time these tracks have been made available in any format.

Produced by 12-time GRAMMY® Award- and Academy Award-winner T Bone Burnett, the original O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack from the 2000 film--written, directed and produced by the Coen Brothers and starring George Clooney--shot to No.1 on the Billboard Top 200 and Country charts and became a bona fide music phenomenon, despite scant radio airplay. Along with ALBUM OF THE YEAR honors, the album won GRAMMYs® for "I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow" performed by Dan Tyminski, Harley Allen and Pat Enright, and "O Death" by the legendary Dr. Ralph Stanley.

The second disc of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Deluxe Edition features artists who appeared on the original album (John Hartford, Norman Blake, the Fairfield Four, the Cox Family and the Peasall Sisters) plus some who did not (Colin Linden, Alan O'Bryant, Ed Lewis and Van Dyke Parks). The disc's previously recorded tracks are "Tom Devil" by Ed Lewis and the Prisoners, and "I'll Fly Away" by the Kossoy Sisters.

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

The best soundtracks are like movies for the ears, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? joins the likes of Saturday Night Fever and The Harder They Come as cinematic pinnacles of song. The music from the Coen brothers' Depression-era film taps into the source from which the purest strains of country, blues, bluegrass, folk, and gospel music flow. Producer T Bone Burnett enlists the voices of Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch, Emmylou Harris, Ralph Stanley, and kindred spirits for performances of traditional material, in arrangements that are either a cappella or feature bare-bones accompaniment. Highlights range from the aching purity of Krauss's "Down to the River to Pray" to the plainspoken faith of the Whites' "Keep on the Sunny Side" to Stanley's chillingly plaintive "O Death." The album's spiritual centerpiece finds Krauss, Welch, and Harris harmonizing on "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby," a gospel lullaby that sounds like a chorus of Appalachian angels. --Don McLeese
Title Tracks for O Brother Where Art Thou [2 CD Deluxe Edition]

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (565 customer reviews)

210 of 213 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic soundtrack from a fantastic movie, May 11, 2001
Scott Johnson (Ames, Iowa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Audio CD)
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...Read more


97 of 100 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Who needs a review?, December 31, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Audio CD)
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...Read more


58 of 59 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Stark, Ancestral, Remarkable, April 15, 2001
Don Thomason (Dunbar, KY United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Audio CD)
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...Read more

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