O Brother, Where Art Thou? [ECD] by Original Soundtrack (CD, Dec-2000, 1 Disc, Mercury Nashville)

If you liked the movie you will love this soundtrack. Tons of great songs including the one sung by the Soggy Bottom Boys. A couple of the songs I could have done without, but most just make you want to dance and just enjoy the music. Also great is there is fast beat music and slower beat music, a nice collection of different music found on one cd :).

As an Appalachian I couldn't be happier with the CD. Fantastic music, great banjo and other instruments we truly appreciate. Different songs remind us of the different scenes in the movie and bring smiles to our faces.

The packaging was well done but is one of those paper folding covers as opposed to the standard plastic 'Jewel Case' that most CDs come in. I personally don't like these cases since the cover art is exposed and deteriorates over time similar to an LP cover. Unlike LPs most of these paper covered CDs don't have a plastic protective sheath. I also find these cases a bit difficult to fit into some CD racks.

The music and recording quality were quite varried; it is obvious that this compolation was not recorded by the same people in the same studio with the same engineer and equipment. Generally, the recordings were good to excellent. As a matter of fact I found these differences in the recordings refreshing in that with each different musical track you not only heard a different performer but were transported to a different place!

I could not begin to catagorize the music itself; there were some classic folk songs like 'Big Rock Candy Mountain' and gospel songs like 'Come Down to the River and Pray' mixed in with more obscure tunes some of which were original and some of which were more obscure folk, blues and mountain classics.

Obviously, there were some tracks I love and some that I don't even like but all in all I would say that I enjoy 80+% of the tracks (meaning when I'm listening I don't press the 'skip track' on my remote).

If you like gospel or folk music this CD is MUST HAVE for your collection and it has even gotten some well deserved acclaim from audiphiles for the recording quality of some of the tracks. Unlike most of my CD collection, since I purchased it I have listened to this CD over and over again and it is currently sitting in the 'short stack' of CDs next to my player with the other CDs that I listen to on a weekly basis; this is probably the biggest complement I can give this recording.

My ONLY reason for giving this CD a 4/5 rating is that some of the tracks are not as well recorded as others. BTW, I am not only a music lover I am an audiophile; much of my gear is studio grade so I am a bit more critical of recording quality than most.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

An excellent, catchy soundtrack. This was one movie that was greatly enhanced by the music and soundtrack, and one of the few soundtracks you can buy and listen to over and over again.

For the fans of bluegrass and Allison Kraus, you will love this soundtrack. The singing for the 'Soggy Bottom Boys' was done by the guys from her band. This CD and movie were able to bring bluegrass music to the mainstream again, and most people that have seen the movie love the music, whether they will admit it or not. :)

After seeing the movie, I wanted the soundtrack. The music on the CD is exactly from the movie. For someone who mainly listens to rock n roll and blues, this was a nice change.

Well ... we know that if you loved the movie you will love this soundtrack ... plenty of reviews here will show you that. Anyone interested in buying this soundtrack needs to know that every musical piece that was in the movie made it into the CD ... even the little girls from the fair singing their gospel piece. That is why there are 4 versions of "I'm a Man of Constant Sorrow". One with only the acoustic guitar (when the Soggy Bottom Boys were singing into the can), another with the entire band backing them up (when they performed at the rally) and 2 instrumental versions.

I'll be honest and even say that I had no idea that "You are my Sunshine" was such a depressing song ... like a lot of the songs on this CD are. What makes a difference is the melody and the music, it is just great.

If you are in the mood for more Bluegrass music after listening to this CD, then check out "Down From The Mountain" CD. It is a CD from a concert the Coen brothers had in Nashville at the time the movie came out, think of it as a "sister" companion to this great soundtrack.

I just love, love to sing along with this CD. My son introduced me to this movie and the soundtrack was one of my favorite things about the movie - well, except for George Clooney, of course.

I will share a little secret - I actually thought I was buying the DVD - I lost mine. Oh well, I get to enjoy it more this way - in the car everywhere I go.

If you like catchy music with a variety of types -this is a CD for you.

I am Irish and spent over 50 years in rural OK and the backwoods of AR. I also play guitar and therefore, this music is in my soul. Not very many people enjoy Bluegrass and Folk Music and have to cultivate a taste for it. This high Quality recording is deeply appreciated by those of us who love this form of music and it is long overdue.

I must admit, I'm not the biggest country music fan in the world.

BUT I LOVE THIS ALBUM.

Every song on here gets my toe tapping or my heart racing or makes me sing-a-long. This is a great collection of songs!

If you liked the movie you will love this soundtrack. Tons of great songs including the one sung by the Soggy Bottom Boys. A couple of the songs I could have done without, but most just make you want to dance and just enjoy the music.

More music from the movie. I love country music and the Soggy Bottom Boys' I
Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow was wonderful, I'll Fly Away with Alison Krause and Gillian Welch was great. The list is too long to name each song individually. You won't regret buying this cd.

Let me make one thing clear. "O Brother..." is one of my favourite films of all time. Not only that, but the musical soundtrack is one of its strongest features and stands as a valuable cultural document in its own right. In short, this is an album that anyone who loves country, bluegrass or folk music is likely to want in their collection.
So why, as I write, am I tossing up whether to only give it four stars? The answer is that I'm attempting to review it, not as a collector's item or a socio-historical document but as an album of music for repeated listening in the comfort of your own home. For that reason I'm not going to review the film rather than the album, as some reviewers here have done, because I don't assume that every listener is going to have the movie playing back in their heads as they listen to the music.

Rather, my comments are based on how this album will sound to someone who has picked up on the hearsay, or watched the Grammy ceremony, and is tempted to go out and buy this as a musical compilation. And in that setting, many listeners are going to be disappointed. The fact that a song has integrity, emotion, historical importance or great musicianship doesn't automatically make it great entertainment.

There are some standout contributions: The title song is long-term loveable (although why four different renditions of the tune are needed on the album is a mystery - a couple of the "period" instrumental versions which work well on the movoe soundtrack are somewhat less successful as pure listening music. Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch are as usual faultless. Ralph and the other Stanleys are devastating. But how many times will you want to listen to the 4+ minutes of prison chant that opens the album? Or the squeaky kiddy song (the Peasalls)? Or the ancient ditties like "Big Rock Candy Mountain"? After a couple of spins, you may find yourself reaching for the skip button more than is comfortable.

I'm not really knocking this record - in a sense it's a masterpiece. And it's rightly selling by the millions.

I love this soundtrack. I was never a fan of bluegrass/mountain music, but this soundtrack changed my opinion. This soundtrack is absolutely excellent from the hymn-like accapella to the bluesy southern style. This cd presents the songs chronologically in tune with the movie's progression. It is a must have for lover's of good music!!!!!

I had a "burned" copy of this CD, but I had lost it. Went on Ebay, found it, used the "BUY IT NOW" and had it 2 days later. A hard to find CD, with great BLUE GRASS music. Left POSITIVE feedback, and I am enjoying my CD!

Great collection of Blue Grass music. I listen to it all the time. My firt copy was stolen at work. Co-workers got mad at me for shinning lights in there eyes and asking where they were on the morning of May 25th., so I bought another. You might also like Ailison Krause and the Union Station boys (a.k.a. The Soggy Bottom Boys)

I enjoy the music more than I thought I would. It was a gift to my husband. I thought that I would only like one song on the cd,but end up liking a lot more of it. It has a version of I'll Fly Away that I tend to like the most.

This is a fantastic soundtrack from an original, highly creative film. While the majority of the tracks were written for the film, they retain the original bluegrass sound common to the films time period, artfully written and performed by modern artists.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a pleasant mixture of not only great artist of the past but also the memories that they created.
All my children even love to listen to this soundtrack. I think because it is just plan fun.
It is very hard to make these soundtracks most of the time they are uneven in the type of music, in that some are hard to listen to and some are easy or even the theme is off set but somehow this tape is wounderfuly composed.
I would recomened this soundtrack to any of my friends.

Bought this because they play it at work a lot over the speakers, and found it to be great music to work by. I like the spiritual element to the music, plus the down-home sound. The songs are probably of uneven quality; I have my favorites, though. I would recommend it to others who have not seen the movie or heard the soundtrack. A little bizarre at first, but it definitely grows on you.

I love this album! I lossed my copy last year! I had to replace it! This is
Bluegrass, Gospel, Blues, Country music at it's best!

Great companion to the motion picture. If you like old-timey, depression era music, this is a must! If you don't, this may turn you on to a new genre of music. 19 enjoyable songs! Enjoy.

I love the folksy sound to this C.D. If you like Bluegrass and a variety mix of old and new country you will like this C.D. Alison Krauss is a big part of this C.D. and it shows in her vocals.

Good ol country harmony. Songs are perfectly put together. Once I seen the movie, I knew I'd want the sound track.
A+A+A+A+