Music from the Motion Picture O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Review by Tom Horan
Issue 2, Summer/Fall 2003
The soundtrack to the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" won the 2002 Grammy for album of the year. Some people were disappointed with this decision, but I believe that it is an excellent compilation of different bluegrass songs.
Some songs are revivals of old bluegrass, such as the opening track, "Po Lazarus," which is sung by several prisoners hammering away at a bunch of rocks. The song itself has a very different sound to it. There's no actual music, but it is musical with the singing and the sound of a group of hammers rhythmically hacking away. There are a few songs that have a ghostly vibe coming from them due to the lack of any actual instruments, such as "O Death" and "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby." "O Death" is a very dark song and moving song. In the movie, it is a Klansman singing the song. "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby" is a very sensuous song sung by three women with some of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard in music today. But the entire album doesn't have the same sound as I have described. A couple songs are actually original bluegrass tracks from the 1920s/early 1930s, such as Harry McClintock singing the less politically correct version of "Big Rock Candy Mountain." And who could forget the most popular song on the album, "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow," sung by the Soggy Bottom Boys.
The album is very much alive and has a heart and soul in it. Each song is very unique in its music and moods that it could induce. It is only very rarely that an album like this could come around and receive such critical and pop culture success. "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" was number one on the Billboard charts and remained on the charts for quite a while. Though popular with older audiences, it hasn't received to much recognition from the teenage audience. I think that younger people would actually be able to greatly appreciate this album for what it is, if given the time to actually listen to it. In a world full of MTV and VH1, this album truly proved that it had just the right ingredients to win the Album of the Year Grammy for 2002. I would give it four out of four stars and I think that more younger people should give this album the attention that it deserves.