A quarter century has passed since the Coen brothers’ blockbuster O Brother, Where Art Thou? hit theaters — and, like the epic itself, the soundtrack stays timeless. Certified 8x Platinum in 2007 and named the #1 soundtrack of the decade by Billboard, it seems the world still can’t get enough of The Soggy Bottom Boys, with modern covers of “Man of Constant Sorrow” and “Big Rock Candy Mountain” coming out all the time.
But, have you ever heard these GRAMMY-Award winning songs on vinyl?
A film released at the turn of the Millennium, vinyl was all but obsolete. Digital MP3s were becoming all the rage; it was the next ‘new sound’, while people marveled at the high-def picture quality of a DVD. Records, in the meantime, were getting warped in the heat at flea markets or in garages, discarded as objects of the distant past. Well, just like the works of Homer being relevant today, vinyl has resurfaced out of the depths of antiquity and — according to producer T Bone Burnett and the fine folks at Lost Highway Records — no time is better than the present for The Soggy Bottom Boys to make their formal debut on the format.
Treading across all kinds of traditional American music, from bluegrass to folk to gospel, it’s a shame it took this long to hear the soundtrack on vinyl. The spinning of the record, the needle in the groove… there’s an added warmth to the tunes like never before, like you’re listening to them for the first time all over again. And, as of February 20th, this extra special double-LP gateway version of O Brother Where Art Thou? is available for purchase.
Film enthusiasts and music lovers have their choice of three colorways: standard black, Sunshine Gold (sold exclusively at the Lost Highway Records store), and ‘Dapper Dan Red’ (available at select independent record stores). Considering the film was set during the Great Depression, what better way to revisit the soundtrack than by supporting your local independent record store and growing that good ol’ American commerce? So, go on and escape the Big House, cross the cotton fields, dodge the devil on your back, and wade in the refreshing waters of O Brother Where Art Thou?, the 25th anniversary edition, today.
Track listing:
Side 1
- “Po Lazarus” – James Carter & the 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
Side 2
- “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 and Gillian Welch
- “Didn’t Leave Nobody But the Baby” – Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch
Side 3
- “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
Side 4
- “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
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Disclaimer: All views presented in this album review are those of the reviewer and not necessarily those of Top Shelf Music.
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