Various O Brother, Where Art Thou? Music From The Motion Picture (CD)

(Mercury Records) 19 tracks

A triple Grammy-winning record that ranks among the best soundtrack records of all time reached No. 1 in America on March 23, 2002. Produced by T-Bone Burnett, O Brother, Where Art Thou? was a rousing mix of bluegrass, country, gospel, blues and folk music that musically underscored and undoubtedly enhanced Joel and Ethan Coen's film of the same name. The remarkable chart success followed the glorious Grammy night of February 27.

From the outset, the soundtrack was conceived as an integral part of the movie, and for this reason it was recorded before filming began. Burnett's ideas are designed to inspire the filming and give shape to the cinematography, and it works beautifully.

While the majority of the soundtrack is made up of new recordings, there are a few vintage tracks, including Harry McClintock's 78 rpm from 1928, “Big Rock Candy Mountain”. Ralph Stanley, one of the two Stanley Brothers who are bluegrass icons, recorded an a cappella version of the standard “O Death”.

One of the most outstanding songs on the record and the best known is “I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow”, written by half-blind fiddle player Dick Burnett. The soundtrack is covered by John Hartford, while the Soggy Bottom Boys play a different version. Other highlights include “I'll Fly Away” by Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch, Chris Thomas King's beautiful version of Skip James' “Hard Time Killing Floor” and the Soggy Bottom Boys' rendition of Blind Blake and Jimmie Rodgers' “In The Jailhouse Now”.

The Soggy Bottom Boys' version of “I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow” also contributed to the album's success, reaching number 35 on the Hot 100. But who exactly are the Soggy Bottom Boys? They're actually the group formed by the movie's main characters, and their name is an homage to the Foggy Mountain Boys, the real bluegrass band led by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. In the film, the actors lip-sync the songs credited to the band, although Tim Blake Nelson sings his own vocals on “In the Jailhouse Now.” The real musicians are Dan Tyminski from Krauss' Union Station (guitar and lead vocals), Harley Allen and Pat Enright.

After the success of the movie, the fictional band became so popular that the many musicians featured in the movie - including Ralph Stanley, John Hartford, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch and Chris Sharp - got together and performed the music from the movie in a Down From The Mountain concert tour.