A Mighty Wind: The Album
click the image to get it in cd-cover size
| Release Date: |
|
| Label: |
Sony |
| Rating: |
5.0 |
Description: As he did with
Spinal Tap, Christopher Guest has the uncanny ability to perfectly mock
and pay tribute to a music sub-culture. This time around, he spoofs the folk revival scene of the 1960s that spawned the Kingston Trio, Limeliters, and Peter, Paul & Mary with a movie about the reunion concert of fictitious groups Mitch & Mickey, the Folksmen, and the New Main Street Singers. Mitch & Mickey's romance-themed duets sound more earnest than campy, though it's hard not to laugh at the autoharp solo on "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow." The real highlights belong to tracks by the hilarious Folksmen, whose repertoire somehow included a goofy song about the Spanish Civil War ("Skeletons of Quinto"), a harmonizing take on the Stones' "Start Me Up," and a tune seemingly about a train wreck in a coal mine ("Blood on the Coal"). Simply hilarious.
--Jason Verlinde
Tracklist of A Mighty Wind: The Album
Reviews:
A Mighty Wind... Fun. Lots of It.
Well, the only reason I give "A Mighty Wind" a 4 is because it's not perfect, but what CD is? (You know, I just found out that the best-selling soundtrack is "The Bodyguard.") Anyways, "A Mighty Wind" mostly has fast-paced, upbeat songs... They're usually pretty catchy and humorous, I.E. "Eat at Joe's." (EE-AH-OE'S...*shrugs*) The best song on this album is "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" which reminds me somehow of Peter, Paul, and Mary's "Puff, the Magic Dragon". Anyways, I'd buy this CD if I were you. - A Fan
Love the movie, Love this CD
The CD basically contains all the songs that you hear on the movie. I'm not a big folk music person but when I saw the movie I had to get this CD and I love it. I dont think you will regret getting this.
True love lasts forever...
As great as the other songs are (even though they are cheesy, try listening to authentic folk music and try and tell me some of that isn't cheesy), the true stars are Mitch and Mickey a.k.a. Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara. From the film to the soundtrack, the course of true love never does run smooth and sometimes doesn't run at all or gets knocked out in the case of M&M. Their love transpires on the film and also on the great soundtrack. Of course who could play a formerly married couple that left true love bitterly, come back together and sing better than Eugene and Catherine who go back thirty years? Their love is certainly apparent in the film (I have to admit I cried when they did not get back together) and certainly on the soundtrack. I actually love the songs they wrote (whether it be together or not) and feel that if they ever get sick of acting, etc. they should get together and grab Mary Margaret O'Hara (Catherine's sister) and make a career jump to music.
Like their love, their songs are bittersweet more so than the other songs. The Folksmen songs (The Skeletongs of Quinto in particular) deal with serious issues in a serious composition with a not so serious performance. And with The New Mainstreet Singers, well, some of their songs don't even make sense and more so for fun rather than serious composing. But the songs of M&M are serious, poignant and at times can even bring a tear to the eye of the listener especially with the case of "One More Time", my favourite song on the soundtrack. If this song had been kept instead of replacing it with "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" there would have not been a dry tear in the audience and certainly the screen would have been covered in popcorn or pop. It fits so perfectly the story of M&M that even listening to it, it makes you wish they got back together (it was even composed by both of them). At the same time it's a beautiful song that probably could have even made it in the mainstream music world (at least for us folk music fans). The harmonies are distantly beautiful and their voices blend all too well.
I guess the soundtrack, even with the film out there, exposes the raw and true talents of Chris and co. The soundtrack is a fine gem with the amazing abilities of all the stars. Just think they not only starred in the film, but improvised all their lines, learned all the instruments and the songs, and then make their own soundtrack. Sort of scary how talented they all are and yet America just hands out Oscars like their chocolate. I say Chris and Co. try for a BAFTA instead of an Oscar next time...