Deadwood: Music From HBO Original Series [Soundtrack]

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 8, 2005)
• Original Release Date: March 21, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Lost Highway
• ASIN: B00076YPUI
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,773 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #17 in Music > Blues > Piano Blues
  • #52 in Music > Indie Music > Country > Country Folk
  • #57 in Music > Indie Music > Country > Alt-Country & Americana

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The West of veteran TV writer/Deadwoodcreator David Milch is as grim as it is gritty, sprinkled with salty dialogue and punctuated by sudden brutality and raw sexuality. The original soundtrack cues by composer David Schwartz (represented here by his evocative show theme), Michael Brook and Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek play off that vision with often stark rootsiness. But it's the series' rich slate of songs -- choices whose inventiveness often rivals that of The Sopranos -- that consistently reinforce its all-too-human drama, if not the crusty veneer. This collection gathers the best songs from the series' first season, coloring the milieu with evocative hillbilly romps like Michael Hurley's "Hog of the Forsaken" and the a capella grace of Margaret's Native American "Creek Lullaby." But the collection's musical eclecticism stretches far beyond mere genre concerns, variously encompassing the nascent jazz of Jelly Roll Morton (a rollicking "Stars and Stripes Forever"), Delta blues of Bukka White and Mississippi John Hurt and even Gustavo Santaolalla's hypnotic Brazilian fretwork. But the collection's country and folk-tinged performances are its most resonant, whether invoking earthy traditions (the gospel fervor of the late June Carter Cash's "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee's more heretical "God and Man") or more contemporary stylings like Lyle Lovett's "Old Friend" and the gentle "Twisted Little Man" by Michael J. Sheehy. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description

Music from the critically acclaimed HBO Series Deadwood featuring American roots music from an eclectic mix of artists ranging from Lyle Lovett to June Carter Cash with full dialog excerpts from some of your favorite moments. Deadwood: The Complete First Season available now on DVD.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dusty, grim and sometimes poignant (like the series), February 13, 2005

By 

William Merrill "eclecticist" (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deadwood: Music From HBO Original Series (Audio CD)

As a fan of the series Deadwood, I found this soundtrack CD to be both satisfying on its own merits and a successful evocation of the spirit of the series. It contains a lot of authentic American music that has the traditional feeling appropriate to the Old West setting of the show. There's gospel, folk, country, blues, and many pieces of miscellaneous instrumental music. It's telling that when the music producers wanted a true-sounding version of "Will The Circle Be Unbroken," they went to the source, June Carter Cash. I also like the fact that they filled their show and this disc with many excellent songs by relatively unknown artists like Mark Lee Scott and Michael Sheehy. However, I think my very favorite music from the CD are some of the instrumentals, especially the themes by Gustavo Santaolallo and the great Michael Brook. In between the music, there's also a great deal of dialogue samples from the show -- and that's what gives the CD its parental advisory label. (The presence of strong language in those dialogue samples will be no surprise to anyone who has seen Deadwood!)

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deadwood Rising, September 2, 2005

By 

Akimon Azuki - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadwood: Music From HBO Original Series (Audio CD)

What a great treat! This is just like the show itself: comes out of nowhere, takes you for a wild ride and leaves you just grinning stupidly. An exhilarating compilation of blues, country, old Americana, a capella singing, atmospheric instrumental pieces, plus snippets of dialogue, including the Words of Wisdom from Al "Swedgin", surely the greatest and most complex villain to appear on our TV screens in ages. His little speech about "what life is" is just the thing you need when life gets you down- its uplifting effect is only compared to that of the pot of stew scene in Clint Eastwood's "Joe Kidd." Calamity Jane singing and cursing through "Row row row your boat" is another great moment.
My only tiny little complaint is that some excellent pieces are way too short- the title music, for example, but then there's no arguing with this soundtrack's flow. If you look at the song titles- some of which you may know, like The Circle by June Carter Cash, it may seem like a strange motley group, but the whole thing works like a snake charm- I find that every time I play the first track, I end up listening to the whole CD again and again.
Now, this is not for the faint hearted- if you don't like cuss words, look elsewhere. I don't quite get the complaints about the swearing on the show- this surely comes from the people who thought that the brutal and realistic rape scene in the Sopranos was "too unpleasant"- but hey, just be warned that this is not Nickleodeon TV.
Welcome to Deadwood!

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great companion to the show, May 6, 2005

By 

Benjamin Denes (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deadwood: Music From HBO Original Series (Audio CD)

Since Carnivale is in such dire straits, I've really gotten into this HBO show, which serves as a good replacement in my heart. For those not in the know, its a gritty, violent western that takes place in the gold-mining camp of Deadwood, where famous names like Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane traipse through. I knew I would enjoy the soundtrack, as it had a lot of blues and country stuff I was familiar with. June Carter Cash singing 'Will the Circle Be Unbroken' would turn even the most hardcore atheist into a believer, and the Bukka White and the Jelly Roll Morton tracks were great too, but there were so many other amazing surprises on it for me. Top song is called 'Hog of the Forsaken' and is this nuts piece of fiddle and yodel and lunatic lyrics. I loved it. There are other tracks on the CD that are good songs, but do not work within the context of the show, specifically 'Twisted Little Man', which doesn't sound very western at all. Still, a high quality selection of tracks, and the show soundbites on the disc, which contain more cussin' then Tarantino in the shower, are great too.