Customer Reviews

The Royal Tenenbaums (Collector's Edition)

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Buying soundtracks is a rather new concept for me. I bought the Godfather's brilliant score years ago, and that was pretty much it for me. My opinion of movie soundtracks in general used to be that buying them is stupid. They are written for the movie, not to be listened to as a seperate work of art. Yeah I know, pretty stupid. Needless to say my opinion has been changed recently.

In the liner notes, Wes Anderson describes Mark Mothersbough's soundtrack as "charmed, magical, and sort of innocent." I think that is damn near perfect. Take a listen to Mothersbough's Canon and you will agree. For the most part though, the Motherbough tracks on here are only short interludes.

This CD is taken up by the various other artists from Bob Dylan to the Ramones. Ironically, this soundtrack includes not only post-Velvet Undergrounds Nico, but also a post-Nico Velvet Undergrounds tune. All three of those tracks are terrific. Elliot Smith's Needle in the Hay is the song that stood out to me in the movie. I had no clue who it was by, and it was one of the main reasons for me purchasing this soundtrack. To echo another reviewer's sentiments, I too could listen to this song all day long. The Ramones cut, Judy is a Punk, is not bad, but not the best Ramones song out there to be sure. It is not a low point (there is no low point in this soundtrack) but it certainly comes blasting out at you after Scrapping and Yelling. The Vince Guaraldi Trio's Christmas Time is Here fits in perfectly with Mothersbough's score. It is perfection set to music. Bob Dylan is of course represented here, with a song I'm sure few people have ever heard, and certainly not your typical Dylan. Interestingly, I didn't even like Paul Simon before this. To tell the truth I still don't, but Me and Julio was used to such great effect in the movie that I find the song more than listenable now. Overall this score plays much like the worlds best mix tape.

Highlights are many. Nico's two tracks are great (although the uninitiated might have to get used to her voice). The Ysaye Quartet's String Quartet in F Major, Mothersbough Canon, Police and Thieves, Needle in the Hay, and Christmas Time is Here. However, the lesser songs will not once make you reach for the skip button.

It bears mentioning that there are two versions of this soundtrack, the normal version and the Collector's Edition. I suggest that you make the effort to find the Collector's Edition. Many songs are left off the normal version, such as the version of Hey Jude as well as Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard. For full effect these songs must be included.

This is a soundtrack that has not only found it's way into my CD player time and time again, but when it does get in there it goes on repeat. This is perfect music to listen to while doing menial chores, reading, surfing the net, sitting back and relaxing in front of a fire place, or driving your car. It is also perfect for the Christmas season, as it seems to capture the magical quality of this time of year perfectly. Buy it as a gift and your relatives will thank you!

I bought this album three days ago, and in that time i have listened to it, in it's entirety, six times. I am a rabid music fan, and I require a different music selection almost every time I leave the house to drive somewhere, so for me, six times is saying alot.

The previous reviewer of this album brings up a good point: that there are very good, and important songs in the movie that are not on the soundtrack. I was worried about this when i bought the album, because the ommitted tracks (2 by the rolling stones, 1 by paul simon) were ones I loved in the film. However I have found that the soundtrack as an album is one of the most satisfying musical experiences i've ever had, even without these tracks.

For those of you that have the Rushmore soundtrack, you have already tasted Mark Mothersbaugh's work, and all I have to say is that his work for Tenenbaums is as strong as his Rushmore work. For Tenebaums he has brought in a number of new instruments, and the larger sound works very well.

As for the other tracks on the album, i would have to say i would buy this disc for the Nico tracks alone. Previously I knew of her from The Velvet Underground and Nico, but her folk/pop work here is really beautiful and moving. Among the other tracks are amazing folk pieces from Elliot Smith, Nick Drake(a personal fave), Emitt Rhodes, and The Velvet Underground, as well as higher octane pieces by The Clash and The Ramones that are really great.

One of the most interesting songs in both the movie and soundtrack is Christmas Time is Here, by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, and of the Peanuts Christmas special fame. The song is so iconic of the Peanuts Christmas that you would think it wouldn't work in the film, but it does, as well as fitting in beautifully on the soundtrack.

Finally the two non-Mark Mothersbaugh instrumentals. The first is String Quartet in F Major by the Ysaye Quartet, it is such a beautiful classical piece, and fits in so well with the Mothersbaugh instrumentals that I almost mistook it for one. And finally, a Bob Dylan instrumental called Wigwam, not known to me. The song is a loud brassy piece that I wouldn't have expected from Dylan, but again, as with all the songs on this album, I love it.

The album as a whole is a beautiful moving experience, and i feel that it was designed to be as such. For those of you who buy it, make sure to relax and take in all of it. Enjoy!

Well I must say that I loved this soundtrack but it had its flaws. The long and drawn out beginning before you dive into the cd was one major letdown. It wasn't a soundtrack of Rushmore stature to say the least either, but still very fun. Sure you can expect everytime a soundtrack comes out for it to leave out some great songs but that's where you have to love the powers of mp3. When the Rushmore soundtrack was released I was appalled after I bought it to see it had omitted the Rolling Stones song among a few others. So I went into the studio(my bedroom), and stepped up to the battle station(my computer), and created my unofficial version of the cd adding all the omissions and it is simply brilliant. Now moving on to the Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack I did the exact same thing. There were 4 Rolling Stones songs omitted, a John Lennon song, Me and Julio by Paul Simon(great memories of movie and that song), a Beatles song, Elliot Smith covering "Hey Jude", and the Van Morrison song at the end of the movie, which by the way is called, "Everyone". (I know the last reviewer wanted to know the name of it) And I just inserted them into where they fell in the movie on the cd and it worked out perfectly!!!

This is one of the most inspiring movie soundtracks I've heard in a long time. Each and every song complements the scene in which it appears and all of these songs make sense within the film. That being said, there are some glaring omissions from this cd and fans of the movie may be disappointed.

Fortunately for me, I bought the soundtrack before I saw the movie and fell in love with it. First and foremost, Mark Mothersbaugh gets better and better with each soundtrack he does. The "Mothersbaugh Canon" is simply one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've heard in some time, and the rest are wonderful companion pieces to the film.

The other songs add a nice contrast to the outline that Mothersbaugh has laid out. Nico does a sentimental cover of Jackson Browne's "These Days," which sets the initial tone of the cd; Bob Dylan's "Wigwam" is the random choice, but a fun one nonetheless; "Lullabye" adds a tint of sweetness to the mix; "Judy is a Punk" seems to be the fan favorite...; and Nick Drake's "Fly" adds a settle down easy feel to the entire thing.

Unfortunately, I didn't write this review until after I had seen the movie. I would have given it 4 1/2 stars, but after seeing the film, I had to drop it down to 4. Paul Simon's "Me and Julio.." and Van Morrison's "Everyone" were just too memorable to be left out.

This is a very fine, if somewhat obscure, collection of rock and folk music from different decades. Without the context of the movie, you could say the CD is so eclectic that either it has something for everybody, or nothing for anyone. I'd pick the former. "Stephanie Says," "Needle in the Hay," and "Judy is a Punk" are flat-out excellent songs. It's also nice to hear "Christmas Time is Here" since I grew up watching the Charlie Brown Christmas special every holiday season. One of the especially pleasing treats is Mark Mothersbaugh's music, which is even better on "The Royal Tenenbaums" than his other music was on "Rushmore." Whereas on the "Rushmore" soundtrack Mothersbaugh's music seemed incidental, on this soundtrack it is closer to a fully realized movie score, while still retaining his trademark sound. It's brilliant.

So why only four stars? First, I could've done without the Nico songs. The lyrics and music are in keeping with everything in the film, but her monotonic voice isn't very pleasing in any context. However, the real reason this CD gets 4 stars instead of 5 is that it omits too many essential songs. The instrumental cover of The Beatles' "Hey Jude" is the most glaring of these. Several articles and reviews about the movie have discussed the importance of "Hey Jude" to the film, whose message is arguably "take a sad song and make it better." One piece even discussed how the entire opening scene was written to run precisely with "Hey Jude." It should have been on the CD. If that meant a delay in the release or that it would cost an extra dollar each to take care of royalties issues, so be it. It wasn't even the Beatles' version, it was a cover. They are strict with their songs, but they allowed a whole bunch of people to cover their songs for the "I Am Sam" soundtrack.

The other exclusions:
Some reviewers have already mentioned that the Rolling Stones don't allow their songs on soundtracks. That's understandable from the Stones' point of view, but it's really too bad. The omitted songs were from the important scene with Richie and Margot in the tent.

"Me and Julio..." by Paul Simon is another conspicuous omission. This song was used in the film's marketing campaign, and it was a perfect fit for the montage scene where Royal teaches his grandsons to get into trouble. It's one of the songs I associate most with the movie.

Here, to the best of my knowledge, is what they left out:

Elliott Smith(?) - "Hey Jude"
John Lennon - "Look At Me"
Bob Dylan - "Main Title Theme (from 'Billy')"
Erik Satie - "Gymnopedia #1"
The Clash - "Rock the Casbah"
Paul Simon - "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard"
The Rolling Stones - "She Smiled Sweetly" and "Ruby Tuesday"
Antonio Vivaldi - "Music for Lute and Mandolin (allegro)"
Van Morrison - "Everyone"

(The "Hey Jude" cover is by Elliott Smith, Mark Mothersbaugh, or someone else entirely, depending on which Internet source you believe. I haven't checked the film's credits to see who actually performed it. In any case, there doesn't seem to be a published recording available as of this writing.)

Bottom line: If a soundtrack is supposed to represent the music of the movie, then "The Royal Tenenbaums" falls short but is still worthwhile in it's own right--especially if you just enjoy an eclectic mix of music. Buy the excluded music from the individual artists if you can't live without the songs.

The most frequent criticism I hear of this soundtrack is that the Simon & Garfunkel and Rolling Stones tunes are deleted. I do agree that it would be nice to see these songs included, but I also think that this is an excellent soundtrack.

I enjoy this album for the same reason I enjoy the "Rushmore" soundtrack. Both films give a diverse dosage of nostalgic pop hits. Some folks may not like an uneven dishing of songs, but I love this compilation that gives an odd mix of Ramones, Vince Guaraldi, Bob Dylan, Nico and The Clash.

There is one reason I give this soundtrack a slight nod over "Rushmore." When I first listened to the "Rushmore" soundtrack, I found myself wanting to hear more of the instrumentals by Mark Mothersbaugh. "The Royal Tenenbaums" soundtrack delivers that generous serving of Mothersbaugh material. While these soothing instrumentals are usually short and quick, their appeal becomes addicting. Mothersbaugh's score, in my opinion, is just as important as the rest of the tunes in bringing out the mood of the film.

Yes, it does puzzle me why they left out a few notes, especially Simon & Garfunkel's "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard." Still, I find this this CD thoroughly enjoyable.

The Royal Tenenbaums wouldn't be such a fantastic movie if it weren't for the seamlessly placed songs in the soundtrack, which seem to come at exactly the right moment in the film and perfectly complement the scenes. This soundtrack includes some fantastic compositions by Mark Mothersbaugh and other various artists, all of which seem to have the airy, quirky mood of the movie. It isn't really an album you can listen to in the car or in a group and is more appropriate for lounging around or reading by yourself. Perfect soundtrack to a lazy afternoon in the life of a homebody (a label I possess and certainly don't mind, mainly because it's true). If you liked the movie than you will definetly enjoy the soundtrack.

I got a copy of this soundtrack before I even saw the film, which some people will inevitably see as a terrible idea. But the inclusion of Nico solo work was more than enough to get me excited about a film that I was already more excited about than any film in recent memory. Any hard core "Rushmore" fan will tell you that the only thing wrong with that soundtrack is the omission of the Rolling Stones "I Am Waiting." I in fact reburned a copy of the sountrack including that song, but the missing songs here don't dtract from the album to nearly that degree (there's just too much music here to possibly fit on one CD.) I was initially hesetant about the inclusion of Elliot Smith on a soundtrack otherwise consisting of pre-punk era material. But finally seeing the film, the song fits so beuatifully that I almost convinced myself that Elliot Smith was actually making music in 1974. I was also excited to see Nick Drake, the artist I've long thought would fit perfectly on to the "Rushmore" soundtrack, was featured. The Mark Mothersbaugh score doesn't come across with the same impact as the "Rushmore" score, but that's probably because this time i knew what to expect. The beautiful thing about a Wes Anderson film is that props, sets, costumes, and especially music are just as important as the characters and plot. And this concept is probably expolred further in "The Royal Tenenbaums" then any other film in history.

This soundtrack is both radically different from the Rushmore soundtrack and very much the same. Words to describe it: very instrumental, very eclectic. Mark Mothersbaugh's score definately seems to rise above the other material although Dylan's "Wigwam," Emitt Rhodes' "Lullabye," the Ramones' "Judy is a Punk," and Elliot Smith's "Needle In The Hay" are all excellent and enjoyable songs. If you have any interest in this film, you should definately purchase this album as it possesses that Wes Anderson-vibe that is so very special -- melancholy with an underlying sense of hope.

Regardless of your musical taste, if you have an appreciation for good music, you will probably enjoy the soundtrack to The Royal Tenenbaums.

if you haven't seen this movie yet, see it. it is by far wes anderson's best work, and the performances by the actors and actresses in this movie make it that much better.
but the icing on the cake for this movie is the music. the music fit in to the movie almost too well. it had an almost "magnolia" feel to it at points. it was as if the songs were written specifically for the movie.
the sequence in the film that includes ellioy smith's classic "needle in the hay" and nick drake's beautiful "fly" was incredible. if you have seen the movie, you know what i mean.
but it is mark mothersbaugh who really proves his talent in this soundtrack. the track "mothersbaugh's canon" is truly wonderful. his has proven himself beyond a doubt as a great film score composer. save yourself from boredem of typical movies and go see this film.
then realize that you can't live without the soundtrack.