Customer Reviews

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was iffy about purchasing this as I already owned a copy of the sountrack. The remastering, however, is top notch. Nothing more needs to be said of the great soundtrack itself.

The second disc is a mixed bag. There are two really good covers, one that's okay, and two that are just deplorable. Marilyn Manson and Danny Elfman is a match made in heaven (and I use that term VERY loosely). Manson's approach to the vocals encapsulates his own style while maintaining every piece of integrity of the original. I've never been a fan of Fiona Apple, but the emotional breadth given to Sally's Song deserves accolades. It's beautiful, taking the song to new heights. Fall Out Boy does a credible "What's This," which is fun, even if its nothing spectacular. She Wants Revenge, still trying to capitalize on the fame of Interpol and the newfound love of Post punk industrial is montonous in their version of Kidnap the Sandy Claws. I've concluded that all She Wants Revenge songs sound the same. Panic At the Disco give us a weird, overdramatic version of This Is Halloween. Its failure is that it is not fun, and it's a fun song.

Then there are the demos. These are fantastic, if for no other reason, then because Elfman does all the vocals himself. There is a note in the liner notes saying "All vocals by Danny Elfman" in regards to the demos. He does some amazing work, probably fooling with many synths and vocal layering. This is Halloween and Kidnap the Sandy Claws really show this. Of particular interest though are the cuts that were done to Making Christmas. It's fun to hear a version that was clearly a work in progress. Despite these being demos and Elfman probably only needing to provide a guiding vocal, he really has fun with these. While Oogie Boogie's Song is no match for the version that appears on the soundtrack, Elfman is clearly having a good time paying homage to one of his heroes, Cab Calloway. Overall, at less than 15 bucks, this collection is a steal.

I bought this edition for the bonus disc and the 3D cover, but I am also pleased to say that the new mix of the original soundtrack is cleaner, more clear, more fun to listen to. Maybe it is too subtle a difference for casual listeners, for me it is newly fresh.
The bonus disc is great especially for the Elfman demos.

I've fallen in love with the music from The Nightmare Before Christmas, this is always my weakness of mine when it comes to my favorite movies. I never really watched The Nightmare Before Christmas when it first came out, I was only 2 years old. Though, I do remember a few things in it. I wanted to actually see it, so I decided to go see NBC 3-D. It blew my mind, this movie was perfect for 3-D! Just amazing! Yes, well enough of my life story.

Of course the first CD, the original soundtrack, is fun to listen to, but I do have favorites like "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" and "Oogie Boogie's Song".

But the second CD I was a little weary of and excited because:
A. I don't listen to those artists
B. I was looking forward to Danny Elfman's demos

I was completely in shock of what I heard! Although I love the originals, the bonus tracks were good, too. The track that really stood out was Fiona Apple singing "Sally's Song", her voice was perfect for it, so chilling and haunting. Fall Out Boy, who I really depise, did a good rendition of "What's This". But why did She Wants Revenge go and completely mutiliate my favorite song "Kidnap the Sandy Claws"? That's the only horrible track.

The Danny Elfman demos were a complete treat. I liked his version of "Oogie Boogie's Song", although I like the deepness of Ken Page's voice in the original.

Overall, this CD is one of the best soundtracks you could buy, I highly recommend it for fans of the movie.

Even if you already have the soundtrack, you should definitely buy this special version for the covers. The demos are interesting, but not really something you'll listen to repeatedly. The covers, on the other hand, are ALL very fun. Admittedly, the weakest is probably the She Wants Revenge song. It's still fun, but it isn't up to the level of the other four. Manson, obviously, is a perfect fit for a gothic soundtrack, but surprisingly, the more upbeat covers by Fallout Boy and Panic at the Disco are a lot of fun as well. I've heard some people complain about the Fiona Apple track, but I think it comes down to whether you like Fiona Apple or not. Her cover is beautiful from my vantage point. All in all, the covers put a whole new gloss on the songs they imitate and give the vocals to some really talented bands. If you often find the soundtrack stuck in your head, this collection is a must buy.

Since the original score of the Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack has been covered many times, this will be a review of the bonus disc.

If I were to rate Elfman's oringal I'd give it a 4, they're great songs and easily stand out away from the movie on their own. However, I'm giving this a 3 star based solely on it's bonus material.

The remakes are simply atrocious. She Wants Revenge just stumbles and mutters under his breath in the same monotone voice. I listened to their version of "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" only once and that's all I can stand, I fought every urge to change it even then.
Panic! at the Disco's version of "This is Halloween" is very boring, they have some pretty good highlights, but just like SWR he just mumbles through with the same tone. Did they even care about the source material? Fall Out Boy was a little bit more listenable than the other 2 mentioned, but they don't do the original song justice at all. Maybe it's because the songs sound odd out of context, or maybe it's just that they don't sound like the songs were treated with respect. I don't know, but it doesn't work at all.

On a more pleasing note I was happy with Marilyn Manson's cover of "This is Halloween". I've never been a huge fan of Manson's, but this song works for him. It is of course very dark and macabre and Elfman himself wanted Manson to collaborate with him on this project. The highlight on this special edition is Fiona Apple's "Sally's Song", she brings such a beautiful and haunting sadness to the song. The original song was always great and Catherine O'Hara did a great job for the movie, but if you were to take ONE song out of this movie that could have been made a single on it's own I believe it would have been "Sally's song". Kudo's Fiona! My favorite track on the 2nd CD and alone worth the $15 I paid for the soundtrack.

The rest of the CD is a pure bonus, rare Elfman demos of various songs from the movie. It is interesting because every note, cue, lyric and voice was carried out by Danny himself. These are stripped down, raw versions of what was ultimately used in the movie. Even with the unrefined sound of these demo recordings, they are still 100% better than some of the recent aforementioned covers.

I find it hard to pinpoint just who Disney was trying to target this CD for.
I can understand getting some currently popular bands together to try getting a younger crowd, but then to include Manson and Apple kinda offsets the trend. I doubt very seriously fans of Manson would by this CD for his one song. The Demo recordings were to appeal to the die hard fans and thank God for them. The entire 2nd CD is hit & miss.
For fans who bought the original Nightmare Before Christmas score, I'd say there probably is enough here to warrant purchasing the same thing again...though you may want to try iTunes to avoid the most of the garbage.

To tie in with the rerelease of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" in 3D, Disney has brought out a new version of the soundtrack, complete with a second disc of covers and demos of the film's songs. The soundtrack alone is worth the price of admission by itself; the value of the second disc will depend on how much you like the original soundtrack or the artists performing the covers.

The first disc, the film's original soundtrack, has been reviewed ad infinitum and I doubt I could say something new about it. Danny Elfman's soundtrack is a thing of beauty, with lyrics and music that carry the film's storyline perfectly. The one song that features Ken Page - "Oogie Boogie's Song" - is the definition of scene-stealer, and Elfman shines as Jack, particularly in "Jack's Lament" and "What's This?" I'm disappointed that Disney chose to remove the instrumental "Bonus Theme Medley" that was at the end of the original soundtrack, but the track bordered on redundancy and the rest of the soundtrack is fully intact.

The real draw here, at least for the fans of the film, is the second disc. The first five tracks are covers of some of Danny Elfman's songs. Of the covers, I was most impressed by Panic! At The Disco's fun take on "This Is Halloween;" maybe more than any of the others, the band's sound shows through while remaining faithful to the original. Fiona Apple's "Sally's Song" is another highlight. I was never struck by the original track and I'm not a huge fan of Apple, but the track drew me in to the point where I lost my place in the book I was reading.

The other three covers are a bit of a mixed bag. Marilyn Manson's version of "This Is Halloween," while enjoyable on its own, doesn't hold up as well when placed next to the P!ATD track that follows it on the album. Fall Out Boy's "What's This?" is a respectable cover, but the song is lacking the emotion that Elfman's Jack had, causing the track to lose a large part of its appeal. She Wants Revenge is the biggest departure of the lot; their "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" is almost unrecognizable after it's rewritten as a techno/dance track. It's growing on me slowly, but again, if you're not a fan of the band, your reaction may differ.

The demos are all performed by Danny Elfman, who layered his voice and used a synthesizer to get what you'll hear here. The most interesting of the lot is "This Is Halloween." While a third version of the track wasn't really required, this version of the track is actually sung in large part by Elfman as Jack, giving it an entirely different sound than the film version. The "Oogie Boogie's Song" demo is also worthwhile because Ken Page did the final version; while Elfman gives the old college try, his Oogie just can't match the deep, rich tones of Page's bag of bugs. The remaining demos are enjoyable but not dramatically different from the versions on the first disc.

It's worth noting that, if you buy the album from Best Buy, the pressing that's currently out has an extra two demos on it: "Town Meeting Song" and "What's This?" are included on the disc, boosting the total number of tracks to eleven. Unfortunately, even with the two extra tracks, the bonus disc just barely reaches a length of 40 minutes (meaning that this version is even shorter, approximately 35 minutes). Including some of Elfman's other demos or more covers would have been appreciated, especially since they are the selling point for those of us who already owned the soundtrack.

In the end, I very strongly recommend the purchase of the album. The soundtrack by itself is one of the best that either Danny Elfman or Disney has been involved in, and the addition of covers and demos on the second disc makes this album a great value. If you've already got the original version of the soundtrack, I'd sample the tracks before you buy; the covers and demos were a worthwhile investment for me, but the length of the second disc is reason enough to think again before purchasing the album just for the bonus disc. Overall, though, the sheer quality of the material overcomes any shortcomings, and the quality is justification enough for purchasing the album.

the movie has always been a favorite of mine. hearing the new songs redone make me love the movie even more. the fall out boy one is pretty sweet. the marylin manson one is great and fits the atomsphere of the movie.

This soundtrack's a classic! A must have for any Nightmare Before Christmas/Tim Burton fan; you can probably sing these songs word for word! The additional cd with various versions of the songs is excellent, and I especially enjoy Fiona Apple's version of "Sally's Song". The Danny Elfman demos are amazing, and it's entertaining to hear how they compare with their finished versions. She Wants Revenge's cover of "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" is amazing as well.

Both versions of "What's this?" are great! Danny Elfman had already conquered my admiration and respect with Batman's and The Corpse Bride's soundtrack, but The Nightmare Before Christmas is my number 1 for a bunch of reasons: the interpretations are awesome and the new versions in the second CD have profoundly delighted me. If you're an Elfman's fan, you won't be disappointed!

i will admit, i have been and will be a manson fanatic for a number of years. Nightmare before Christmas has also been on a consistent highnote for me even as a little kid when we got on VHS. so when i heard Danny Elfman on the radio talking about this thing a few weeks before it came out, i heard "marilyn manson will be doing a cover of "this is halloween", my heart jumped and i almost veered of the I-15. i bought two copies of it, one for myself and one for a friend who i knew would also appreciate it for the Panic! cover.

i will also admit i bought this cd without any hesitation, and only for that one song, and i must say it hit it right on the money. Marilyn Manson in my mind is the master of taking good, popular songs, and twisting them into something unique and that makes a statement (hearing him sing "boys and girls of every age, wouldn't you like to see something strange?" is rather convienient).

i also enjoyed the rest of the cds with more or less the same appreciation.

my only gripe with this cd is She Wants Revenges version of Kidnap The Sandy Claws. that was something i was looking forward to, and the signers monotone singing does little to honor the song. the background tune hardly resembles the melody it was taken from. in that song there were 3 distinctive voices, with SWR, you got one unchanging voice with no emotion. hell Beastie Boys coulda done a better job on this song.