Customer Reviews

Wonder Boys: Music from the Motion Picture (2000 Film)

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although I wish that the other Dylan tunes were NOT released versions, Things Have Changed makes it all worthwhile! Dylan's view, looking forward, drips with sarcasm, and his voice is as beautiful as ever...makes you hungry for a whole album of Dylan's driving acoustic sound, and the raspy voice, sounding as if he's the only one honest enough to tell you what you already know....

Bob Dylan continues his second...or third...or fourth wind, following the grammy award winning "Time Out Of Mind" of 1997. His new single, "Things have hanged" is as powerful as Dylan's songwriting has been in ages...this includes Time Out Of Mind. It recalls the genius of "Tweeter And The Monkey Man" from his first Traveling Wilbury's effort in 1988. Things have Changed is an accoustic driven rocker that is pushed home by a pounding drum beat unheard of in anything Dylan has ever put to tape. It just may be the strongest song Dylan has recorded since the mid 70's. meanwhile, one of many stellar classics from the Neil young archives, "Old Man," as well as Leonard Cohen's surreal "Waiting For The Miracle" and plenty of soul masterpieces make this perhaps the finest soundtrack anyone can own. For once, one can listen to the songs on this album and actually have a sense of what the film is about. That is a rare achievement these days. "Wonder Boys" is a top notch purchase.

For those of us who grew up, musically, in the 60s and 70s, this is an incredible collection of songs, from a wonderful and charming film, that will carry you back. Who spoke louder during those years than Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Tim Hardin, Van Morrison, and others! The songs compiled here are a great mix of classics (e.g., Tim Hardin's "Reason To Believe," Neil Young's "Old Man") and new songs by old-timers. Most notable among the latter are Dylan's dreamy and mystical "Things Have Changed," written specifically for the film, and Van Morrison's hard-driving "Philosophers Stone." Dylan has figured prominently in folk and rock music to this day, and is "rewarded" in a sense with four songs, the oldest being "Buckets of Rain" from "Blood on The Tracks."

The song listing is provided above, so there is no sense in repeating it here. Suffice it to say that this a tremendous, emotional, and poetic collection of marvelous songs to go along with a tremendous, emotional, and poetic film. I have played this CD over and over again, and have been madly digging out old vinyl records of a number of these artists (e.g., Buffalo Springfield) to recapture the wonder of this music's heritage.

The title of the film could just as easily have referred to the singers recorded here. They are all "wonder boys."

This CD would rate 3 or 4 stars even if it contained only Dylan's "Things Have Changed" and 40 minutes of tape hiss. However, there is lots more here to appreciate.

As a rule, I'm not at all a fan of soundtracks,though there have been some notable exceptions, and Wonder Boys is certainly one of them. This is probably as fine a collection of folk-rock and classic soul as you'll find anywhere.

The only new tune here is the aforementioned "Things Have Changed" by Bob Dylan, and it kicks off the CD in high style. With its driving, propulsive beat - powered by David Kemper's phenomenal drumming - and harrowing lyrics, this is probably the best track Dylan has laid down in 20 years. I was very pleased at it's recent Oscar nomination for Best Song (for it to WIN may be too much to hope for).There are 3 other older Dylan songs here, including "Buckets of Rain" from Blood on the Tracks, and they have all been well-chosen. Other highlights include "No Regrets" by the shamefully underrated and underappreciated Tom Rush, Clarence Carter's slinky, sexy, "Slip Away", and the closing track, Van Morrison's "Philosopher's Stone". The version of "Reason to Believe" contained here, is the original by the song's author, the late Tim Hardin, as opposed to Rod Stewart's more familiar cover. While Rod's rendition will still remain the definitive one for most people, Hardin's has its own merits. The spare accompaniment and his quavering, plaintive-sounding vocals underline the sadness and poignancy of the lyrics very effectively.

There's only two minor quibbles here. Firstly, though I'm a big Leonard Cohen fan, the song of his contained here, "Waiting For the Miracle" is among his most ponderous and boring, and sounds out of place among the other tracks here (mind you, I haven't seen the film; perhaps it fits where its used there). There are several Cohen songs far better and which might have sounded more appropriate, including "Light as the Breeze", "Be For Real", "Tower of Song" and "Bird On a Wire".

The other quibble is with John Lennon's "Watching the Wheels". I've always been a little ambivalent about this number since it was first released as a single off Double Fantasy while I was still in high school. On the one hand, it has one of the catchiest hooks Lennon ever wrote in his post-Fab Four days. At the same time, the lyrics are smug and condesecending. If I had a gazillion dollars I might be tempted to just sit and "watch the wheels go 'round and 'round" too, but for most of us, this is simply not an option.

Nonetheless, this is a great compilation of tunes. An excellent addition to any CD library.

Amazing. That one word can sum up what I think about this soundtrack. I love it. From Dylan to Lennon to Leonard Cohen -- it's just perfect. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a cd that one can listen to time and again and never tire of.

If I had a dream of a perfect soundtrack, with my favorite artists, with the perfect combination of songs, I would wake up and "Wonder Boys" soundtrack would be playing! It is Wonderful!

This CD is full of great folk songs, that are both inspirational and sentimental. The movie is great and I think Michael Douglas does a great job, but this CD has the real wonder boys on it. How these artists can turn out such great music year after year is truly amazing.

I bought this CD because I saw the movie and realized how many of the songs were just great in the background. And you won't be disappointed if you buy this CD, in fact you may feel elated because there are several songs on this disk that don't figure very prominently in the movie but are still really great tunes and fit the whole mood of the movie very well. This is a great soundtrack unlike a lot that you buy and realize that half the songs you thought would be on it aren't.

Of course the star of this CD is a brand new Dylan tune written exclusively for this movie called, "Things Have Changed", which is a great rock tune full of self-hatred at times but the realization that love can really go wrong. There are many other Dylan tracks on this album as well including "Buckets of Rain" from another great CD Blood on the Tracks. Which is a great all around folksy song. There's also "Shooting Star" from Oh Mercy. And "It's Not Dark Yet" from Time Out Of Mind which I feel is one of the most overlooked Dylan songs of all time. This is a great somewhat dark but at the same time very hopeful folk song.

And that's just Dylan's contributions. Buffalo Springfield, Tom Rush, Neil Young, Tim Hardin, Little Willie John, Clarence Carter, Leonard Cohen, John Lennon, and Van Morrison also contribute tracks as well. My favorite non-Dylan track on this album is probably Van's "Philosopher's Stone" which is just a very contemplative very thought provoking sound.

This CD in many ways plays like a mix disk of great folk music. In fact if I were going to put together such a disk I'm not sure I could do much better than what is present here. In fact my only complaint is that there isn't more original material on here. The vast majority of it is just great old music.

I recommend this CD to anyone who likes folk or who liked the movie (a great movie by the way and I recommend seeing it). It is one of my favorite folk rock compilations currently available

My daughter bought this for me for my 59th birthday! It is incredible. It is mellow and with an underlying throbbing beat! Dylan's new one just proves once again why he is still the master. He continues to remain current. I was a big fan in the beginning and I still am! And an old blues master like Clarence Carter is great to hear again, and with Lennon and Van Morrison it is such fine music to music to hang on-line with!

Not only does Dylan's newest song get you foot tapping, but including Morrison and Lennon just make this album a rare find. It brings you from a strong Folk song beginning into some Rhythm & Blues with Little Willie John and Clarence Carter, then back to superb songwriting by Dylan and others. Great for a mellow rainy day, when you have nothing to do but think.

New Dylan on the radio? Yeah, that's what I thought when I heard "Things Have Changed" on my return to Oxford following Spring Break. The song sent chills through my spine (I know, cheesy analogy) and I rushed to buy the soundtrack with the expectation of putting the first track on a continuous loop. Much to my delight, the soundtrack (and I am not a soundtrack guy) was solid throughout. As a fan of Dylan--most specifically his fast driving stuff,ie. "Highway 61 Revisited"--"Things Have Changed" is so impressive that my ramblings won't do it justice. Four Dylan tunes weave throughout this album. "Shooting Star" is one I had never heard and it's great! As a novice to the works of Buffalo Springfield, Tom Rush, Neil Young, and Tim Hardin, I found their selections very pleasing. Especially Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe", which I had known only as a R. Stewart song. This song is amazing, one (I assume) that you either 'get' or don't. Sure, Little Willie John's selection and "Waiting For the Miracle" aren't my favorites, but I'm not complaining. The Wonder Boys Soundtrack is one that you can pick up without knowing much about and listen to it the whole way through!