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

Various Artists - Soundtrack (Composer)

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 15, 2000)
• Original Release Date: February 15, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00004HYLW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #47,819 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Director Curtis Hanson chooses a lineup of vintage rock and R&B for the musical side of his screen adaptation of Michael Chabon's brilliant Wonder Boys. Foremost is Bob Dylan, who contributes a new rocker, "Things Have Changed," as well as cuts from Blood on the Tracks, Oh Mercy, and Time Out of Mind. These 13 cuts do a fine job of limning Michael Douglas's lead character's confusion, regret, and weary-to-the-bone ambivalence. Smartly sequenced--soul giants Little Willie John and Clarence Carter fit perfectly alongside the likes of Dylan, Lennon, Van Morrison, and Neil Young--Wonder Boys the album is a stellar example of hand-in-glove movie-music supervision. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars for New Dylan Tune Alone!, February 16, 2000

By	"12reader12" (Bangor, Maine United States) - See all my reviews

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....

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars For Dylan, February 19, 2000

By	Gianmarco Manzione (Tampa, FL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars RUN, don't walk to buy this CD..., February 26, 2001

By	Ken J W Baker (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada) - See all my reviews

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.