Original Soundtrack - The Wire: And All the Pieces Matter -- Five Years of Music from The Wire
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Original SoundtrackEdition: Music CD
Format: Explicit Lyrics, Soundtrack
CD Release Date: 2008-01-08
Music Label: Nonesuch
Soundtracks:
- 'This America, Man.' - David Simon
- Way Down In the Hole - The Blind Boys Of Alabama
- 'Why Would Anyone Ever Wanna Leave Baltimore?' - David Simon
- Oh My God - Michael Franti
- Dance My Pain Away - Rod Lee
- My Life Extra - DJ Technics
- 'The King Stay the King.' - David Simon
- Way Down In the Hole - The Neville Brothers
- 'We Used To Make Shit In This Country.' - George Pelecanos
- Sixteen Tons - The Nighthawks
- Assume the Position - Lafayette Gilchrist
- 'What the Fuck Did I Do?' - David Simon
- Step By Step - Jesse Winchester
- I Walk On Gilded Splinters - Paul Weller
- Fast Train - Solomon Burke
- The Body Of an American - The Pogues
- 'All the Pieces Matter.' - David Simon
- Efuge Efuge - Stelios Kazantzidis
- 'Omar Comin'!' - Ed Burns
- Way Down In the Hole - Domaje
- 'If It's a Lie, Then We Fight On That Lie.' - David Simon
- Projects - Tyree Colion
- 'Later For That Gangsta Bullshit.' - David Simon
- Ayo - Bossman
- Analyze - Sharpshooters
- 'Wars End.' - David Simon
- Unfriendly Game - Masta Ace
- What You Know About Baltimore - Ogun
- Jail Flick - Diablo
- The Life, the Hood, the Streetz - Mullyman
- 'An Act Of Daily Journalism.' - David Simon
- I Feel Alright - Steve Earle
- Way Down In the Hole - Tom Waits
- 'You Remember That One Day Summer Past?' - George Pelecanos
- The Fall - Blake Leyh
Free Music Notes for The Wire: And All the Pieces Matter -- Five Years of Music from The Wire
Free Music Review: Crafted with care
Hit: 5 Stars
The makers of The Wire care.
This is evident in the show itself, with its passionate attack on all that is wrong with America today. The same search for truth and justice is also present in the writing of David Simon and other writers who were involved in the show, such as George Pelecanos (the reason I originally became interested in the show).
Another kind of care goes into details. In one of the great essays involved in this compilation's booklet, Simon explains how they would go to great lengths in order to get the voices and worlds of ghetto boys and longshoremen alike just right. This extended to the musical choices: apart from the season finale songs, all the music had to be something you could actually hear coming from radios, blaring from jeeps or playing in clubs in Baltimore.
Often this care and attention to detail made things more difficult for the creators of the show, but the result is something that I believe will endure for many years to come. It is a show to be proud of, and this compilation reflects the love that went into making The Wire.
The stylish black-and-silver packaging is impressive. In the thick booklet you'll find three interesting essays talking about the show itself and the music on the CD. The booklet is printed on quality paper and features numerous color photographs as well as choice quotes from along the way. In short, it's above and beyond most soundtrack albums I've seen. I sort of hope that the DVD sets had contained more extra material like this, because The Wire is one of those rare beasts I want to know more and more about.
The music and dialogue snippets bring back great memories from the show. It's a varied mix, with styles ranging from rough-sounding hip hop to melancholy Greek singing. Simon and Pelecanos are definitely music lovers, which comes through clearly in Pelecanos' essay, and they've managed to make strong picks while steering clear of the obvious choices. They've had great help from De'Rodd Hearns (whose early life was documented in The Corner) and Blake Leyh, resulting in an impressive collection of music. Like the show itself, it might just expand your horizons.
The Wire: And All the Pieces Matter -- Five Years of Music from The Wire Poster
There's not much left to say about The Wire, David Simon's intricately plotted Baltimore crime drama that ran on HBO from 2002 to 2008. Critics loved the show so much it was almost embarrassing, but its audiences were never as large as those of The Sopranos, or even Real Sex. Five Years of Music is strictly for Wire fans. Music was, of course, used sparingly in the show, appearing as it does in real life: in a cop car (the Pogues), from a boombox (club music), or on headphones. This wasn't Miami Vice, and such restraint may have rendered the music all the more poignant and powerful, but obsessive Wire fans (is there any other kind?) will enjoy this disc far more than pedestrian listeners. The former will instantly recall the scene when Solomon Burke covers Van Morrison ("Fast Train"), or in which season the Blind Boys covered Tom Waits' grand theme song, "Way Down in the Hole". With four different takes of the opening theme, snippets of dialogue throughout, and this mish-mash of song, how could it be otherwise? --Mike McGonigalSoundtracks Music CDs
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