Track Listing

1. Wayfaring Stranger - Jack White
2. Like A Songbird That Has Fallen - Reeltime Travelers
3. I Wish My Baby Was Born - Tim Eriksen, Riley Baugus & Tim O'Brien
4. The Scarlet Tide - Alison Krauss
5. The Cuckoo - Tim Eriksen & Riley Baugus
6. Sittin' On Top Of The World - Jack White
7. Am I Born To Die? - Tim Eriksen
8. You Will Be My Ain True Love - Alison Krauss
9. I'm Going Home - Sacred Harp Singers At Liberty Church
10. Never Far Away - Jack White
11. Christmas Time Will Soon Be Over - Jack White
12. Ruby With The Eyes That Sparkle - Stuart Duncan & Dirk Powell
13. Lady Margret - Cassie Franklin
14. Great High Mountain - Jack White
15. Anthem - Gabriel Yared
16. Ada Plays - Gabriel Yared
17. Ada And Inman - Gabriel Yared
18. Love Theme - Gabriel Yared
19. Idumea - Sacred Harp Singers At Liberty Church
20. Idumea - Sacred Harp Singers At Liberty Church

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3407 in Music
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2003-12-16
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.com
Director Anthony Minghella's take on Charles Frazier's bestselling novel is powered by wistful romanticism and a dramatic structure that's been compared to Homer's Odyssey. That latter creative tack parallels the Coens' O Brother, Where Art Thou in crucial ways, and is further enhanced by another T-Bone Burnett-produced soundtrack of Appalachian-inflected folk traditionals, sympathetic originals by diverse songwriters (Elvis Costello and Sting), and a core of gritty performances (the White Stripe's Jack White and Alison Krauss) that rise above mere star appeal. White shows his traditional blues jones is no mere affectation on "Wayfaring Stranger" and a cover of Howlin' Wolf's "Sittin' On Top of the World," then makes a rewarding turn into the wistfully romantic with his original "Never Far Away." Krauss gives a haunting performance of Costello's "The Scarlet Tide," but doesn't fare as well with Sting's plaintive, Celtic-tinged "You Will Be My True Love." The soundtrack's evocative sense of time and place is further underscored by traditionals performed by a slate of other bluegrass/country-folk heavyweights and a powerful pair of gospelized, almost ethereal performances by the Sacred Harp Singers at Liberty Church. A few of Gabriel Yared's gentle orchestral cues (crucial to the film's characters and dramatic continuity) are essentially tacked on as the coda to the remaining collection of earthy Americana. Dark, dusty, and ever bittersweet, Burnett's musical archaeology here is something considerably more than merely "O Brother Redux." --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

"T-Bone Burnett has another winner ~ Cold Mountain"
Sony Music jumps on the bandwagon of Americana with a collection of traditional country from "Cold Mountain", the Anthony Minghella's Civil War film featuring nineteen tracks of soundtrack and score ~ featuring Stuart Duncan, Cassie Franklin, Dirk Powell, Tim Eriksen, Riley Baugus, Tim O'Brien, Alison Krauss, Jack White, Sacred Harp Singers (at Liberty Church) and the score composed by Gabriel Yared who seemingly brings all the characters to life through his magnificent music.

Plain to see the brand of T-Bone Burnett on this compilation, much like "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", the same driving force with cues like "THE SCARLET TIDE", brings the song writing talent of Elvis Costello and voice of Alison Krauss with harmony by Cheryl White to the fore and "YOU WILL BE MY AIN TRUE LOVE", another beautiful composition from String who also sings backup with Alison ~ "WAYFARING STRANGER", "SITTIN' ON TOP OF THE WORLD", "NEVER FAR AWAY", "CHRISTMAS WILL SOON BE OVER" and "GREAT HIGH MOUNTAIN", features blues, gospel, folk and country with an unforgettable interpretation by songwriter/vocalist Jack White (who debuted in this film).

My stand out pick is "I'M GOING HOME", performed by the Sacred Harp Singers at Liberty Church unleash the power of four part harmony that goes back one hundred and ten years ~ haunting and vibrate makes the floor shake with their sound ~ this cue is well worth the price of the album...gotta love it!

Total Time: 63:07 on 19 Tracks ~ Sony 86843 ~ (12/16/2003)

Transports you back to Cold Mountain...
"Cold Mountain", an extraordinary piece of art in its own right, is greatly improved by its soundtrack. This wonderful soundtrack really creates the atmosphere of the South during the Civil War era. Fans of the accomplished Gabriel Yared (The English Patient, Message in a Bottle, Sylvia) will want to pick this one up as he composes the score. Numerous songs are provided by Jack White, Oscar-nominee Alison Krauss (who sings my favorite songs on the album), Tim Eriksen, Riley Baugus, and more. Though I must warn you, this soundtrack is definitely not for everyone. Some of the songs work well with the film (11. Christmas Time Will Soon Be Over - Jack White), but definitely not on their own. In addition, many songs on here are bluegrass, country, and folk; genres that are often parodied and ridiculed by mainstream music fans. However, if you enjoyed any of the music in the film, this is the CD for you. Unlike many other soundtracks which shall remain nameless, every single piece of music in the film is included on the soundtrack in its full and complete form.

FAVORITES:
4.) The Scarlet Tide - Alison Krauss
8.) You Will Be My Ain True Love - Alison Krauss
14. Great High Mountain - Jack White
15.-18.) All of Gabriel Yard's score
19.) Idumea - Sacred Harp Singers At Liberty Church

Powerfully evocative soundtrack
Regardless of what you feel about Titanic, its soundtrack was a success in that its music resonated the same feel, or aura, as the movie did, and everytime you listened to it, the music brought back feelings and impressions you felt while watching the movie. Cold Mountain's soundtrack does the same and that makes it a successful soundtrack, in my opinion. You relive the movie through the soundtrack vividly; both the movie and its soundtrack strike the same emotional chords and both complement each others artistic style.

I'm not familiar with bluegrass music, so I can't say if this is a successful bluegrass compilation or not, but I suspect it isn't, because that wasn't the goal of this production. The goal was to use music as a means to amplify the themes and emotions portrayed in the film--the songs were used very well to serve as musical exclamation points for key scenes.

You really can't separate the movie Cold Mountain from its music. Like with Titanic, its soundtrack was inseparable from the movie. While I was watching Cold Mountain with my husband, both of us commented on how good the songs were during the movie.

This soundtrack has received a LOT of criticism for not being an true bluegrass album, but a lot of people are forgetting this is a movie soundtrack, not a historical folk album. Cold Mountain is a war epic and love story, not a movie about bluegrass, so its songs are not going to be limited to only historical folk songs--songs that will help further the plot or help to bring certain scenes to life will be used in a movie soundtrack, because that's the job of the music.

Nobody complained that the music in the Braveheart score was not historically accurate because they were actually contemporary works, and nobody complained that Titanic's music didn't actually exist during the early 1900's because James Horner wrote the songs and James Horner wasn't alive back then. That is because that they are soundtracks for the movie, and the goal of a soundtrack complement the movie. Sometimes, exceptional soundtracks will come along--a great soundtrack to go with a great movie--and Cold Mountain's soundtrack is one of them.

Jack White surprised me with his versatility as an artist. His renditions of songs felt authentic and believable.

For what it's worth, this city slicker was smitten by this production. I experienced a taste of the grandeur, dignity, and beauty of Appalachian history and culture through the movie, and especially through its music. I'm not a fan of country or bluegrass, but I'm a fan of this soundtrack.