Lost Highway

It’s still difficult to fathom that a soundtrack stocked with pure, rootsy Americana – cornerstone folk, blues and gospel songs performed by such decidedly non-trendy artists as The Whites and Ralph Stanley – won the Album of the Year Grammy in 2001. O Brother, Where Art Thou? not only accomplished that improbable feat, but it also sold millions of copies and sparked a craving for honest, acoustic music that still reverberates today. Produced by T Bone Burnett, O Brother isn’t any less charming and moving than the day it was first released. Whether emanating from legitimate Americana superstars like John Hartford and Emmylou Harris (whose trio tune with Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch, “Don’t Leave Nobody But the Baby,” was a highlight) or the Soggy Bottom Boys – the fictional group of the film – these tunes are easily digestible while packing a whole lot of emotion and realism. The selling point of the deluxe edition is the bonus disc: 17 tracks in the same vein as the originals. Most are holdovers from the original sessions, while the rest are newly recorded. A few tracks are repeats – both Van Dyke Parks and Norman Blake take on “Big Rock Candy Mountain” is offered twice anew, by – and the rest fit comfortably. All of it will still sound as alive and intimate as future decades pass by.