Track Picks: "A Love That Will Never Grow Old," "He Was a Friend of Mine," "Opening"
Review
What is most notable about the soundtrack to Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain is the original score by Argentinian music wizard Gustavo Santaolalla (producer of the grand Café Tacuba recordings and a songwriter in his own right, as evidenced by his two albums, Gas and Ronroco). His interludes and cues evoke the very landscape that Lee portrays in his film, but there are also some fine vocal performances by a star-studded cast of singers. Willie Nelson's read of "He Was a Friend of Mine," complete with squeezebox and layered acoustic guitars, is gorgeous. Emmylou Harris' performance of Santaolalla and Bernie Taupin's "A Love That Will Never Grow Old" is simple, spare, and poignant. The shuffling honky tonk ballad that Santaolalla wrote for Mary McBride, with its crying pedal steel, hits close to the bone and evokes Patsy Cline. Likewise, the hard-driving country of "I Will Never Let You Go," written for Jackie Greene, is tough and tender. Santaolalla's cues, like the best of Ry Cooder's film scores, touch the film's scenery, move its narrative, and pricelessly frame it in time. Teddy Thompson and Rufus Wainwright team for a throwaway country-swing version of Roger Miller's "King of the Road," but Thompson does a fine job on the Santaolalla and Taupin tune "I Don't Want to Say Goodbye," which is as heartbroken a ballad as one is likely to hear. This is an utterly wonderful soundtrack that could have done without Linda Ronstadt's version of Buddy Holly's "It's So Easy," Steve Earle's "The Devil's Right Hand," or even Wainwright's "The Maker Makes," but this is a small complaint. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
Emmylou Harris (Vocals), Ray Kennedy (Guitar (Electric)), Ray Kennedy (Producer), Ray Kennedy (Recording), Willie Nelson (Vocals), Steve Earle (Vocals), Steve Earle (Producer), Linda Ronstadt (Vocals), Mickey Raphael (Harmonica), Steve Addabbo (Recording), David Campbell (String Arrangements), Larry Campbell (Producer), Mike Clarke (Drums), Randy Crenshaw (Vocals (Background)), Dan Dugmore (Guitar (Steel)), Tony Garnier (Bass (Acoustic)), Bob Glaub (Bass), Anibal Kerpel (Organ (Hammond)), Anibal Kerpel (Programming), Anibal Kerpel (Associate Producer), Anibal Kerpel (Mixing), Anibal Kerpel (Wurlitzer), Anibal Kerpel (Recording), Larry Klein (Producer), Larry Klein (Mixing), David Mansfield (Mandolin), Greg Morrow (Drums), Dean Parks (Guitar), Tony Peluso (Recording), Carmella Ramsey (Fiddle), George Recile (Drums), Richard Ruttenberg (Piano), Gustavo Santaolalla (Guitar), Gustavo Santaolalla (Producer), Gustavo Santaolalla (Organ (Pump)), Gustavo Santaolalla (Soundtrack Producer), Garry Tallent (Bass), Mike Turner (Guitar), Ang Lee (Executive Producer), Rufus Wainwright (Vocals), Rufus Wainwright (Producer), Rufus Wainwright (Recording), Kathy Nelson (Executive Producer), Kathy Nelson (Music Supervisor), Ron Goldstein (Executive Producer), Hollis King (Art Direction), Helix Hadar (Mixing), Helix Hadar (Recording), Gabe Witcher (Fiddle), Matthew Johnson (Drums), Patrick Earle (Assistant Engineer), Teddy Thompson (Vocals), Teddy Thompson (Producer), Mary McBride (Vocals), Kelly Pratt (Release Coordinator), Jackie Greene (Vocals), Tom Baker (Mastering), David Buntz (Album Administrator), Christine Bergren (Music Clearance), Christine Bergren (Legal Counsel), Evelyn Morgan (A&R), Jennifer Towle (Soundtrack Coordination), Bob "Boo" Bernstein (Pedal Steel), Gas Band (Ensemble), Jeffrey Hill (Bass), James Schamus (Executive Producer)
The Brokeback Mountain soundtrack is a term that means both the two-hour musical soundtrack edited into the 2005
film Brokeback Mountain and also the recorded albums of music selected from
the film. Some albums have different performers substituted for those heard in the film. The entire chronological list of
compositions in the two-hour soundtrack is annotated with notes about the film scenes (see below: Complete Soundtrack listing).
Brokeback Mountain is the name of another soundtrack album, on the
Wonderful Music label, of the 2005 filmBrokeback
Mountain, with the original compositions performed, instead, by the Global Stage Orchestra. The release date of this
album was June 6, 2006, and it has the same track listing as the
Verve CD.
Since the release of the soundtrack album by Verve Records, three remixes of the Gustavo
Santaolalla track "The Wings" have been created and released by Verve on a CD-single.
Track listing for "The Wings" CD-Single
"The Wings" - Gabriel & Dresden's Organized Nature Remix
"The Wings" - Manny Lehman, Tony Moran & Warren Rigg Collaboration Remix
"The Wings" - Manny Lehman Remix
Complete Soundtrack listing
The film used a combination of original compositions and previously recorded material for background and incidental music.
Much of the music used in the film does not appear on the Verve Records soundtrack CD (see above), and some of that which is on
the CD is presented out of order. Here is a list of the music and music references on the film soundtrack in order of appearance
in film:
"Focus Features fanfare" - On-screen Focus Features title card
"River Road Entertainment fanfare" - On-screen River Road Entertainment title card
"Opening" Gustavo Santaolalla - Start of film; Ennis arrives in Signal,
Wyoming
"Brokeback Mountain #1" Gustavo Santaolalla - Jack & Ennis embark on shepherding trip
"Camp" Gustavo Santaolalla - Jack and Ennis herd sheep and establish campsite #1 on Brokeback Mountain
(same as No. 36) "Riding Horses" Gustavo Santaolalla - Jack rides away from camp, naps with sheep; Ennis carves wooden horse
while it rains; "no more beans;" Ennis washes blue coffee pot in stream.
"The Cowboy's Lament" (also known as "The Streets Of Laredo")
Public Domain - Hummed by Ennis on horseback just before his encounter with the bear on
the trail
"Carrying Sheep" Gustavo Santaolalla - Montage: Jack asleep by log, setting up campsite #2, "tent don't look right"
comment
"Harmonica #1" Gustavo Santaolalla - Jack plays a riff of "He was a Friend of Mine" (No. 53 of this list)
"Water Walkin' Jesus" - Jack and Ennis talk religion around campfire
"Getting Drunk " Gustavo Santaolalla - Ennis, drunk, tosses whiskey bottle, then falls asleep outdoors next to campfire
"Horse Love" Gustavo Santaolalla - Ennis rides off from camp; finds dead sheep; joins Jack overlooking meadow; passionate
scene in tent that night at camp; Joe Aguirre spies on Jack and Ennis with binoculars
"Harmonica #2" Gustavo Santaolalla - Jack plays a riff of "He was a Friend of Mine" (No. 53 of this list) on horseback after
having separated the mixed-up sheep herds
"Crying In Alley" Gustavo Santaolalla - Ennis breaks down, sobbing and sick to his stomach, in an alley in Signal,
Wyoming
"Snow" Gustavo Santaolalla - Ennis and Alma ride toboggan; Ennis and Timmy spread asphalt; Alma & Ennis watch movie at
drive-in theater
"Jukebox" Ken Strange, Randall Pugh, Ron Guffnett playing on Jack's pickup truck radio as he arrives in Signal in 1964
"Trust In Lies" The Raven Shadows featuring Tim Ferguson - Jack tries to buy Jimbo a beer
"I Will Never Let You Go" Jackie Green - Jack meets Lureen at the Rodeo Dance (Instrumental
version in the film is credited as: "I Won't Let You Go" by Santaolalla)
"No One's Gonna Love You Like Me" Mary McBride/Santaolalla - Jack and Lureen dance at the Rodeo Dance
"All Night Blues" The Raven Shadows - Song quietly playing on Lureen's car radio
"Post Office" Gustavo Santaolalla - Ennis mails Jack the "You bet" postcard
"Kiss" Gustavo Santaolalla - Ennis and Jack reunited in Riverton;
"Brokeback Mountain #2" Gustavo Santaolalla - Alma cries as Ennis and Jack leave; they arrive and jump naked from cliff into
lake; "It could always be like this" campfire scene
"Flashback" Gustavo Santaolalla - Ennis describes Rich and Earl
"The Wings" Gustavo Santaolalla - Alma & Ennis fight in front of their girls (playing on swings)
"Tractors" (version of "The Wings") Gustavo Santaolalla - Jack shows off a new combine; Alma reads Jack's postcard; Jack
hunts for the blue parka (at 1:13:55)
"You Are Late" Gustavo Santaolalla - Ennis arrives with horses in truck, Jack says "You're late." Horse riding scenes; Jack
and a young Bobby ride "no hands" in a giant tractor; Ennis feeds hay.
"Capriccio Espagnol Op. 34" Nikolai
Rimsky-Korsakov, performed by Philharmonia Slavonica - Music for the figure skaters on TV during Thanksgiving at Alma and
Monroe's
"Mason Dixon Line" Jeff Wilson - playing in the bar during the fight in the street
"Riding Horses" Gustavo Santaolalla - Jack and Ennis ride horses; camp by the river; Ennis washes blue coffee pot in
stream.
"I'll Be Gone" T. Gadsden/F. Peterson - Song heard softly on Ennis's truck radio as he drops Alma Junior back home and drives
off
"Brokeback Mountain #3" Gustavo Santaolalla - Ennis and Jack's final trip; argument at lake; flashback scene of happier days
back in 1963
Ennis hums unknown tune to Jack in flashback scene
"I'm Always On A Mountain When I Fall" Merle Haggard - Cassie confronts Ennis at bus
station
"Jack Deceased" Gustavo Santaolalla - Ennis collects mail and discovers "Deceased" message stamped on his returned
postcard
"The Dying Hobo/Big Rock Candy Mountain" (two forms of the same folk song) -
Referenced by key lyrics used as dialogue, but actual song is not heard in film: line spoken by Lureen, "Where bluebirds sing and
there's a whisky spring" related to song chorus lyrics "At the lemonade springs, Where the bluebird sings, On the big rock candy
mountain" (1906 lyrics).[1]
"Closet" Gustavo Santaolalla - Ennis discovers the two shirts in Jack's closet; leaves the Twist home; truck drives on
highway.
"Eyes Of Green" Jeff Wilson - Song heard on Alma Jr.'s car radio when she arrives at Ennis's trailer
"Ending" (version of "The Wings") Gustavo Santaolalla - Ennis at the closet (at 2:06:56)
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