I’ll admit that when I put together the list of albums that I wanted to revisit for my New Year’s Resolution, I didn’t really plan things out. I chose some greatest hits compilations and even a soundtrack or two.
The problem with those types of albums is that there’s not always a unifying theme. A “greatest hits” package is going to feature music from an artists entire career and a soundtrack is just a bunch of songs selected by a music supervisor. In fact, soundtracks are usually only good for revisiting a scene by the music that was in it.
But sometimes that’s a good thing. In the case of Deadwood: Music from the HBO Original Series revisiting such moments is just what the doctor ordered.
Of course, as with most things related to Deadwood, even that’s not that easy. Most of the music from the show on the soundtrack ran over the closing credits, which means the soundtrack is composed of twelve songs that closed episodes, some score numbers and dialogue from the show. Even with those limitations, it’s a nice trip down memory lane.
I loved Deadwood—it was one of the best shows on television, so hearing those bits of dialogue from characters that I grew to love was a treat indeed. Just hearing the opening of David Schwartz’s “Theme from Deadwood” put a smile on my face and almost filled me with anticipation. My favorite track was probably “Snake Baked a Hoecake” which I remembered from the closing of an episode.
The album actually runs gamut from spirituals to blues to country, or basically it’s an Americana album.
It’s an enjoyable album, but probably not unless you’re familiar with the show.
