Magnolia (soundtrack)

Magnolia: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album to the film of the same name. Largely composed of works by Aimee Mann, enough such that she receives a title billing on the album, it features tracks by Gabrielle, Supertramp and Jon Brion. The album has been received positively by critics.

This article is about the soundtrack album to the film Magnolia. For the album of Jon Brion's score, see Magnolia (score).
Magnolia: Music from the Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by
Aimee Mann
ReleasedDecember 7, 1999
GenrePop, rock
Length50:49
LabelWarner Music
ProducerJon Brion
Buddy Judge
Aimee Mann
Brendan O'Brien
Michael Penn
Aimee Mann chronology
I'm with Stupid
(1995)		 Magnolia: Music from the Motion Picture
(1999)		 Bachelor No. 2
(2000)
Singles from Magnolia: Music from the Motion Picture
  1. "Save Me"
    Released: 1999

Description

Paul Thomas Anderson stated that Magnolia was inspired by Mann's music.[1]

Many of the songs feature prominently within the film, with "Wise Up" even being sung by the cast at one point, but only two of the songs were written expressly for the film, those being "You Do" and "Save Me". "Save Me" would garner Mann an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song, losing to Phil Collins's song "You'll Be in My Heart" from Tarzan.[2]

The tracks "Deathly", "Driving Sideways", and "You Do" show up on Aimee Mann's following album, Bachelor No. 2, though the track "Save Me" replaces "Driving Sideways" on EU editions. "Nothing Is Good Enough", here an instrumental, appears in lyrical form on that album. (Bachelor also includes "Red Vines", a song Mann wrote about director Anderson.)

The beginning of the song "You Could Make a Killing" and the bit that appears after the track "It's Not Safe", both from I'm with Stupid, also appear briefly in the beginning of the film, but the tracks do not appear on this album.

The song "One", written by Harry Nilsson and originally made popular by Three Dog Night, is played during the first five minutes of the movie, and contains several obscure musical references to other Nilsson songs. It opens with a sample of Nilsson saying "Okay, Mr. Mix!" taken from the start of his song "Cuddly Toy". This version of the song also includes lyrics from Nilsson's song "Together" sung in the background. ("Life isn't easy when two are divided / and one has decided / to bring down the curtain / and one thing's for certain / there's nothing to keep them together."). Furthermore, the opening vocal motif from Nilsson's song "Good Old Desk" is used as a background vocal line (at approximately 1:54 into the song). Neil Innes, from The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band and The Rutles, and Chris Difford of Squeeze provide backing vocals.[3] This track originally appeared on the For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson tribute album.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Austin Chronicle[4]
Christgau's Consumer Guide[5]
Los Angeles Times[6]
NME4/10[7]
Q[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]

In a 2020 look back at the release, Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club praised the film for widening Mann's audience and the unique way that the writing of the film coincided with the musician's songwriting.[11]

Commercial performance

In February 2001, the soundtrack has sold 410,000 units in the United States.[12]

Track listing

All songs performed by Aimee Mann, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."One"Harry Nilsson2:53
2."Momentum"Aimee Mann3:27
3."Build That Wall"Aimee Mann, Jon Brion4:25
4."Deathly"Aimee Mann5:28
5."Driving Sideways"Aimee Mann, Michael Lockwood3:47
6."You Do"Aimee Mann3:41
7."Nothing Is Good Enough"Aimee Mann3:10
8."Wise Up"Aimee Mann3:31
9."Save Me"Aimee Mann4:35
10."Goodbye Stranger" (performed by Supertramp)Rick Davies, Roger Hodgson5:50
11."The Logical Song" (performed by Supertramp)Davies, Hodgson4:07
12."Dreams" (performed by Gabrielle)Gabrielle, Tim Laws3:43
13."Magnolia" (performed by Jon Brion)Brion2:12
Total length:50:49

Charts and certifications

References
  1. Patterson, John (March 10, 2000). "Magnolia Maniac". The Guardian. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Magnolia [Original Soundtrack] – Aimee Mann". AllMusic. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  3. Phipps, Kevin (March 29, 2002). "Soundtrack: Magnolia". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  4. Labernz, Mindy (February 18, 2000). "Aimee Mann: Songs From Magnolia (Reprise)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  5. Christgau, Robert (2000). "Magnolia". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  6. Nichols, Natalie (December 8, 1999). "Vulnerability Is at the Heart of Mann's 'Magnolia' Songs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  7. Pattison, Louis (April 3, 2000). "Various Artists – Magnolia – Music From The Motion Picture". NME. Archived from the original on June 8, 2000. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  8. "Magnolia: Music from the Motion Picture". Q (164): 114. May 2000.
  9. Walters, Barry (February 17, 2000). "Aimee Mann: Magnolia Music from the Motion Picture". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 4, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  10. Randall, Mac (2004). "Aimee Mann". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 511–12. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  11. McLevy, Alex (June 24, 2020). "The Magnolia Soundtrack Made Sweet Music from a Cinematic Ode to Aimee Mann". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  12. Wiltz, Teresa (18 February 2001). "Her Own Mann: Independent-Minded Singer Sheds Labels". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  13. "Top 100 CDs". RPM. Toronto. 70 (17). February 28, 2000. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  14. "Discographie Aimee Mann". charts.de (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  15. "Magnolia [Original Soundtrack] – Awards (Billboard Singles)". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  16. "American certifications – Soundtrack – Magnolia". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
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