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Gustavo Santaolalla and others August: Osage County
8-Jan-2014 -
 Sony Music has announced the release of the original motion picture soundtrack of August: Osage County, featuring songs specially written for the film by Kings of Leon and by JD and the Straight Shot, as well as celebrated songs by Bon Iver, Eric Clapton and Billy Squier. These tracks are backed up by new music composed by Gustavo Santaolalla and others.
The songs on the album make up an irresistible compilation. “Last Mile Home” by Kings of Leon, a soulful track with an understated guitar accompaniment, was specially written for the film by the band. The acoustic version of it was used for the end titles and the track featured on the album. The simple, moving “Violet’s Song” by JD and the Straight Shot was also recorded for the movie, and as a special treat the soundtrack includes the pleasure of hearing the actor Benedict Cumberbatch perform as a singer (“Can’t Keep It Inside”). The album opens with eerie electronic echoings in “Himmon TX” by Bon Iver, with the smoky voice of the indie group’s frontman Justin Vernon. The third track is an absolute classic of country blues, “Lay Down Sally” from Eric Clapton’s album Slow Hand. A further well-known number is Billy Squiers’ hard-rock “The Stroke”. These veterans are joined by an up-and-coming star: the American singer-songwriter John Fullbright showcases his drawly Oklahoma vowels in the laid-back but energised “Gawd Above”.
To accompany these songs Gustavo Santaolalla and others have composed atmospheric film music. The multi-talented Santaolalla is best known for his work writing movie scores and producing albums. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score, for his work on Babel and Brokeback Mountain, and two Grammy Awards as an album producer. He is also the founder of the electrorock-tango band Bajofondo, whose latest album, Presente, was recently released by Sony Music Masterworks. Of his compositions for August: Osage County, the longest is the “End Credits” track, melodious and fittingly subdued music in which orchestral strings underlay twangy guitar chords. Santaolalla wrote two further pieces for the album. In addition, four short compositions by Adam Taylor highlight the pensive aspects of the movie, and to round everything off there is a brief but groovy hidden track by the Grammy-winning film and TV composer Mateo Messina.
About the film
August: Osage County tells the dark, hilarious and deeply touching story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them. Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name made its Broadway debut in December 2007 after premiering at Chicago’s legendary Steppenwolf Theatre earlier that year. It continued with a successful international run and was the winner of five Tony Awards in 2008, including Best Play.
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