Nightmare Revisited

This is one interesting album, but the majority of it I disliked. Like many other reviewers (okay, maybe some) I felt most artists performing on this missed by a long shot. The only pieces I felt worthy were Amy Lee's rendition of the tragic ballad, "Sally's Song" and the instreementals. Most of the songs in the film had a weird, but singable edge to them. This album's a hit-and-miss.

"The Nightmare Before Christmas" came out when I was ten years old, and both the movie and the soundtrack were pretty much on constant repeat until I was twelve in my house. The music was winsome and creepy at the same time, and never seemed as much a "traditional" Disney musical as a goth-punk rock opera.

Fifteen years later, the music is still every bit as enchanting to me, and a number of bands that I LOVE seem to feel the same way. DeVotchKa, Shiny Toy Guns, the Polyphonic Spree, Rodrigo y Gabriela and many other talented artists provide energetic updates to the lyrics and score. Standouts are Marilyn Manson's twisted take on "This Is Halloween" and Flyleaf's breathy rendition of "What's This?". Danny Elfman's "Closing" is a charming epilogue to the story.

In a world where Jack and Sally are stamped on tubes of lip gloss, throw pillows, shot glasses, and thongs in Hot Topics and Spencers the world over, it's easy to feel like "Nightmare" has lost most of its cultural relevance. "Nightmare Revisited" proves that this is not the case, and I can't wait to see what musical treats we might get in five or ten more years.

Such a great album! I don't normally buy things like this but Sally's Song by Amy Lee was worth everything I paid for the album and more! All songs keep the integrity of the original in perspective as none seriously stray too far from the movie version. Take a listen, you might just have yourself wanting a copy.

I absolutely love this movie! The music to it is great(obviously, it's Danny Elfman, people!) and the covers of the songs are just as good. I only disliked a few song, but the ones that really made this album worth it were Korn's version of "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" and Amy Lee's version of "Sally's Song". Both are great songs that really capture the emotion and the tone of the songs. I recommend this album to anyone who loved the movie!

I'd like to know how this project came together and how the artists were matched with their respective pieces. I picked up this album with mixed feelings and after a couple of listens those feelings remain mixed. I was glad to see that even the score elements of the original soundtrack were represented in this "revisitation". A good thing too, considering most of the vocal tracks fail to bring anything new to the table. The tracks by Manson, Korn and Rise Against are servicable but uninspired attempts to appeal to the goth kiddies that have helped turn Nightmare into a merchandising empire. The All-American Rejects, Flyleaf, Polyphonic Spree, Sparklehorse and Plain White T's all make slow, lifeless messes of their tracks (a real surprise from the usually hyper Spree). Yes, there's a dark element to the work, but it sounds like people needed to worry less about their eyeliner and have more fun - the element that's really missing from these tracks. Amy Lee is a pretty safe pick for Sally's Song, but that doesn't make the results any less gorgeous. And Shiny Toy Guns manage to turn the relatively minor Finale/Reprise into a mini epic with a genuinely creepy beginning, plaintive middle (Petree's cry of "What is this?" is perfect) and a lush, romantic finish. Rodrigo y Gabriela turn Oogie Boogie's song into a great, fast-paced guitar piece and that's this album's real strength - the instrumentals. Amiina and The Vitamin String Quartet take a more classical approach with great results. The Yoshida Brothers and Rjd2 have a lot of fun with Nabbed and Christmas Eve Montage, bringing a bit of dance and electronica to the mix. Datarock manage to make To The Rescue completely their own while honouring Elfman at the same time. Their take on the musical moment when Jack is revealed on Oogie's slab is inspired and (here's that word again) fun. The album comes to a beautiful close with The Album Leaf's hypnotic exploration of the first part of the closing credits. The risks taken and the fun had by the artists tackling the instrumentals make this album worth picking up if you're an Elfman or Nightmare fan. However, consider the cheesy cover art as fair warning for most of the remaining tracks.