Mad Men, Vol. 2

Performer: Original Soundtrack/Various Artists
Producer: Alexandra Patsavas; Matthew Weiner; Russell Ziecker; Russell Ziecker
Distributor: n/a

Notes: Photographer: Frank Ockenfels. Mad Men: Music from the Series, Vol. 1 played by the rules: it stuck to well-groomed vocal jazz and pop strictly from the late '50s and early '60s, even though the show's music made a few inspired leaps forward in time, most notably with the Cardigans' 1996 song "The Great Divide," which illustrated the chasm between Don and Betty Draper beautifully, and Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," which was released slightly later than the events of the first season finale took place in 1961. Like almost everything about Mad Men's second season, Mad Men, Vol. 2 is at once more adventurous and more focused. Folk and rock represent the winds of change on the show, and they're there right from the beginning of the album with the acoustic searching of Peter, Paul & Mary's "Early in the Morning." Chubby Checker, the only rock & roll artist on the first season's soundtrack, returns with "Let's Twist Again," which opened season two with a clever nod back to season one and a look forward to the youth and change that dominated the season. The music moves even farther afield from traditional pop, most dramatically with the Decemberists' "The Infanta" from their 2005 album Picaresque. Though the band's brashly literate indie rock is far from 1962, its jarring sound and story about the eldest daughter of the ruling monarch of Spain hit home the fact that the women of Mad Men have very little control in their lives -- another major season two theme. The choice to use this song may not be "authentic" to the show's era, but it feels just as authentic to the world Mad Men creates as the more historically faithful tracks here. Indeed, these songs are more emotionally on point than ever, whether it's Brenda Lee's "Break It to Me Gently" commenting ironically on the fact that Betty got wise to Don's cheating in a way that was hardly gentle, or "Telstar" (which was the first British pop song to top the American charts) signaling the atomic age and the British Invasion in American music and Sterling Cooper with a futuristic whoosh. The few remnants of season one's pop, jazz, and lounge, such as the nod to David Carbonara's score ("How Mable Get Sable Cha Cha Cha"), Perry Como's wistful ode to marriage, "Blue Room," and Jack Jones' naively sugary "Lollipops and Roses" end up sounding even more quaint by comparison. The soundtrack's attention to detail might be most impressive in the hard-to-find R&B songs it showcases, like Helene Smith's "Pot Can't Talk About the Kettle," Edd Henry's "Crooked Woman," and Baby Washington & the Plants' "Congratulations, Honey" (a particularly inspired choice that appears in the show when fiery secretary Joan Holloway discovers that her ex, Paul, now has an African-American girlfriend). As with all things Mad Men-related, Mad Men, Vol. 2 has impeccable style with a wealth of substance underneath it. ~ Heather Phares

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