The Royal Tenenbaums [Expanded]

Performer: Original Soundtrack
Engineer: Robert Casale
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Original score composed by Mark Mothersbaugh. Producers: Mark Mothersbaugh, Robert Casale. Recorded at Mutato Muzika, West Hollywood, California. Includes liner notes by Wes Anderson. Original score composed by Mark Mothersbaugh. Producers: Mark Mothersbaugh, Robert Casale. Recorded at Mutato Muzika, West Hollywood, California. Includes liner notes by Wes Anderson. Composers: Glen Lajeski; Mark Mothersbaugh. Personnel: Mark Mothersbaugh (guitar, celesta, organ); Lavant Coppock, Michael Miller (guitar); Marcia Dickstein (harp); Julie Gigante, Jim Sitterly, Charlie Bisharat, Endre Granat (violin); Pamela Goldsmith, Brian Dembow (viola); Miguel Martinez, David Speltz (cello); Rick Baptiste (piccolo, trumpet); Jonathan Clark (woodwinds); Bruce Fowler (trombone); Chris 'Niser' Guardino (piano, celesta, harpsichord, organ); Lawrence Dominello (piano); Chet Swiatkowski (harpsichord); Richard Ruttenberg (keyboards); Gordon Peeke, Tom Brechtlein (drums); Martin Flores (percussion). Recording information: Mutato Muzika, West Hollywood, CA. Where the soundtrack to Rushmore captured that film's mix of brash and bittersweet through British Invasion obscurities and Mark Mothersbaugh's playfully poignant score, the music for The Royal Tenenbaums -- Wes Anderson's tale of a prodigal patriarch and the brood of child geniuses he left behind -- evokes the film's shabbily genteel New York through vintage folk-pop, classic punk, and a Mothersbaugh score that gives the delicacy of his earlier scores a newfound maturity. Two of the most affecting songs from Nico's Chelsea Girl, "These Days" and "The Fairest of the Seasons," bookend the soundtrack as beautifully concise meditations on, respectively, regret ("Please don't confront me with my failures/I had not forgotten them") and hope ("Do I stay or do I go?/And maybe try another time?"). In between, the music ranges from Elliott Smith's quietly devastating "Needle in the Hay" to the manic energy of the Ramones' "Judy is a Punk" and the Clash's "Police and Thieves" to the hazy glow of Bob Dylan's "Wigwam," each track adding to the album's strangely timeless but emotionally direct atmosphere. Mothersbaugh's score and the compiled music complement each other perfectly, with the velvety, Baroque feel of Nick Drake's "Fly" and the Velvet Underground's "Stephanie Says" mirrored in "Mothersbaugh's Canon" and the Vince Guarladi Trio's sparkly "Christmas Time Is Here" echoed by "I Always Wanted to Be a Tenenbaum" and "Sparkplug Minuet." Ravel's "String Quartet in F Major (Second Movement)" and Mothersbaugh's "111 Arthur Avenue" and "Lindbergh Palace Hotel Suite" complete this elegant yet slightly skewed soundtrack. Nearly as clever and nuanced as the film itself, The Royal Tenenbaums is also a moving, well-rounded album in its own right. ~ Heather Phares Like his screen-writing brethren Cameron Crowe, Quentin Tarantino, and David Chase, filmaker Wes Anderson uses music as an integral part of his work. For THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS soundtrack, Anderson re-teams with Devo founder Mark Mothersbaugh for a mix of original instrumentals and semi-obscure cuts reminiscent of the duo's prior collaboration on the music for RUSHMORE. For this bittersweet black comedy centered on the dysfunctional relationship between the children and parents of the Tenenbaum brood, some of rock's moodiest performers were tapped. The soundtrack is bookended by a pair of Jackson Browne covers given a characteristically Teutonic reading by Nico ("These Days," "The Fairest Of The Seasons"). In between, Anderson throws in material by Elliot Smith (a jittery "Needle in the Hay"), Nick Drake (the gloomy "Fly"), and the Velvet Underground (the sparkling "Stephanie Says"). Other artists setting the mood are The Ramones with their chugging "Judy Is A Punk," Emmitt Rhodes (pop nugget "Lullaby"), and The Clash (their rock steady cover of Junior Murvin's "Police & Thieves"). Mothersbaugh's original score also impresses whether he's dabbling with raga on "Pagoda's Theme" or mixing reggae and baroque classical music within the bars of "Lindbergh Place Hotel Suite". Like his screen-writing brethren Cameron Crowe, Quentin Tarantino, and David Chase, filmaker Wes Anderson uses music as an integral part of his work. For THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS soundtrack, Anderson re-teams with Devo founder Mark Mothersbaugh for a mix of original instrumentals and semi-obscure cuts reminiscent of the duo's prior collaboration on the music for RUSHMORE. For this bittersweet black comedy centered on the dysfunctional relationship between the children and parents of the Tenenbaum brood, some of rock's moodiest performers were tapped. The soundtrack is bookended by a pair of Jackson Browne covers given a characteristically Teutonic reading by Nico ("These Days," "The Fairest Of The Seasons"). In between, Anderson throws in material by Elliot Smith (a jittery "Needle in the Hay"), Nick Drake (the gloomy "Fly"), and the Velvet Underground (the sparkling "Stephanie Says"). Other artists setting the mood are The Ramones with their chugging "Judy Is A Punk," Emmitt Rhodes (pop nugget "Lullaby"), and The Clash (their rock steady cover of Junior Murvin's "Police & Thieves"). Mothersbaugh's original score also impresses whether he's dabbling with raga on "Pagoda's Theme" or mixing reggae and baroque classical music within the bars of "Lindbergh Place Hotel Suite". Where the soundtrack to Rushmore captured that film's mix of brash and bittersweet through British Invasion obscurities and Mark Mothersbaugh's playfully poignant score, the music for The Royal Tenenbaums -- Wes Anderson's tale of a prodigal patriarch and the brood of child geniuses he left behind -- evokes the film's shabbily genteel New York through vintage folk-pop, classic punk, and a Mothersbaugh score that gives the delicacy of his earlier scores a newfound maturity. Two of the most affecting songs from Nico's Chelsea Girl, "These Days" and "The Fairest of the Seasons," bookend the soundtrack as beautifully concise meditations on, respectively, regret ("Please don't confront me with my failures/I had not forgotten them") and hope ("Do I stay or do I go?/And maybe try another time?"). In between, the music ranges from Elliott Smith's quietly devastating "Needle in the Hay" to the manic energy of the Ramones' "Judy is a Punk" and the Clash's "Police and Thieves" to the hazy glow of Bob Dylan's "Wigwam," each track adding to the album's strangely timeless but emotionally direct atmosphere. Mothersbaugh's score and the compiled music complement each other perfectly, with the velvety, Baroque feel of Nick Drake's "Fly" and the Velvet Underground's "Stephanie Says" mirrored in "Mothersbaugh's Canon" and the Vince Guaraldi Trio's sparkly "Christmas Time Is Here" echoed by "I Always Wanted to Be a Tenenbaum" and "Sparkplug Minuet." Ravel's "String Quartet in F Major (Second Movement)" and Mothersbaugh's "111 Arthur Avenue" and "Lindbergh Palace Hotel Suite" complete this elegant yet slightly skewed soundtrack. Nearly as clever and nuanced as the film itself, The Royal Tenenbaums is also a moving, well-rounded album in its own right. ~ Heather Phares

Q (May 2002, p.124) - 4 out of 5 stars - "...This oscillates between jollity...and gulm introspection...plus a midway jolt of punk rock....it oozes intelligence..." Q (May 2002, p.124) - 4 out of 5 stars - "...This oscillates between jollity...and gulm introspection...plus a midway jolt of punk rock....it oozes intelligence..." Mojo (Publisher) (1/03, p.73) - Ranked #10 in Mojo's "Best Box Sets & Compilations of 2002" Mojo (Publisher) (6/02, p.68) - Included in Mojo's "100 Coolest Movie Soundtracks" - "...'60s and '70s pop classics plus Nico, Lennon, Dylan and Mark Mothersbaugh's bittersweet instrumental miniatures. Simples, perfect."

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