Album Review by Nigel A. Messenger
MAGNOLIA is the latest film from director / producer / writer Paul Thomas Anderson (BOOGIE NIGHTS) who based the film on the music of Aimee Mann.
Hailing from Los Angeles Aimee Mann is a folk-pop singer / songwriter who not only inspired the movie but also wrote the majority of the soundtrack.
Paul Thomas heard some of Aimee’s demos and liked them so much he focused his writing on them and started building characters around her work. The two worked closely on the movie with Paul developing the story with Aimee and even constructing the dialogue around her lyrics.
Eight of the tracks are Aimee Mann originals plus there is a cover version of HARRY NILSSON’S’s ‘One’. YOU DO and SAVE ME were written specially for the film while the rest were taken from material Aimee had already written and recorded but not released.
The soundtrack also includes two SUPERTRAMP tracks ‘Goodbye Stranger’ and the instantly remembered ‘Logical Song’ plus a selection of the original film score by Jon Brion.
Aimee Mann has previously fronted the 80’s Boston group ‘Til Tuesday’ and recorded two solo albums WHATEVER (1993) and I’M WITH STUPID (1995). Whilst recording her third album a record company merger and demands to come up with a hit single staled her career and forced Aimee to buy back the material she was working on.
The movie MAGNOLIA presents a snapshot of American society told through nine interwoven stories that each take place one day in Southern California and stars Tom Cruise, Jason Robards and Julianne Moore.
