As a huge fan of the HBO series Six Feet Under, I had very high hopes for this compilation CD celebrating the show’s final run… perhaps unrealistically high. The second volume to chronicle the family funeral home of the neurotic Fishers, their friends, and their loves as the soundtrack of their lives begins poignantly with “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone. Since each episode starts with the death of a future client—sometimes funny, sometimes horrible, and sometimes sweet—a scene that fades to white with the name and years of birth and death of the departed, the track by the late Simone fits perfectly. It begins with an A Cappella intro, delivered richly yet unadorned, then is joined by a smoky, soulful band with prominent, almost sinister horns. The track fades just like the show’s intro…
To me, all the power and emotion conveyed by this song, with just a touch of darkness, captures the feeling of the show exactly. For the most part, the rest of the CD does not. It’s a fine compilation, don’t misunderstand me… it’d be a great mix CD to receive from a friend. But most of the tracks don’t grab me; they’re not evocative of anything. And for a show that has done wonders in using music so effectively and passionately (possibly only on par with its cousin The Sopranos) it left me feeling that something was lacking.
There are other highlights, such as “Breathe Me” by Sia, the piece that was featured in the terrific video preview to promote this season (and that can still be view or download at hbo.com). It might seem simple, but is enthralling and literally haunting, considering I found it on my lips throughout the day.
Other tracks are just frustrating. The piece by Coldplay is lovely, but these super-stars hardly need additional attention. The same sentiment times ten goes for “Lucky” by Radiohead, which was a huge hit—and I don’t think that long ago—but here seems sort of pointless. There is also a spot-on faithful cover of “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” (except that it definitely needed more cowbell). Why?
To me, it’s not just how the music is used in the show that’s always worked so well, but also that I’ve imagined some fellow music junkies really going out of their way to hunt down some amazing, fairly unknown tracks. Before they put out CD’s, and before there were pages of the series’ website dedicated to the music selections, I think the show played up the fact that they featured these hidden jewels and created a bit of notoriety about it, generating interest in figuring out who was played. So the inclusion of the 60’s standard “Time Is On My Side” seems a little hackneyed to me, as if it appears more because of lyric and title context, rather than its depth of feeling or how the music complimented the action of the show.
The last few songs are back on track: one by Death Cab, one Arcade Fire (which was specifically written for the show, along with the second song by Jem), and a bonus outro by Imogene Heap, whose voice is incomparable, but the lullaby-like piece is too short! The packaging is lush: a little hardback photo album with pictures from the shows opening credits. But as a soundtrack I’m hesitant to say it’s just ho-hum. Never one to leave things on a bad note though, I’ll add that the first Six Feet Under volume released in March 2002 looks great: more tracks, varied tracks, more unknowns, and different versions and remixes of the show’s theme are included. |