The Wire Soundtrack album to be released in January

kryptyk500

Nonesuch to Release Music from Five Years of "The Wire"

Nonesuch is pleased to announce the January 8, 2008, release of the first soundtrack from the critically acclaimed, Peabody Award–winning HBO series The Wire. That's two days after the series kicks off its fifth season. It also marks the first time music from the David Simon–created show has ever been collected and released as an album.

The Wire: " ... and all the pieces matter" will include several versions of the show’s opening theme song—Tom Waits’s “Way Down in the Hole”—as performed by The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Neville Brothers, and DoMaJe, a group of Baltimore teenagers. To listen to DoMaJe's take on the song, click here.

The disc will also feature a number of tracks from the Baltimore club and hip-hop scene that have never appeared on a major label release, including Rod Lee’s “Dance My Pain Away,” Tyree Colion’s “Projects,” Diablo’s “Jail Flick,” Mullyman’s “The Life, the Hood, the Streetz,” and “What You Know About Baltimore?” by Ogun featuring Phathead.

Other songs include “Oh My God” by Michael Franti, “I Walk on Gilded Splinters” by Paul Weller, “The Body of an American” by The Pogues, “I Feel Alright” by Steve Earle (who also has an acting role on the series), Solomon Burke’s “Fast Train,” and the show’s closing theme, “The Fall,” composed by The Wire music supervisor Blake Leyh.

Some of the most memorable dialog from the program’s five years will also be included on the record. The CD booklet will feature essays by the author and series writer George Pelecanos and the noted hip-hop journalist Jeff Chang.

Over the course of four seasons, The Wire has developed a portrait of Baltimore through the themes of education, the war on drugs, the decline of the working class, and the role of political leadership in addressing urban problems. The Wire will use its fifth and final season to examine mass media’s impact on the city.

Slate has had this to say about the series:

... surely the best TV show ever broadcast in America ... No other program has ever done anything remotely like what this one does, namely to portray the social, political, and economic life of an American city with the scope, observational precision, and moral vision of great literature.

The first three seasons of The Wire are currently available on DVD; the fourth season will be available beginning December 4, 2007—a month before the fifth and final season’s premiere on HBO. You can pre-order Season Four now at the Shop at HBO.com.

For more information on the series, visit HBO.com.

godtabh

The sound track will be class

Mr E

Just spotted this in my allmusic.com newsletter. You can see the track listing here:

http://wm06.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Aan6ktv7qklox

godtabh

Mr E wrote: »

Just spotted this in my allmusic.com newsletter. You can see the track listing here:

http://wm06.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Aan6ktv7qklox

Maybe I missed it but was there a releas date there some where?

Chevano Riley

release date in the US was meant to be 8/1/07 - i.e. today.

godtabh

Chevano Riley wrote: »

release date in the US was meant to be 8/1/07 - i.e. today.

Nice one

tvnutz

Just saw it listed on Itunes,looks good.

godtabh

Got to listen to it today. Seems good. Not really my to my taste but some decent stuff on it. You can tell season 2 on it with a massive change in music style!

Orizio

I'll get it, although they seem to have exclused all the dope old school Hip-Hop from the first season which is disapointing.

godtabh

Orizio wrote: »

I'll get it, although they seem to have exclused all the dope old school Hip-Hop from the first season which is disapointing.

There is a fair bit of hiptty hop on it but that wouldnt be mine thing at all. I'd say you would like whats on it. I 've never heard of half of it

Chevano Riley

i loved "fast train" over the final montage of (i think) season 3. the musical highlight of the series, followed closely by tom waits original "way down in the hole" for season 2.

Psychedelic

there's a song from the wire that's not on the soundtrack i'm trying to ID if anyone knows.


***season 2 spoiler***

in episode 10, after ziggy shoots the 2 guys and gets back into his car there is a song playing.

anyone know? or can anyone tell me some proper fan sites that might have that kind of detailed info?