:: Honeydripper - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Honeydripper

Rather than think of the music from John Sayles’ 2007 film Honeydripper as artwork in a conventional gallery, it is more useful to think of it as wax mannequins in Madame Tussaud’s. Tussaud’s mannequins are so skilfully crafted that they begin to seem more real than the people on whom they are modelled, and this recreation of 1950’s blues behaves similarly. Much of the release was recorded especially for the film, and the resulting freshness makes the older tracks sound somewhat anachronistic. This is part of the strange quality that defines Honeydripper; the more-real-than-real tracks sit slightly uncomfortably with those tracks recorded in the 40s. It’s like meeting a decrepit old actress next to her eternally youthful wax likeness. The discomfort is heightened by the inclusion of tracks on which actors from the film are featured on vocals. Goin’ Down Slow, featuring Danny Glover, is a low point on the release, in spite of the fact that it apparently serves to supplement the film’s plot. Of the other new recordings however, none are as bad as this. The incongruities in the soundtrack overall aren’t necessarily evils; Why Don’t You Do Right by Lil Green is the oldest track – recorded in 1941 – yet it is undeniably the finest included. In general, the real and more-than-real tracks play off each other to the soundtrack’s ultimate benefit, making it a colourful listen and a soundtrack with reason to stand independently of its mother film.