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The Wire's Musical Fingerprint

prisrob | New EnglandUSA | 01/10/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""It's easy to think of The Wire as a show with a strong musical identity. Over the course of its three seasons, it's become a hip-hop touchstone. Wire cast members have appeared in videos for Boyz in Da Hood, Cam'ron, Jay-Z, Common, Fat Joe, Obie Trice, Fabolous, and dozens of other rappers and singers. The massively popular local hip-hop mixtape Hamsterdam--named for season three's open-air drug market--features plenty of gangsta koans from Wire characters like the imposing Slim Charles. But The Wire's musical fingerprint, like much else about the show, is more subtle."

Jess Harvell



'The Wire' has been named by the critics as one of the best television shows ever made. And, as true as that may be, the soundtrack more than lives up to those credentials. The same grit, determination and reality of the Baltimore souls comes through in spades. It has been said that during the first two seasons the theme song of "The Wire" written by Tom Wait's "Way Down in the Hole," could be hummed by only the residents of Baltimore. For those of us with a love affair for the show, we can now sing along. 'Down In the Hole' has been recorded by a different artist for each season, stating with The Blind Boys of Alabama in year one, Tom Waits in year two, The Neville Brothers in year three and DoMaJe, a Baltimore son, in year four.



The CD also incorporates real parts of the show interspersed between the tunes. There are 21 seconds of discussion about 'Why would anyone want to leave Baltimore" that leads right into one of the best hip hop songs I have heard by Michael Franti and the Spear, 'My God'. Each of these sections bring us the character of the show, and the reality of life in Baltimore. David Simon,creator of 'The Wire', in an interview with Nick Hornsby for the booklet that comes with the CD says " Instead of the old gods, The Wire is a Greek tragedy in which the postmodern institutions are the Olympian forces. It's the police department, or the drug economy, or the political structures, or the school administration, or the macroeconomic forces that are throwing the lightning bolts and hitting people in the ass for no decent reason. In this drama, the institutions always prove larger, and those characters with hubris enough to challenge the postmodern construct of American empire are invariably mocked, marginalized, or crushed. Greek tragedy for the new millennium, so to speak."



There are thirty five songs that cover the five years of 'The Wire' and beside the fact that these tunes are wonderful in their own right, they fit into the fabric of the show. Solomon Burke, Steve Earle, The Pogues, Paul Weller, The Nighthawks and the Nevilles to name a few of my favorites appear on this CD. As Blake Leyh, the musical director says"Once or twice per season we'll have something that amounts to a montage,Every other time there's music in the show it's being played as source music--they're driving in a car, or they're in a bar and music's playing on the jukebox, they're standing the street slinging and there's a boom box there. And it's always played very rigorously, as if it's coming from the source." Mr Leyh started using Baltimore musicians during the fourth year and many of these street level musicians have broken into the mainstream to become popular in the US culture.



David Simon, creator of 'The Wire' explains that the show is about "untethered capitalism that runs amok, about how power and money actually route themselves in a postmodern American city, and, ultimately, about why we as an urban people are no longer able to solve our problems or heal our wounds." Each of the songs on this CD are about drug dealers, cops, or addicts and the problems within society caused by each. This is real life at the core and the music reflects the soul of the Baltimore characters.



"The Wire has no score, and no sound mnemonic like Mike Post's instantly recognizable Law and Order music. It features no sly pop-culture references, no ironic song/scene pairings--well, maybe a couple, like Herc playing the theme from Shaft during a drug bust, or a dogfighting ring being built to the sound of "Atomic Dog," or Maj. Rawls blasting the "Ride of the Valkyries" as Hamsterdam is bulldozed--and no swelling orchestras at climactic moments or sappy singer-songwriter cues to tug at your heartstrings." Jess Harvell



'The Wire: And All The Pieces Matter' CD is akin to a chorus behind the main singer. It reflects the inner soul and brings us closer to solving our problems and helping to heal our wounds.



Highly, Highly Recommended. prisrob 01-10-08



The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood

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Well worth the wait

Olukayode Balogun | Leeds, England | 03/04/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I remember I was out there searching for music from "The Wire" just after the first season came to an end and wondering why there wasn't any available. I thought there just had to be a soundtrack album at some point simply because not only was the music so good, it was also utilised incredibly skilfully and carefully.



And here we are at last. Better late than never I suppose and actually, looking back on it now I suppose it wouldn't have made much sense to release a soundtrack to accompany every season. This idea here is obviously so much better. Almost all of the music I remember hearing and loving on the show is on this CD, including all four versions of the title tune, "Way Down In The Hole". My favourite is the version by Domaje, the only one not performed by a big name act and I'm pretty sure the version by The Blind Boys From Alabama on here is slightly different and rather longer than the one from the show. It's all good though.



There are 35 tracks on the disc in all but some of those are, inevitably, spoken interludes from key scenes from the show over all five seasons. It's an eclectic mix, with banging hip-hop mostly provided, naturally, by local Baltimore talent, which I think is a great thing. There's also folk, bluegrass, blues, music with a distinct Middle Eastern flavour and even jazz, though I would've really loved it if they had included Miles Davis's "All Blues", which I definitely did hear playing in the background during a bar scene from season one - but maybe that would be asking too much.



The comprehensive inner-sleeve booklet, including contributions from David Simon, George Pelecanos and Jeff Chang, is a great companion to the DVDs and a good indicator of what the show offers for anyone who hasn't yet seen it. Music impresario Trevor Nelson usually divides music into what's good for the club, what's good for the jeep and what's good for the bedroom when he reviews albums on MTV Base and I would say that this is definitely one for the jeep. Put it in and blare it loud.



My favourite tracks on here include "Oh My God" by Michael Franti & Spearhead, "Assume The Position" by Lafayette Gilchrist, "Efuge Efuge" by Stelios Kazantzidis, "Projects" by Tyree Colion, "Ayo" by Bossman and "The Life, The Hood, The Streetz" by Mullyman. Every time I hear that last one, I just think of Donut riding around in those massive SUVs he used to steal, his head barely high enough for him to see outside the windscreen, his feet barely long enough to reach the pedals. It always brings a smile to my face. And of course, there's that ghostly closing theme "The Fall" by Blake Leyh.



All in all, a great CD to complement a phenomenal TV show. Well worth the wait."

Enough to make me remember the best series...

Timothy P. Scanlon | Hyattsville, MDUSA | 01/14/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a soundtrack fan for years, even of films I didn't like much.



That qualification doesn't fit for "The Wire," probably the best series to ever grace the idiot box. So, when I saw Amazon has this available, I jumped.



Frankly, I anticipated nothing but rap (of which I'm not particularly fond, unless, as in this case, it reminds me of something). Yeah, there was that, some of which I did recognize from the series. But there was also little bits of dialog. Omar. Lester. Frank Sobotka. That's all the better still. And even the Irish tune played, if I recall, at the bar funeral of one of the squad's colleagues.



Then there's the book that comes along with the collection; it has fabulous pics and a text I'll read myself to sleep with tonight.



If you're a real "Wire" fan like I am, don't miss it. It's a collector's item!"