Nightmare Before.. [Import]

I got this CD for my boyfriend for Christmas last year, and he absolutely loves it!
Both of us are Tim Burton and "Nightmare Before Christmas" fans, so of course it wasn't long before I borrowed it for myself.

The first disc is basically the original soundtrack, so if you already have the standard version then you'll already know what tracks are there and how great it is to listen to. A wonderful addition is that the soundtrack has actually been re-mastered, so the music is clearer, and still a delight to hear.

The second disc is where it gets interesting. The first four tracks are songs from the delightful movie performed by well known artists. Here's the basic rundown.
"This is Halloween", performed by Marilyn Manson: he really does good impersonations of the various ghoul and ghost characters that sing in this piece. And of course, Mr Manson himself is the "prince of darkness" so the two really accommodate each other. The guitars in this song are not too heavy for non-fans of Manson to be thrown off listening to this track.

"Sally's Song", performed by Fiona Apple: her deep, husky voice and thought provoking performance really brings out an emotional depth that transcends the original version. The band performing with her really out do themselves as well. Easily my favourite on the 2nd disc.

"What's this?", performed by Fall Out Boy: Ok, they're not my favourite band, but they bring good energy into this up-beat song, and the intro is nicely done to drag you in. All in all a good attempt!

"Kidnap the Santy Claws", performed by She Wants Revenge: when I first listened to the song, I barely recognised it, I couldn't sing along with it because I failed to find the melody. The vocals are slightly monotone as well. I'm not a fan of She Wants Revenge anyway, which may have something to do with it. Fans may enjoy this rendition of it.

"This is Halloween", performed by Panic at the Disco: Personally I would've like this band to perform another song on the soundtrack, just simply because after hearing Marilyn Manson's version people will compare. Plus there are so many other great songs to choose from. But it was a creative attempt, using various instruments and again bring out the individual characters in the song in a whole new light. Yet again this band I don't listen to on a regular basis so my comments are slightly limited.

The last four are demos of four songs from the original soundtrack sung by Danny Elfman, it's great to hear all the additional lines that weren't added to the final version of movie and Danny sings as smoothly and superbly as ever.

This is a must have CD if you love the movie and don't already hold the soundtrack in your music collection. Even if you do have the original version the enhancement of the 1st disc and the additional 2nd disc is enough to make any fan rush to the check out with this in their basket.
If you love musical soundtracks, gothic under-tone music and/or a fan of Danny Elfman's work, this is a must.

The CD comes with a booklet containing lyrics, 2 discs of music and a 3D (holographic) cover. Please plus note that this is an import from America which is why the price is notably higher than the standard version.

As Halloween will soon come to us in a month, and Christmas in three, it will be time for me to relisten to this wonderful album from a movie that I discovered years ago in school, and whose soundtrack I bought to my greatest pleasure. In fact the soundtrack is so perfect that I can't find a song in it that I don't like, Which is great for there are times when you listen to a musical and find certain songs less appealing than others, like for Carol Reed's Oliver!, a movie that I liked but had too many long songs that I think dragged the movie.

To describe the content of this album, I'd say that Danny Elfman gives us all the songs and tunes that were used in this last part of what I call "Tim Burton's Christmas Trilogy", which consisted of Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns and Nightmare Before Christmas. All of this is compiled on the first disc while the second offers excellent interpretations of some of the songs by musicians like Marilyn Manson, Fiona Apple, She Wants Revenge, and Fall Out Boy. As a special candy treat, the composer also offers to us Demos of five of his songs which he showed to Tim Burton.

Inside the CD, the leaflet offers all the songs' lyrics, which is great to anybody who would love to sing to those tunes for the holidays or if you are listening to the album and want to sing-along.

As for the sound quality of the album, I found the sound balanced and clean of any noises or sound dirt.

In the end, I have nothing but praise for this soundtrack which I think stands among the best that Danny Elfman did in his career, but also in his Tim Burton collaboration, along with Edward Scissorhands and Batman Returns.