Back To The Sixties

Artists: Oscar Isaac, Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan, T. Bone Burnett, Marcus Mumford, Starr Sands, The Downhill Strugglers with John Cohen, Nancy Blake, Dave Von Ronk and Bob Dylan
StudioCanal 534867-2  (2013)
!4 Tracks
Running Length: 43 minutes

Inside Llewyn Davis, the movie and directed by the Coen Brothers, stars singer/actor Oscar Isaac as Davis and is set in the 1960’s when folk song popularity was going out and rock was coming in. The film has Davis as a poor background musician going from job to job trying to get a paycheck. His story is loosely based on the life of Dave Van Ronk, who sings the last track, “Green, Green Rocky Road.“ Along the way, Davis  meets various artists and their songs, which is the gist of the soundtrack, with an unreleased studio version of “Farewell” sung by Bob Dylan. T Bone Burnett is the producer.

We are introduced to Oscar Isaac’s voice and style on track one, "Hang Me, Oh Hang Me.” The progression of songs builds from “Fare Thee Well” to “The Last Thing On My Mind,” “Five Hundred Miles” (sung by Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan) to the energetic “Please Mr. Kennedy" (with the Coen Brothers on chorus). This shows us how music is changing from a serious mode to the phrase of the moment. At this point in the film, Davis is auditioning for work and decides to sing what he does best---folk. We have “Green, Green Rocky Road,” "The Death of Queen Jane,” "The Roving Gambler" (The Down Hill Strugglers), “The Shoals of Herring" (Punch Brothers), "The Auld Triangle” and “The Storms Are On The Ocean" (Nancy Blake). Good folk, but not enough to get Davis a job just then.

Inside Llewyn Davis has an eclectic collection of music, out of the mainstream, which is where the character of Llewyn Davis lives, and certainly an abundance of talent. My favorites are “Five Hundred Miles” with actress Carey Mulligan, not a professional singer, doing well on harmony and “Fare Thee Well (ballad),” which is sung with Davis and chorus and again with Davis alone. Quality work with an abundance of talent.

*Side Note: Oscar Isaac was born in Guatemala, attended Juilliard and was in the 2010 film, Robin Hood.

Copyright 2013 Marie Asner

See Movie Reviews for Inside Llewyn Davis film review.

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