Magnolia (soundtrack)

This article is about the soundtrack album to the film Magnolia. For the album of Jon Brion's score, see Magnolia (score).

Magnolia: Music from the Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by Aimee Mann
Released	December 7, 1999
Genre	Pop, rock
Length	50:49
Label	Reprise
Producer	Jon Brion Buddy Judge Aimee Mann Brendan O'Brien Michael Penn
Aimee Mann chronology
I'm with Stupid (1995) Magnolia: Music from the Motion Picture (1999) Bachelor No. 2 (2000)
Singles from Magnolia: Music from the Motion Picture
"Save Me" Released: 1999

Magnolia: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album to the 1999 film Magnolia. It comprises several songs by Aimee Mann, plus tracks by Gabrielle, Supertramp and Jon Brion. The album received positive reviews and was certified gold in 2001. Mann's song "Save Me" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Music

The music of Aimee Mann inspired the director Paul Thomas Anderson to write Magnolia; he said he "sat down to write an adaptation of Aimee Mann songs".^[1] Mann wrote two songs for Magnolia: "You Do" and "Save Me".^[2] "Deathly", "Driving Sideways" and "You Do" also appeared on Mann's following album, Bachelor No. 2. "Nothing Is Good Enough", here an instrumental, appears in lyrical form on that album.^{[citation needed]} (Bachelor also includes "Red Vines", a song Mann wrote about Anderson.)^{[citation needed]} "One" is a cover of the 1968 song by Harry Nilsson, recorded for the 1995 tribute album For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson.^[3]

The film features a sequence in which the characters sing along to Mann's song "Wise Up".^[4] Mann originally recorded "Wise Up" to be used in the 1996 film Jerry Maguire, but the director, Cameron Crowe, felt it did not fit. According to Crowe, he had used Mann's original piano demo in a scene in which Jerry Maguire is moving through an airport. Mann's final version was "larger, more lush, more of a personal epic, and quite incredible... suddenly it was too big for the scene it was meant for." He said not being able to use it was "heartbreaking".^[5] The song was included on the Jerry Maguire soundtrack.^[6]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
The Austin Chronicle	[8]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	[9]
Los Angeles Times	[10]
NME	4/10[11]
Q	[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[14]

By February 2001, the soundtrack had sold 410,000 units in the United States.^[15] Mann's song "Save Me" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, losing to Phil Collins's song "You'll Be in My Heart" from Tarzan.^[7] In 2021, the Los Angeles Times described "Save Me" as Mann's masterpiece, which "solidified Mann's stature as an esteemed songwriter".^[16] The success of the Magnolia soundtrack caused Mann stress, as she felt pressure to capitalize on it and tour heavily.^[17] In a 2020 retrospective, Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club praised the film for widening Mann's audience and the unique way that the writing of the film coincided with her songwriting.^[18]

Track listing

All songs performed by Aimee Mann, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"One"	Harry Nilsson	2:53
2.	"Momentum"	Aimee Mann	3:27
3.	"Build That Wall"	Mann Jon Brion	4:25
4.	"Deathly"	Mann	5:28
5.	"Driving Sideways"	Mann Michael Lockwood	3:47
6.	"You Do"	Mann	3:41
7.	"Nothing Is Good Enough"	Mann	3:10
8.	"Wise Up"	Mann	3:31
9.	"Save Me"	Mann	4:35
10.	"Goodbye Stranger" (performed by Supertramp)	Rick Davies Roger Hodgson	5:50
11.	"The Logical Song" (performed by Supertramp)	Davies Hodgson	4:07
12.	"Dreams" (performed by Gabrielle)	Gabrielle Tim Laws	3:43
13.	"Magnolia" (performed by Jon Brion)	Brion	2:12
Total length:			50:49

Charts and certifications

Charts Chart (2000) Peak position Canada (RPM)[19] 21 Germany (Media Control AG)[20] 42 US Billboard 200[21] 58 US Top Internet Albums (Billboard)[21] 4

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Magnolia Chart (2000) Position Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[22] 187 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales United States (RIAA)[23] Gold 500,000^^ ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. McLevy, Alex. "Aimee Mann got cinematic with the gorgeous Magnolia soundtrack". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
2. Bessman, Jim (December 16, 1999). "Music Blossomed into Film". Toronto Star.
3. McLevy, Alex (June 25, 2020). "Aimee Mann got cinematic with the gorgeous Magnolia soundtrack". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
4. Patterson, John (March 10, 2000). "Magnolia Maniac". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on August 27, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
5. Robinson, Joanna (2015-05-28). "Cameron Crowe takes us on a musical tour through his filmography". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
6. Grad, David (10 January 1997). "Jerry Maguire". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
7. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Magnolia [Original Soundtrack] – Aimee Mann". AllMusic. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
8. Labernz, Mindy (February 18, 2000). "Aimee Mann: Songs From Magnolia (Reprise)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
9. Christgau, Robert (2000). "Magnolia". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
10. Nichols, Natalie (December 8, 1999). "Vulnerability Is at the Heart of Mann's 'Magnolia' Songs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
11. Pattison, Louis (April 3, 2000). "Various Artists – Magnolia – Music From The Motion Picture". NME. Archived from the original on June 8, 2000. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
12. "Magnolia: Music from the Motion Picture". Q (164): 114. May 2000.
13. Walters, Barry (February 17, 2000). "Aimee Mann: Magnolia Music from the Motion Picture". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 4, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
14. Randall, Mac (2004). "Aimee Mann". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 511–12. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
15. Wiltz, Teresa (18 February 2001). "Her Own Mann: Independent-Minded Singer Sheds Labels". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
16. Pelly, Jenn (2021-11-04). "Aimee Mann: 'I have an enormous amount of compassion for people who are struggling'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
17. Snapes, Laura (2021-11-04). "Aimee Mann: 'Any woman my age is traumatised by growing up in the 60s and 70s'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
18. McLevy, Alex (June 24, 2020). "The Magnolia Soundtrack Made Sweet Music from a Cinematic Ode to Aimee Mann". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
19. "Top 100 CDs". RPM. 70 (17). Toronto. February 28, 2000. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
20. "Discographie Aimee Mann". charts.de (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 21, 2013.^{[dead link‍]}
21. "Magnolia [Original Soundtrack] – Awards (Billboard Singles)". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
22. "Canada's Top 200 Albums of 2000". Jam!. Archived from the original on September 6, 2004. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
23. "American album certifications – Soundtrack – Magnolia". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 19, 2021.