Favorite Song

my idaho home, for its sheer beauty and knowing what is to come, with keith carradine's sensitive rendition of "i'm easy" a close second. but the movie would be incomplete if it did not end with "it don't worry me," as sung by albuquerque and choir.

There's not a bad song in the entire film! But Since You've Gone gives me goosebumps everytime I watch this film. It's not on the soundtrack?

A few things:

1. The soundtrack is AMAZING for all of you asking about it. The only problem, being the length of an LP and not a CD, is missing some essentials.

2. For all of you into Ronee Blakley's songs, I would def. recommend her albums. I only have "Welcome" and have heard the other is even better, but its amazing. It includes a few Nashville songs but they aren't even the standouts on the album.

3. My favorite songs -
My Idaho Home
I'm Easy
Memphis
Dues
Since You've Goen

I wholeheartedly agree that Ronee Blakley shined in everything she sang. Without her, I don't think this film would have been nearly as successful, at least on a musical level.

"My Idaho Home" was probably my favorite Blakley performance, followed by "Dues" and "One, I Love You" (the duet with Haven Hamilton). The hymn "In the Garden" -- what precious little we got to hear of it -- was gorgeous as well. Such a clear, pure voice, and a face to match.

Other songs in the film that I liked:

"Since You've Gone" was a gem, playing right into the fractured relationships between Mary and her two bandmates. I have trouble understanding how this song was not included on the soundtrack album. On the commentary track, Altman recalls that Cristina Raines was not a trained singer and notes that she struggled to hold the tune. But I thought her performance was, in its own way, note-perfect for her character in that situation. She was obviously ticked off at both men, and so it was only natural that her voice should waver because of her emotional state.

"I'm Easy": Carradine's character pushed all the right buttons in that scene, making all the women in the room think he was singing it to them. The song wasn't my favorite, but I can see why the Oscar voters (especially the women) responded to that performance.

Carradine's "It Don't Worry Me" was a perfect closer -- just the right tune to leave you with a touch of optimism after all the messiness that transpired before it. Barbara Harris didn't do a bad job on it for a non-professional singer. Correction: Actually, Harris was an accomplished singer on Broadway prior to this film -- see reply below.

I didn't care much for Haven's sappy, straight songs, though they were well delivered. "Keep A-Goin'" was the most tolerable of the bunch.

Although not much of a song otherwise, "My Baby's Cookin' in Another Man's Pan" (sung by a group in the Exit Inn before Tom's performance) had some laughably bad metaphors: "The pilot light of our love has flickered out. / What used to come from the warmest heart / I have to get from a cold can / Since my baby's cookin' in another man's pan. / Well, if makin' love were margarine / Then she is the high-priced spread..."

It would be nice to have an expanded version of the original soundtrack album, which clocks in at just over 40 minutes. A CD holds almost twice that much music, so there'd be room for several more songs. But I wonder if it's feasible, at this late date, to access the original source tapes to add songs. As Altman said on the commentary track, all the songs in the film were performed live in front of the cameras, not overdubbed in the studio during post-production as with most movie musicals. If that's true, then complete versions of the songs may not be available, depending on the condition of the tapes and the nature of the scenes in which they were performed.