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Bands from various walks come together to celebrate the music of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Fifteen years ago, Tim Burton and Henry Selick brought us a stop motion masterpiece that would become a pop culture phenomenon, spawning toys, clothing, car accessories, jewelry, even perfume. The Nightmare Before Christmas is something that delights and titillates to the point that, fifteen years later, a collector’s edition of the DVD housed in a Jack Skellington bust that goes up to my knee is a viable and marketable thing – as is a tribute album to Danny Elfman’s music, which brought soul to the characters people the world over have fallen in love with.

Denver four piece instrumental band DeVotchKa kicks off the CD with their rendition of the overture. It is their style; a whimsical Romani-style, almost circus like, theme, which blends beautifully and amusingly with the song. Danny Elfman, the maestro himself, steps in to do the opening dialogue to the original Nightmare music.

Marilyn Manson worms their way into yet another film classic (they previously covered songs from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory), covering “This is Halloween”. Marilyn Manson is overplayed and overdone. Their time has come and go, and they have nothing original to offer anymore – as evident in this song, perhaps the most iconic of the film. There is no interesting twist, nothing to show that they actually tried to do the song justice – just an overwhelming sense of fakeness that sticks to everything Manson does. This song is not new; it was on the re-release of the original soundtrack along with a handful of other covers, though it’s the only one that carries over.

The All-American Rejects are next on the roster with “Jack’s Lament”. Almost mimicking the inflections of Danny Elfman’s Jack, they only add one element all their own – there are moments where the backup singers add little words here and there, and that is very cute indeed.

“What’s This”, from Flyleaf, is one of the more effervescent songs on the CD. The tempo is slow, and lead singer Lacey Mosely brings a sad element to the longing of the song, making it utterly their own while holding to the intent of the piece. It is a stunning piece, absolutely original without losing the familiarity that gives birth to sentimentality.

Polyphinic Spree, the giant group of lovable nutters that they are, take on “Town Meeting Song” with a blending of 70’s glam (I defy anyone to listen to this and not hear Pink Floyd – specifically, “In The Flesh?”) and something even more outerspace-ish, something I have a hard time pinning down. The song is slowed down, at least twice as long as the original (possibly more). Polyphonic Spree is probably the only band of the group that has enough members to cover all the parts, and they do so in their own strange little way – the lines are altered in inflection and delivery, and it’s bizarrely interesting.

“Jack’s Obsession” is also slowed down by Sparklehorse, put to a very simple guitar melody. It’s folksy, not the flashiest on the album but certainly not the worst. Quite possibly the most gleefully malicious song (and interpretation) is next; “Kidnap the Sandy Claws” is covered by Korn, and after listening to it I cannot imagine a better band for this song. It’s upbeat, metal, mean and utterly fun – all things that suit Halloween Town’s three favorite trick-or-treaters. This song is in my top three songs on this album, delightfully cleverly done and with zeal. Korn’s style blends well with Danny Elfman’s – a must for a successful tribute.

Rise Against brings us “Making Christmas”, and the song kicks off with a good, driving guitar rhythm that suits the intent of the song, to move the plot through a montage and gear up the viewer for the big finish. The song is done with a lot of energy, and they toss in little things here and there that show just how fun the song is (“It’s time to party,” says one particularly low-voiced band member, and it’s just silly enough to suit the moment. It’s almost done better in the cover than the original. Almost, I said, back off you crazy fans). There’s even a hint of sleigh bells for the Christmas spirit. “Oogie Boogie’s Song” is from Rodrigo Y Gabriela, and they go all out flamenco guitar, nixing the lyrics (bold move, that one), just adding a bit of dialogue in the middle with a very creepy Oogie voice.

Is it any great surprise that Amy Lee covered “Sally’s Song”? Only if you’ve been living in a cave and don’t know who Evanescence is. Her voice is only able to be summed up in the band’s name – it is haunting, gloriously melodic, and perfectly suited to the song. Sally has never been sung with such woe, such heartfelt longing, and to such beautifully orchestrated music. Piano, guitar, everything that’s made Evanescence the blockbuster band that they are, is here. This is, by far, the best song on the album, one that will give you chills and have you hitting the repeat button until it wears out.

Plain White T’s show off their utter mediocrity with “Jack’s Lament”. For a band that debuted with such promise, they really have dropped the ball. There’s such a wonderful emotional range to this song, and they trample on it, delivering everything with a blandness that almost acts as an insult to the film.

Gothling girls and boys everywhere showed their devotion to their significant others with little rings from Hot Topic that read “My dearest friend, if you don’t mind, I’d like to join you by your side,” and “It’s as plain as anyone can see, we’re simply meant to be”. The refrain is from “Finale\Reprise”, and Shiny Toy Guns cover this delightful little ending song. They toss in extra sound effects, voice effects, a little bit of metal and a lot of sweetness. This is a fantastically done song, and it never ceases to bring a smile to my face. You feel the happiness that Jack and Sally share at the end of the film, and you feel the spirit of celebration in Halloween Town without losing the originality of the cover. It’s wonderfully done.

Danny Elfman comes back to speak the “Closing” segment, a monologue that is, sadly, not in the film, but is a fun end piece to the movie. For the “End Title”, The Album Leaf covers a collection of score from the film, a wrap up smattering of different songs and themes. Also featured on the album are the random bits of score, from bands like Amiina (“Doctor Finkelstien\In the Forest”), Vitamin String Quartet (“Jack and Sally Montage”) and Yoshida Brothers (“Nabbed”). Each of these songs are done well, and it’s sad that they blend into the background (but true; while everyone knows the music, it’s the sing-along bits that most will go for here, if for no other reason than to see how their favorite bands treat each song).

In almost all of these covers, you can genuinely feel the love each band has for Nightmare, and the care they put into the covers. Though some songs do stick out as badly done or just phoned in, the album as a whole is a delightfully crazy blend of fun and film. Though I’m one of the millions of crazed Nightmare fans, I think that even if I weren’t, I’d still wholeheartedly recommend this album.

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