The West of veteran TV writer/Deadwoodcreator David Milch is as grim as it is gritty, sprinkled with salty dialogue and punctuated by sudden brutality and raw sexuality. The original soundtrack cues by composer David Schwartz (represented here by his evocative show theme), Michael Brook and Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek play off that vision with often stark rootsiness. But it's the series' rich slate of songs -- choices whose inventiveness often rivals that of The Sopranos -- that consistently reinforce its all-too-human drama, if not the crusty veneer. This collection gathers the best songs from the series' first season, coloring the milieu with evocative hillbilly romps like Michael Hurley's "Hog of the Forsaken" and the a capella grace of Margaret's Native American "Creek Lullaby." But the collection's musical eclecticism stretches far beyond mere genre concerns, variously encompassing the nascent jazz of Jelly Roll Morton (a rollicking "Stars and Stripes Forever"), Delta blues of Bukka White and Mississippi John Hurt and even Gustavo Santaolalla's hypnotic Brazilian fretwork. But the collection's country and folk-tinged performances are its most resonant, whether invoking earthy traditions (the gospel fervor of the late June Carter Cash's "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee's more heretical "God and Man") or more contemporary stylings like Lyle Lovett's "Old Friend" and the gentle "Twisted Little Man" by Michael J. Sheehy. --Jerry McCulley

Music from the critically acclaimed HBO Series Deadwood featuring American roots music from an eclectic mix of artists ranging from Lyle Lovett to June Carter Cash with full dialog excerpts from some of your favorite moments. Deadwood: The Complete First Season available now on DVD.

This CD really grew on me. When I listened to it for the first couple of times, I liked it okay, enjoyed the snippets of dialogue, but wasn't overwhelmed. Then a couple days later I punched it up on my iPod to listen to on my morning commute. And I can't seem to stop listening to it. The songs flow so gorgeously into one another that they create a great aural picture of America.

I guess it's too much to hope for a second and third volume of this CD, to incorporate the songs from the other two seasons. But if there were, I'd buy them in a heartbeat.

If you miss Deadwood then this CD will cheer you up. Here's hoping there's some new Deadwood in our future.

My husband & I are huge Deadwood fans. We put this CD on both our ipods. We only wish there was more than one. Use headphones it's definitely not for youngsters.

This is a review from Denmark, where we can pick up Deadwood from Swedish TV. Being English and a lover of westerns, it's great to see a series that is not about Housewives, CSIs, and Bones. Anyway this is a great album with some very long, some short, cowboy, country and western music plus the blues. In between we have dialogue from the series and it is Deadwood language. My living room is blue with every other word and I love it. This is one album my Mother would not want in her apartment. Nearly all the cast does some singing plus some authentic C/W artists. This is a thoroughly entertining album just like the Deadwood series.

The music for Deadwood is outstanding! Unlike most television, which uses "mood music" to telegraph actions (can we not all figure out that something dreadful is about to happen?) Deadwood avoids that trite pap and uses one superb song at the end of each episode. Whoever chooses the music has a real ear for what fits and for music generally. This is not schlock. This is not crap. This is real music, performed by people who can play their instruments and sing - not only on key, but musically. We would recommend this cd unconditionally - and we rarely feel able to do that. Enjoy!