Nightmare Revisited Review: 5 out of 5

Nightmare Revisited
Released September 30, 2008
By Walt Disney Records


For those of you who don't know, I love The Nightmare Before Christmas. To me it is a masterpiece work of art. It is technologically amazing, the script is top of the line, the songs breathtaking, music is amazing, the voice work and synchronization better than most and the art style is simply captivating. I've bought (on iTunes of course) the 2006 re-issue of the 1993 soundtrack to the movie and loved it, I also loved the 11 bonus tracks that accompanied the OST (Original Soundtrack); among those were 6 demo songs as originally composed by Danny Elfman and 5 covers of songs. 2 of those were covers of [This Is Halloween]. Now when I first heard of this new CD I thought it to be just a remastered version of the OST, but lo and behold, I found me a nice little surprise. Remember those five covers I mentioned earlier? Well, Apply that idea to the entire soundtrack!

That's right, 20 tracks are covered by different artists. By technicality it is only 18 as 2 of the songs ([Opening] and [Closing]) are redone by Danny Elfman rather than Patrick Stewart. The only song to return from the 2006 CD is Marilyn Manson's version of [This is Halloween]. This is fairly unique as a lot of this bands are too well know here in the States, but you do have your fair share in this kooky mix. You have several artists such as All-American Rejects, Flyleaf, Korn and Amy Lee (lead singer of Evanescence) along side many others who you may not have heard of such as Amiina, RJD2, The Polyphonic Spree and Yoshida Brothers. They all unite to make single covers of each song, although each song has a distinct feeling brought from their respective band, they all create a sense of unity as they still carry on that eery Nightmare Before Christmas sound that was originally created by Danny Elfman.

If you don't believe that the whole soundtrack has been covered, then do what I have already done and compare the track listings to both of the albums. Another little surprise is that if you bought the album from the iTunes Store (like me) then you get a bonus song. The Bonus song is a cover of [Oogie Boogie's Song] by Tiger Army (a psychobilly band) which is a nice alternative to the original all guitar cover of the song by Rodrigo y Gabriel.

All the songs in the album are just fantastic, although one or two lyrical songs are now pure instrumentals (in the respective band's style), but don't let this turn you down since the songs are quite genius and you might find yourself attracted to some new artists.

Now as much praise as I can give, I do have to be judgmental and complain a little bit about the album; there are some artists on this album who I personally don't like and although I do like their version of the song I just have to ask... Who told the singer of All American Rejects that he could sing? seriously? His voice is not at all appropriate for the voice of Jack Skellington!
I'm done with the negatives.

Overall This is a fantastic album to listen to, whether for yourself or as a gift to a fanatic, should be bought.
I would rate this album with a 5 out of 5 stars.
A truly unique take on a cult classic, taking that which we know and love and making it feel fresh and new to fans of both the old and new.

Some Trivia for You:
This album contains the last song to be record by the band Korn before their announced hiatus.
Amy Lee of Evanescence performs solo rather than with her group.
The covers from the 2006 re-issue do not return with the exception of Marilyn Manson's [This Is Halloween] which takes its respective place near the top of the track listing.
This means that the covers by:
Fiona Apple,
Fall Out Boy (which I also dislike greatly),
She Wants Revenge,
and Panic! at the Disco are not seen on this CD.
The album was release September 30, 2008.

This is the cover to the 1993 OST.
This cover features the iconic yellow moon a swirling hill, along with Jack singing [Jack's Lament].
This is the cover to the 2006 re-issue.
Still featuring the iconic yellow moon this now presents Jack the the gate of the cemetery in [Jack's Lament].
This is the cover to the 2008 edition titled as [Nightmare Revisited] rather than The Nightmare Before Christmas.
This cover has no scene from the film, but rather shows an illustration/portrait of Jack with the album's title surrounding the image.