''Magnolia: Music from the Motion Picture'' is the soundtrack album to the 1999 film ''

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...

''. It comprises nine songs by

Aimee Mann Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released ten studio albums as a solo artist. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyrics about dark subjects, often d ...

, plus tracks by Gabrielle,

Supertramp Supertramp were a British rock band formed in London in 1970. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), the group were distinguished for blending p ...

and

Jon Brion Jon Brion (born December 11, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and The Grays (band), the Grays before becoming an established pro ...

. 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 The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

Music

The music of Aimee Mann inspired the director

Paul Thomas Anderson Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. Often described as one of the most preeminent writer-directors of his generation, List of awards and nominations received by Paul Thomas Anders ...

to write ''Magnolia;'' he said he "sat down to write an adaptation of Aimee Mann songs". Mann wrote two songs for ''Magnolia'': "You Do" and " Save Me". "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. (''Bachelor'' also includes "Red Vines", a song Mann wrote about Anderson.) "

One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

" is a cover of the 1968 song by

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experi ...

, recorded for the 1995 tribute album '' For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson.'' The film features a sequence in which the characters sing along to Mann's song "Wise Up". Mann originally recorded "Wise Up" to be used in the 1996 film ''

Jerry Maguire ''Jerry Maguire'' is a 1996 American sports comedy-drama film directed and written by Cameron Crowe. It was produced by Crowe and James L. Brooks for Gracie Films and distributed by TriStar Pictures. It stars Tom Cruise as the titular spor ...

'', but the director,

Cameron Crowe Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American filmmaker and journalist. He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Grammy Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award. Crowe started his career a ...

, 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". The song was included on the ''Jerry Maguire'' soundtrack.

Reception

By February 2001, the soundtrack had sold 410,000 units in the United States. Mann's song " Save Me" was nominated for an

, losing to

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

's song " You'll Be in My Heart" from ''

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

''. In 2021, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' described "Save Me" as Mann's masterpiece, which "solidified Mann's stature as an esteemed songwriter". The success of the ''Magnolia'' soundtrack caused Mann stress, as she felt pressure to capitalize on it and tour heavily. In a 2020 retrospective, Alex McLevy of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' praised the film for widening Mann's audience and the unique way that the writing of the film coincided with her songwriting.

Track listing

All songs performed by Aimee Mann, except where noted.

Charts and certifications

Charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1999 soundtrack albums Aimee Mann soundtracks Albums produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer) Albums produced by Jon Brion 1990s film soundtrack albums Reprise Records soundtracks