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Over the Garden Wall (Original Television Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by Various artists
Released	July 21, 2016
Recorded	2014–2015
Genre	Jazz folk
Length	53:13
Label	Turner Music Publishing Cartoon Network
Producer	The Blasting Company

Over the Garden Wall (Original Television Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2014 animated television miniseries of the same name for Cartoon Network created by Patrick McHale. Two years after the series' premiere, the music from the series were released into a separate soundtrack album on July 21, 2016 by Turner Music Publishing and Cartoon Network, distributed in a vinyl LP by Mondo at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con. It featured 32 tracks from the series' with vocal performances and instrumental tunes composed by The Blasting Company.

The band members: Brandon Armstrong, Justin Rubenstein and Joshua Kaufman had performed the instrumentation for the score, and conjunctionally wrote lyrics for the tunes along with McHale. The cast members, Elijah Wood, Collin Dean, Chris Isaak, Shirley Jones, Jack Jones and Samuel Ramey, amongst others performed the tracks, which included periodic jazz and folk compositions.

Background

McHale hired The Blasting Company, to score music and songs for the series, and gave all sorts of direction as there are different styles of music. The band felt that, "the sound of the world that he created was completely integral to its creation, from the very beginning. Our role was mostly to serve his vision, as best as we could, and help him realize his world." Even before the animation of the pilot episode, the band met McHale for numerous times, listening to music and playing different themes to each other. Those meetings set the tone for the project and led them to guide in the right direction. The band used real instruments for the score, deviating from the synth music, and also known to play strings which have "lush string arrangements that they layered and pieced together".

As the mood of the show is an important aspect of the series, McHale felt that "the music sort of paints — with the color scheme and all that stuff — the music finishes it off and makes it the right feeling for the audience's experience of this place where we can delve into, sometimes, genres of music that might not match what we're watching but give you a certain feeling". Various melodies and songs based on pre-1950s music are heard throughout the series. Apart from the Blasting Company performing the tracks, the album had two opera singers performing music, and consisted of old-time jazz and jug band music.

Elijah Wood, who voiced Wirt, has said that "if this show were a record, it would be played on a phonograph". Songs from the series include "Into the Unknown", its title song, composed by Patrick McHale and sung by Jack Jones; "A Courting Song", composed by the Petrojvic Blasting Company and performed by Frank Fairfield; and "Come Wayward Souls", sung by Samuel Ramey as the Beast. The majority of the series' songs have been officially uploaded to YouTube. On the DVD release they can be heard, along with visuals and without dialogue, in a special feature known as the Composer's Cut.

Release

The soundtrack to the series, featuring 32 tracks and totaling around 44 minutes in length, was released in the form of a double-disc 180-gram vinyl record by Mondo in July 2016. The extended soundtrack debuted at San Diego Comic-Con on July 21, 2016, with a limited 1,000 copies, featuring a cover designed by Sam Wolfe Connelly. The extended vinyl is also available as a webstore exclusive from Mondo.

During September 2015, Mondo released an audio cassette tape titled "For Sara", based on the cassette tape labelled with the same name seen in the series. The cassette features over twenty minutes of poetry spoken by Elijah Wood (in character as Wirt) and music performed by the Blasting Company. In September 2017, Mondo released the cassette a second time, with the subtitle "(Back-Up Master)".

On November 3, 2020, The Blasting Company released six unreleased tracks, that had been excluded from the series. Those included: "When Me and My Brother Had a Row", "Accordion Lullaby", "The Tithing Man", "Sketch of the Unknown", "The Blacksmith's Song" and "Wirt's Clarinets".

Track listing

All music is composed by The Blasting Company, except where indicated

Reception

Matty from Sputnik Music gave a 5/5 to the album calling it as "the perfect score for raking leaves, carving pumpkins and brisk night walks. Hope everyone enjoys and has a lovely autumn season". Jenna Anne of Marvelous Geeks Media wrote "From fun lyrical tunes that each reference different time periods to epic score, this album is an all encompassing fall mood while highlighting the quirky-spooky-fun ride that is Over the Garden Wall." Norene Bassin of Impact 89FM commented "Over the Garden Wall is punctuated by some of the most beautiful music to ever grace an animated series." Brian Moylan of The Guardian felt that "the original songs that seem like they could be played by one of the buskers from Once". Emma Stefansky of Thrillist opined that musical numbers are "best described as Appalachian folk songs by way of Tom Waits."

Writing for Afterglow, Caroline Harrison said "Incorporating American Gothicism and historical musical styles, "Over the Garden Wall" creates a diverse, yet cohesive sound of fall—its worries and comforts. Primarily utilizing American folk and jazz traditions, the soundtrack's historical sound integrates nostalgia into every track, whether it is meant to be scary or sweet." Alicia Szczesniak of The Post wrote "the soundtrack aligns with the style of the series perfectly. Folk-tune-style songs that sound like they could be off of your grandpa's radio, coupled with gorgeous string arrangements and dramatic choral songs, make up the backdrop of the series, whilst songs sung by the characters serve as the whimsical forefront."

Personnel

• Sam Wolfe Connelly – artwork
• Mo Shafeek – art direction
• Justin Rubenstein – backing vocals, cello, trombone, violin, alto vocals, snare drum, guitar, trumpet, auxiliary percussion, baritone horn
• Brandon Armstrong – backing vocals, double bass, bass vocals, violin, guitar, whistle, cymbal, trombone, tuba, snare drum, mandolin, ukulele, auxiliary percussion, baritone horn
• Joshua Kaufman – backing vocals, piano, organ, clarinet, whistle, accordion, tenor vocals, snare drum, bass drum, auxiliary percussion, synthesiser, musical box
• Leah Harmon – backing vocals, soprano vocals
• Eddika Organista – backing vocals
• Audio Clayton – backing vocals
• Samuel Ramey – bass vocals
• Kat Nockels Beers – bassoon
• Patricia Gunther – contrabassoon
• Harlan Silverman – drum programming
• James Plotkin – engineer
• Dominique Rodriguez – marching drum
• Tom Rogers – mastering (Atomix Studios)
• Oz Fritz – mixing (High Velocity)
• The Blasting Company – recording, production
• Calder Dudgeon – saw
• Cory Beers – snare drum, davul
• Deborah Voigt – soprano vocals
• Austin Hoke – strings
• Charles De Castro – trumpet
• Miamon Miller – violin

Source:

References

1. "Exclusive: Patrick McHale Talks Bringing OVER THE GARDEN WALL to Cartoon Network and BOOM! Studios". Nerdist. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
2. Goldberg, Paula (March 26, 2019). "Industry Insights: The Blasting Company on Animation Scoring". The Beat. PremiumBeat. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
3. Maher, John (October 25, 2016). "Patrick McHale on the Haunting Magic of 'Over the Garden Wall': Exclusive". The Dot and Line. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
4. ^ Polo, Susana (November 3, 2014). "An Interview With the Folks Behind Cartoon Network's Over the Garden Wall, Premiering Tonight!". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
5. ^ Maas, Emily (October 21, 2014). "Video: Creating the Soundtrack for Cartoon Network's Over the Garden Wall". TV Guide. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
6. PenzeyMoog, Caitlin (July 8, 2016). "Mondo exclusive: An Over The Garden Wall soundtrack is coming in August". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on July 22, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
7. Shiach, Kieran (July 8, 2016). "Mondo to Debut 'Over the Garden Wall' Soundtrack Vinyl at San Diego Comic Con [SDCC 2016]". Comics Alliance. Archived from the original on October 17, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
8. ^ "Over the Garden Wall Original Television Soundtrack!". Mondo. July 8, 2016. Archived from the original on October 5, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
9. ^ Edgar, Sean (August 20, 2015). "Exclusive: Woo Your High School Sweetheart with Wirt's Over the Garden Wall Poetry Cassette". Paste. Archived from the original on September 17, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
10. ^ Brown, Tracy (September 15, 2015). "Listen to Elijah Wood's poetry-filled mixtape from Emmy-winning 'Over the Garden Wall'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
11. ^ "Over the Garden Wall: Posters, Pins + "For Sara" Cassette!". Mondo. September 14, 2017. Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
12. ""For Sara (Back-Up Master)" Cassette". Mondo. Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
13. "Over the Garden Wall Composers Release 6 Tracks Cut From the Show". Gizmodo Australia. November 4, 2020. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
14. Patches, Matt (November 3, 2020). "Over the Garden Wall composers release 6 new songs that were cut from the series". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
15. "The Blasting Company – Over The Garden Wall (album review)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
16. Anne, Jenna (October 4, 2021). "Music Monday: 'Over the Garden Wall' (Original Television Soundtrack) by The Blasting Company". Marvelous Geeks Media. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
17. Bassin, Norene. "We Watch It For The Music | Over The Garden Wall". Impact 89FM. WDBM. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
18. Moylan, Brian (November 3, 2014). "Over the Garden Wall: slapstick for the kids, existential dread for the adults". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on December 3, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
19. "It Is Officially 'Over the Garden Wall' Season". Thrillist. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
20. "Media and Music: 'Over the Garden Wall' has the Perfect American Gothic Soundtrack for Fall". afterglow. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
21. "Looking back on 'Over The Garden Wall'". The Post. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2023.

• 2016 soundtrack albums
• Television soundtracks
• Jazz soundtracks
• Folk soundtracks