Nightmare Revisited

The seeds for this modern rock compilation/reinterpretation of Danny Elfman’s beloved A Nightmare Before Christmas score cover project were planted on the film’s deluxe 2006 13th- anniversary edition, from which Marilyn Manson’s dark, enticing take on the score’s narrative-setting “This Is Halloween” makes a gratifying return to help set the tone here, followed in turn by artists as diverse as Korn (“Kidnap the Sandy Klaws”) and Evanescence vocalist Amy Lee, whose take on “Sally’s Song” is one of the album’s highlights. Key to the collection’s success was allowing the myriad acts involved to cover not only the score’s familiar songs, but its rich, instrumental music as well, with Datarock, Yoshida Brothers, Rodrigo y Gabriela, the Album Leaf and RJD2 giving stylistically diverse, yet artistically cohesive new takes on the film’s atmospheric cues. Book-ended by warm new “Opening/Closing” tracks that impart the blessings of Elfman himself, enough succeeds to make this a worthy, often surprising musical reinvention of Disney’s most unlikely holiday classic.