Also Missing......
How about the fact that "This Is a Man's World" by the Godfather of Funk, James Brown is missing too. Just like a movie is never like the book, a soundtrack is never like the movie.


Buy it anyway! Good to have.

I think I found the creedence tape...
First let's get this out of the way: This is a great soundtrack! One cannot help but visualize the film while listening. From Bob to the Gipsy Kings to Kenny Rogers. The songs are now forever linked to the Dude and Jesus and Maude. Anyone who loves the film will want to own this. This review isn't so much about that but about my criticism of film soundtrack criticism in general.

There are several reasons why a soundtrack like this is "incomplete". Most of the time a soundtrack featuring various artists includes much more music than can fit on one cd. With BL specifically obviously there were some tracks that seem like they "must" be included. Songs that were featured prominently (tumbleweeds) or are indispensible to the plot (the eagles or creedence) seem much more valuable than say the Captain Beefheart or Costello songs.

While the "missing" songs are included the film, the rights to these songs may be limited and their inclusion on a soundtrack is NOT possible (how many Led Zeppelin songs have you ever seen on a soundtrack album? They won't even let a few notes of "Stairway to Heaven" be heard in Wayne's World).

I think a third reason is simply financial. Do you want to pay $30 for a "complete" Big Lebowski soundtrack just to get a few tracks that you probably already own (I wanted this cd for the tracks I didn't own or had never heard before. My indispensible track is "Dead Flowers"). Some of the missing songs may have been available but just not affordable if they were going to release a normally priced disc. I can imagine the crooks at Fantasy Records charging an arm an a leg for putting a Creedence track on the soundtrack.

Basically, this cd gives us a challenge to act like the Dude. Let's make our own mix tape (well, okay mix-cd)! The Dude most definately abides!

Would not be enough to tie the movie together
There are some definite nuggets here, such as "Condition" and "Hotel California," but there are also some VERY noticeable omissions, such as "Tumbleweeds" and CCR. Also, some of the stuff on this album is a complete mystery to me. I'm listening to it right now, and I can't remember for all the Kahlua in Mexico where some of these songs were in the film. It would be nice to see an improved, 10th anniversary edition of the CD to go with the DVD, but things don't look promising. I guess the licensing was too difficult for some tracks. Basically, I'm glad I got this on ebay.

Incomplete
I'm still waiting for the COMPLETE "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". This agression will not stand, man...

Disappointed
The Big Lebowski CD was a big disappointment. I should have looked more closely, and listened to the whole thing before I bought. There are only 3 or 4 good tracks, and Shawn Colvin's (?) cover of "Viva Las Vegas" isn't even on there. On the other hand, the Spanish language version of "Hotel California" almost makes up for it. Download the tracks you like and forget about the CD.