Copyright 2000 Telegraph Group Limited  
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH(LONDON)


March 18, 2000, Saturday


SECTION: Pg. 08

LENGTH: 185 words

HEADLINE: The Arts: Pop CDs

BYLINE: By CLARK COLLIS

BODY:
Aimee Mann Music from the Motion Picture 'Magnolia' (Reprise)

FOLLOWING the critical and commercial success of Boogie Nights, a homage to the Seventies pornography industry, director Paul Thomas Anderson was in that rare Hollywood position of being able to do whatever he wanted. As it turned out, what he wanted to do was make a three-hour-plus examination of suburban life based on the work of cult singer-songwriter Aimee Mann - a decision that sounds insane until you see the film, at which point it seems like the wisest choice he could possibly have made. Certainly, there is no doubt that Magnolia puts Mann's songs to brilliant use, not least during the sequence when the entire cast surreally pause to sing along with Wise Up.

Moreover, her opening take on Harry Nilsson's One is little less than spine-tingling. Unfortunately, divorced from their big-screen visual accompaniment, too many of the self-penned tracks sound like an off-day Joni Mitchell, with Build That Wall one of the more guilty parties. See the film, buy the screenplay even, but think twice before shelling out for this.

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