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About A Boy [Soundtrack]
by
About A Boy [Soundtrack] Image
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 12 Ratings

  • Summary: Instead of a real follow-up to "The Hour of Bewliderbeast" (look for that later in 2002), Damon Gough returns with the score to the film adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel. The 16 new tracks here are split between short instrumental pieces and full songs.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. Dot Music
    90
    It's an album that feels like a watershed somehow, a significant step onwards.
  2. Neumu.net
    90
    With About a Boy, Badly Drawn boy has grown up.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    A mix of songs and themes balancing obsessive craft with flippant style. [3 May 2002, p.89]
    All this publication's reviews
  4. Blender
    80
    Badly Drawn Boy pulls off the job with panache, tipping his hat to Nick Drake, Burt Bacharach and acoustic-era Bob Dylan. [Jun/Jul 2002, p.103]
    All this publication's reviews
  5. E! Online
    75
    The songs lack the emotional depth of Bewilderbeast, but the jaunty folk-pop is just so much fun.
  6. Splendid
    70
    The songs on About a Boy are all exactly what we've come to expect from Gough, and the disc's lack of cohesion is its only real failing.
  7. Pitchfork
    49
    Every card Gough plays is painfully transparent from the first time you play the disc. It's elementary stuff. It sounds manufactured, refined, cosmetic and sterile; in a word, silicone, like a pair of Badly Sculpted Breast Implants.

See all 19 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. JN
    Jul 25, 2002
    10
    feelgood album of the summer and probably the year!
  2. DaveN.
    Sep 13, 2002
    10
    It does not get much better than this.....
  4. AmericanSkins
    Jul 20, 2023
    10
    One of the most criminally overlooked recordings in music history. Following his magnificent debut ‘The Hour of Bewilderbeast’, Badly DrawnOne of the most criminally overlooked recordings in music history. Following his magnificent debut ‘The Hour of Bewilderbeast’, Badly Drawn Boy teamed up with former Elliott Smith producer Tom Rothrock to create the greatest soundtrack ever. The instrumentation is so heart wrenchingly beautiful, it’s tearjerking from the short string backed piano tickle introduction ‘Exit Stage Right’ to the single greatest Christmas song that wasn’t produced by Phil Spector ‘Donna and Blitzen’. BDB taps into the emotional tone of the film in such an evocative way but the songs stand alone. Pitchfork you should redact your review.… Expand
  5. JaredSS
    May 24, 2004
    9
    Absolutely brilliant...what we've come to expect from Badly Drawn Boy. I like seeing somebody who has the balls to experiment while Absolutely brilliant...what we've come to expect from Badly Drawn Boy. I like seeing somebody who has the balls to experiment while he's supposed to be making a radio-friendly soundtrack for the masses...and succeeding on both levels. Can't wait for what else he has to offer. Bring it on!… Expand
  6. MonkeyMalone
    Apr 23, 2002
    8
    Rolling Stone can bite my butt!!!
  7. DaveL
    Aug 22, 2002
    8
    Very good album....solid songwriting, great singing. "Silent Sigh" is one of the best songs of the year.
  8. Ricko
    Oct 23, 2016
    8
    The passage of time has been kind to this album. For me, I think its sounds better today, 14 years after its release than it did the day itThe passage of time has been kind to this album. For me, I think its sounds better today, 14 years after its release than it did the day it came out. "About A Boy" is as good a soundtrack album as you'll probably hear and a very strong follow up to Hour of Bewilderbeast. While it doesn't have the same breadth or depth as Bewilderbeast, you need to remember that it is a soundtrack so is a completely different album and serves a completely different purpose. "About A Boy" has lots of lovely short tracks in between proper songs and the beauty of these tracks can sometimes be lost in their brevity. The centre piece of the album "I love NYE" flowing seemlessly into "Silent Sigh" are worth buying this record for alone. Closing track "Donna & Blitzen" is a classic alternative Christmas anthem and possibly my favourite Christmas song. Great album, arguably more concise and focussed than anything else Badly Drawn Boy has done. Excellent listen.… Expand

See all 8 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

58
#58 Best Album of 2002

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