View source for The Nightmare Before Christmas (soundtrack)

{{Infobox album
| name         = The Nightmare Before Christmas: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
| type         = soundtrack
| artist       = [[Danny Elfman]]
| cover        = Nightmare_Soundtrack.jpg
| alt          =
| released     = {{Start date|1993|10|12}}
| recorded     =
| studio       =
| genre        = [[Soundtrack]]
| length       = 61:09
| label        = [[Walt Disney Records|Walt Disney]]
| producer     = [[Danny Elfman]]
| chronology   = [[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]
| prev_title   =
| prev_year    =
| next_title   = [[Nightmare Revisited]]
| next_year    = 2008
| misc         = {{Extra chronology
| artist     = [[Danny Elfman]]
| type       = Film score
| prev_title = [[Batman Returns (soundtrack)|Batman Returns]]
| prev_year  = 1992
| title      = The Nightmare Before Christmas
| year       = 1993
| next_title = [[Black Beauty (1994 film)#Soundtrack|Black Beauty]]
| next_year  = 1994
}} {{Extra album cover
| header  = 2006 Re-release cover
| type    = Soundtrack
| cover   = Nightmare Soundtrack SpecialEd.jpg
| border  =
| alt     =
| caption =
}}
}}
{{Music ratings
|rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
|rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r188124|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic review]</ref>
}}<!-- Automatically generated by DASHBot-->
'''''The Nightmare Before Christmas''''' is the fifteenth [[soundtrack album]] by American composer [[Danny Elfman]].  It was released on October 12, 1993, by [[Walt Disney Records]] to promote the 1993 American stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]''. Composed by [[Danny Elfman]], the soundtrack was nominated for the 1993 [[Golden Globe]] for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]]. The album peaked at #64 on the US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8484282/billboard-200-chart-moves-john-legend-pentatonix-christmas|title=Billboard 200 Chart Moves: John Legend & Pentatonix Debut in Top 40 With New 'Christmas' Albums|magazine=Billboard|access-date=2018-11-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r188124|pure_url=yes}} |title=Charts and awards for ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' |access-date=29 November 2008 |publisher=[[Allmusic]]}}</ref>
For the film's 2006 re-release in [[Disney Digital 3-D]], a special edition of the soundtrack was released, a bonus disc which contained covers of five of the film's songs by [[Fall Out Boy]], [[Panic! at the Disco]], [[Marilyn Manson (band)|Marilyn Manson]], [[Fiona Apple]] and [[She Wants Revenge]]. Four original demo tracks (six on the [[Best Buy]] exclusive) by Elfman were also included.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1539534/20060828/fall_out_boy.jhtml?headlines=true |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060831174817/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1539534/20060828/fall_out_boy.jhtml?headlines=true |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 31, 2006 |title=Fall Out Boy, Panic, Marilyn Manson Add To New 'Nightmare Before Christmas' Soundtrack |access-date=29 November 2008 |last=Montgomery |first=James |date=August 28, 2006 |publisher=[[MTV News]]}}</ref> For the film's 15th anniversary in 2008, the [[cover album]] ''[[Nightmare Revisited]]'' was released, which includes two re-recordings by Elfman.
==Background==
The soundtrack was composed by composer and then-[[Oingo Boingo]] frontman [[Danny Elfman]]. Elfman sought to make the soundtrack timeless and drew on classic popular composers for inspiration. He explained: "I wanted it to sound like it was written 50 or 100 years ago, so I turned my own influences for that stuff. [[Kurt Weill]]'s ''[[The Threepenny Opera]]'', which was a major thing in my life, was a source, as well musicals from [[Cole Porter]] and [[George Gershwin|Gershwin]], and to a certain extent, [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]]."<ref name="billboard 25">{{cite magazine |last1=LeDonne |first1=Rob |title='The Nightmare Before Christmas' at 25: Composer Danny Elfman on the Undying Classic |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/danny-elfman-nightmare-before-christmas-interview-8481021/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=4 October 2022 |date=22 October 2018}}</ref> For "What's This?" Elfman sought to capture the rapid-pace lyricism of [[Gilbert and Sullivan]].
In a later interview, Elfman likened [[Jack Skellington]]'s experience as the leader of Halloweentown looking to escape to a different world to his discontentment with being the leader of his band, [[Oingo Boingo]]. He recalled, "'I always felt Jack was a part of me. ... When I wrote those songs, I was in kind of a unique position, because like Jack I was the king of my own little kingdom – that was Oingo Boingo. And like Jack, I really wanted a way out, but I didn't know how to get out because so many people depended on me. So my own psychological mindset at the time was that I was writing from my own perspective as much as his, because I understood what it felt like to want something else."<ref name="kerrang">{{cite web |last1=Krovatin |first1=Chris |title=How Danny Elfman made goths love Christmas |url=https://www.kerrang.com/how-danny-elfman-made-goths-love-christmas |website=Kerrang! |date=6 December 2019 |access-date=4 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
== Track listing ==
{{Track listing
| all_writing = [[Danny Elfman]]
| extra_column = Performer(s)
| title1 = Overture <small>(score)</small> | length1 = 1:48
| title2 = Opening
| extra2 = [[Patrick Stewart]]
| length2 = 0:57
| title3 = [[This Is Halloween]]
| extra3 = The Citizens of Halloween Town
| length3 = 3:16
| title4 = Jack's Lament
| extra4 =  [[Danny Elfman]]
| length4 = 3:14
| title5 = Doctor Finkelstein/In the Forest <small>(score)</small>
| length5 = 2:36
| title6 = What's This?
| extra6 = Danny Elfman
| length6 = 2:59
| title7 = Town Meeting Song
| extra7 = Danny Elfman, Halloween Cast
| length7 = 2:56
| title8 = Jack and Sally Montage <small>(score)</small>
| length8 = 5:17
| title9 = Jack's Obsession
| extra9 = Danny Elfman, Halloween Cast
| length9 = 2:46
| title10 = Kidnap the Sandy Claws
| extra10 = [[Paul Reubens]], [[Catherine O'Hara]], Danny Elfman
| length10 = 3:02
| title11 = Making Christmas
| extra11 = Danny Elfman, The Citizens of Halloween Town
| length11 = 3:57
| title12 = Nabbed <small>(score)</small>
| length12 = 3:04
| title13 = Oogie Boogie's Song
| extra13 = [[Ken Page]], Ed Ivory
| length13 = 3:17
| title14 = Sally's Song
| extra14 = Catherine O'Hara
| length14 = 1:47
| title15 = Christmas Eve Montage <small>(score)</small>
| length15 = 4:44
| title16 = Poor Jack
| extra16 = Danny Elfman
| length16 = 2:31
| title17 = To the Rescue <small>(score)</small>
| length17 = 3:38
| title18 = Finale/Reprise
| extra18 = Danny Elfman, Catherine O'Hara, The Citizens of Halloween Town
| length18 = 2:45
| title19 = Closing
| extra19 = Patrick Stewart
| length19 = 1:26
| title20 = End Title <small>(score)</small>
| length20 = 5:05
|note1=|writer1=|extra1=|note2=|writer2=|note3=|writer3=|note4=|writer4=|total_length=}}
''On some versions of the CD, "End Credits" is two tracks (20 and 21) with lengths of 1:10 and 3:55 respectively. In this case, track 21 is considered a "hidden track" but features the same music as the 20-track release, which keeps "End Credits" as one track.''
=== 2006 reissue bonus disc ===
{{Track listing
| extra_column = Contributing artist
| all_writing = Danny Elfman
| title1 = [[This Is Halloween]]
| extra1 = [[Marilyn Manson (band)|Marilyn Manson]]
| length1 = 3:22
| title2 = Sally's Song
| extra2 = [[Fiona Apple]]
| length2 = 3:20
| title3 = What's This?
| extra3 = [[Fall Out Boy]]
| length3 = 3:00
| title4 = Kidnap the Sandy Claws
| extra4 = [[She Wants Revenge]]
| length4 = 5:09
| title5 = This Is Halloween
| extra5 = [[Panic! at the Disco]]
| length5 = 3:36
| title6 = Making Christmas
| note6 = Demo
| extra6 = Danny Elfman
| length6 = 5:34
| title7 = Oogie Boogie's Song
| note7 = Demo
| extra7 = Danny Elfman
| length7 = 3:15
| title8 = Kidnap the Sandy Claws
| note8 = Demo
| extra8 = Danny Elfman
| length8 = 2:51
| title9 = This Is Halloween
| note9 = Demo
| extra9 = Danny Elfman
| length9 = 3:19
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = [[Best Buy]] exclusive bonus tracks
| extra_column = Contributing artist
| title10 = Town Meeting Song
| note10= Demo
| extra10 = Danny Elfman
| length10 = 2:47
| title11 = What's This?
| note11 = Demo
| extra11 = Danny Elfman
| length11 = 3:00
}}
''The "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" and "This Is Halloween" demos are reversed in the track listing on the backside of the album cover and in the album booklet.''
== Personnel ==
Credits and personnel adapted from the 2006 edition of the soundtrack's liner notes.
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
<!-- All following personnel credits are listed in the official album booklet. Please do not change any of them. -->
=== Performers ===
*[[Danny Elfman]] – principal artist ([[Jack Skellington]], Barrell), vocals
*[[Catherine O'Hara]] – principal artist ([[Sally (The Nightmare Before Christmas)|Sally]], Shock), vocals
*[[Glenn Shadix]] – principal artist ([[Mayor (The Nightmare Before Christmas)|Mayor]]), vocals
*[[Ken Page (actor)|Ken Page]] – principal artist ([[Oogie Boogie]]), vocals
*[[Paul Reubens]] – principal artist ([[Lock, Shock, and Barrel|Lock]]), vocals
*[[Ed Ivory]] – principal artist ([[List of characters in The Nightmare Before Christmas#Santa Claus|Santa]]), vocals
=== Additional performers ===
: Sherwood Ball – background vocals
: Debi Durst – background vocals
: Randy Crenshaw – background vocals
: Kerry Katz – background vocals
: Susan McBride – background vocals
: Bobbi Page – background vocals
: [[Greg Proops]] - background vocals
: [[Carmen Twillie (actress)|Carmen Twillie]] – background vocals
: Glenn Walters – background vocals
{{Col-2}}
=== Musicians ===
* [[Steve Bartek]] – musical director, song orchestration
* [[Mark McKenzie (composer)|Mark McKenzie]] – score orchestration
* Chris Boardman – song conductor
* [[J.A.C. Redford]] – score conductor
* [[Marc Mann]] – additional orchestration
=== Technical ===
* Danny Elfman – producer
* Bob Badami – associate producer, music editor
* Richard Kraft – associate producer
* Bill Jackson – vocal recording engineer
* Robert Fernandez – song recording engineer
* [[Shawn Murphy (sound engineer)|Shawn Murphy]] – song and score recording engineer, audio mixing
* Sharone Rice – assistant engineer
* Bill Easystone – assistant engineer
* [[Mike Piersante]] – assistant engineer
* Andy Bass – assistant engineer
* Dave Collins – digital editing, mastering engineer
* Letitia Rogers – assistant music editor
* Bobbi Page – vocal contractor
* Patti Zimmitti – orchestra contractor
* Mark Mann – music preparation
* Joel Franklin – music copyist
* Megan Cavallari – demo assistant
* Gary Adler – art director
{{col-end}}
=== Bonus Content ===
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
1. "[[This Is Halloween]]"
: Produced and Mixed by [[Marilyn Manson]] and [[Tim Skold]]
2. "Sally's Song"
: Produced by [[Mike Elizondo]]
: Mixed by Adam Hawkins
: Engineered by Adam Hawkins @ Phantom Studio, Westlake Village, CA
: Assistant Engineer: Erin J. Funk-Dublan
: [[Musical keyboard|Keyboards]]: Zac Rae
: [[Double bass|Upright Bass]]: Mike Elizondo
: [[Drum kit|Drums]]: [[Charley Drayton]]
: [[Strings (music)|Strings]]: [[The Section Quartet]] - [[Eric Gorfain]], Daphne Chen, Leah Katz, [[Richard Dodd]]
: String [[Arrangement]] by Eric Gorfain
: Project Coordinator: Jolie Levine
3. "What's This?"
: Produced and Mixed by Neal Avron
: Recorded by Neal Avron and Erich Talaba
: Pro Tools Engineer: Matt Green
: Assistant Engineer: Zeph Sowers
: Recorded at The Pass Studios, Los Angeles, CA
: Mixed at Paramount Studios, Hollywood, CA
: Mix Assistant: George Gumbs
{{col-2}}
4. "Kidnap the Sandy Claws"
: Produced by KoRn
5. "[[This Is Halloween]]"
: Produced by Panic! At the Disco and [[Rob Mathes]]
: Vocals Arranged by Ryan Ross and Brendon Urie
: Recorded by Panic! At the Disco at Ryan's house Las Vegas, NV
: Orchestra Arranged and Conducted by Rob Mathes
: Recorded by Mark Mandelhaum, assisted by Alex Venguer at Legacy Recording Studio, New York, NY
: Concertmaster and Orchestra Contractor: Sandra Park
: Music Copyist: Mike and Lori Casteel
: Mixed by Chris Shaw at Avatar Studios, New York, NY
6-11. Demos
: All Demo Vocals Performed by Danny Elfman
: [[Synthesizer|Synth]] Demo Tracks Arranged, Orchestrated and Performed by Danny Elfman
: Recorded by Bill Jackson
: Mixed by Noah Snyder
: Produced by Danny Elfman and [[Tim Burton]]
{{col-end}}
* [[A&R]]: Dani Markman
* Business affairs: Jeff Lowy
* Mastered by Pat Sullivan at Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood, CA
* Creative Direction: Steve Gerdes
* Album Design: Greg Ross for Orabor
== Foreign-language versions ==
{{unreferenced section|date=April 2020}}
There are several foreign-language versions of the soundtrack, each features tracks sung by vocalists in their native language as well as original score tracks by Danny Elfman.
* French, '''''L'Étrange Noël de Monsieur Jack'''''
::Jack - Olivier Constantin
::Sally - [[Nina Morato]]
::Oogie Boogie - [[Richard Darbois]]
::Santa Claus ([[Père Noël]]) - Henri Poirier
* German, '''''Nightmare Before Christmas'''''
::Jack - Alexander Goebel
::Sally - [[Nina Hagen]]
::Oogie Boogie - Ron Williams
::Santa Claus - Manfred Lichtenfeld
* Italian, '''''Nightmare Before Christmas'''''
::Jack - [[Renato Zero]]
::Sally - Marjorie Biondo
::Oogie Boogie (Bau-Bau) - Andrea Surdi
::Santa Claus (Babbo Natale) - [[Silvio Spaccesi]]
* Japanese, '''ナイトメアー・ビフォア・クリスマス'''
*:Jack (ジャック) - [[Masachika Ichimura]] (市村正親)
*:Sally (サリー) - Yuko Doi (土居裕子)
*:Oogie Boogie (ブギー) - Kobayashi Atom (小林アトム)
*:Santa Claus (サンタクロース) - Tomoaki Nagae (永江智明)
* Castilian Spanish, '''''Pesadilla antes de navidad'''''
::Jack - Tony Cruz
::Sally - María Caneda
::Oogie Boogie - Jesús Castejón
::Santa Claus - Julio Núñez
* Latin American Spanish, '''''El extraño mundo de Jack'''''
*:Jack - Sergio Zaldivar
*:Sally - Gabriela Vega
*:Oogie Boogie - Rubén Cerda
*:Santa Claus - José Lavat
* Russian, '''''Кошмар перед Рождеством'''''
*:Jack (Джек) - Aleksej Kortnyev (Алексей Кортнев)
*:Sally (Салли) - [[Tutta Larsen|Tutta Larsen (Тутта Ларсен)]]
*:Oogie Boogie (Бугимэн) - [[Nikolai Fomenko|Nikolai Fomenko (Николай Фоменко)]]
*:Santa Claus (Санта-Клаус) - Sergej Mazayev (Сергей Мазаев)
==Charts==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Chart performance for ''The Nightmare Before Christmas''
! scope="col"| Chart (2019–2023)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| [[Canadian Albums Chart|Canadian Albums]] (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/canadian-albums/2023-11-11|title=Billboard Canadian Albums Chart: Week of November 11, 2023|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=November 7, 2023|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
| 33
|-
! scope="row"| US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/2021-11-13|title=Billboard 200 - Week of November 13, 2021|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=November 9, 2021}}</ref>
| 36
|}
==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for ''The Nightmare Before Christmas''}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Danny Elfman|title=The Nightmare Before Christmas|award=Silver|type=album|relyear=1993|certyear=2023|id=19503-6568-2|accessdate=December 8, 2023}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Soundtrack|title=Nightmare Before Christmas|award=Gold|type=album|relyear=1993|certyear=2006|accessdate=June 28, 2022}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true}}
==See also==
* [[List of Billboard Top Holiday Albums number ones of the 2000s|List of ''Billboard'' Top Holiday Albums number ones of the 2000s]]
* [[List of Billboard Top Holiday Albums number ones of the 2010s|List of ''Billboard'' Top Holiday Albums number ones of the 2010s]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{The Nightmare Before Christmas}}
{{Danny Elfman}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nightmare Before Christmas, The}}
[[Category:1993 soundtrack albums]]
[[Category:1990s film soundtrack albums]]
[[Category:Danny Elfman soundtracks]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Danny Elfman]]
[[Category:Disney film soundtracks]]
[[Category:Disney animation soundtracks]]
[[Category:The Nightmare Before Christmas]]
[[Category:Walt Disney Records soundtracks]]
[[Category:Halloween albums]]