The Nightmare Before Christmas (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Treated like the proverbial redheaded stepchild of the Disney animation empire upon its initial release, Tim Burton's stop-motion holiday musical mash-up has long since gone from cult favorite to bona fide seasonal classic. Not the least of its charms is Danny Elfman's seductively macabre song-score, a musical romp that's the perfect fusion of his oft-mordant tunesmithing for Oingo Boingo and the Gothic-lite sensibilities of his subsequent film scoring career. Like a Broadway vet, Elfman's songs and orchestral score ably map both the exteriors of Burton's trans-holiday fantasy and the often bittersweet interiors of its characters. He's literally invested himself in much of the work here -- that's Elfman singing Jack Skellington's parts as well -- conjuring the dark spirits of "This is Halloween," the bittersweet "Sally's Song" and Phil Harris-channeling spookfest "Oogie Boogie's Song" at one turn and the irrepressible, contrasting holiday spirits of "What's This" and "Making Christmas" the next.