*North American release only
**Previously unreleased
The inclusion of the elusive Elvis Costello track, the cover of Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful," from "Autopsy," is worth the cost of the album (she says before knowing what the cost will be). The soundtrack would be seriously lacking if it omitted "You Can't Always Get What You Want," which humorously and then poignantly bookended season one. And if you can't get the Rolling Stones, what better than the curiosity factor of listening to Band From TV — that's Hugh Laurie, Greg Grunberg of Heroes, James Denton of Desperate Housewives, and other actor/musicians.
There are so many sad omissions here that it would be ungrateful to whine about them. There have been, what, 70 episodes, with at least one memorable song in most? That's not going to boil down into one CD, even if you imagine the show could get the rights to put them all on their soundtrack. Within those limits, they've done a good job of picking some emotion-laden tracks that evoke memorable scenes or character moments.
"Got to Be More Careful" by Jon Cleary is what I think of as the anthem of the Vogler arc (great song, not such a great arc, but an important one). Ben Harper's "Waiting on an Angel" was used in "Lines in the Sand," when House made a connection with the autistic boy. Who could forget "Feelin' Alright" by Joe Cocker playing in the priceless final moments of "Detox," when House was on a long-awaited high after admitting he's an addict but insisting that isn't a problem. Lucinda Williams' gorgeous "Are You Alright?" ends "Fetal Position," when House sits at home alone in his own version of the fetal position. And Josh Ritter's "Good Man" rounds out the season in "Human Error," with House alone in a very different way, having pushed out or fired all his staff.
Since I have at least most of the missing tracks already, I'm not sure why I care if they're on the official release, but Grant Lee Buffalo's "Happiness" reminds me of House himself every time I hear it, as does Ryan Adam's "Desire" to a lesser extent. And including Dave Matthew's "Some Devil" would have seemed fitting since the man himself eventually appeared on the show.
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