"One Night at McCool's" Soundtrack Lyrics

“One Night at McCool’s (Songs from the Motion Picture, 2001)” – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Overview

What if the femme fatale brought her own playlist? In One Night at McCool’s, the soundtrack treats Jewel’s shape-shifting charms like station presets — disco strut, trip-hop haze, glam melancholy. Arrival → adaptation → rebellion → collapse: she walks into a neighborhood bar, adapts to every man’s fantasy, sparks petty rebellions, then watches their stories collapse into a screwball crime tangle. The album mirrors that arc with punchy singles and a short, knowing score suite.

The commercial compilation leans left of obvious: a-ha’s velvet-dark ballad sits next to Village People camp; Johnny Cash’s outlaw growl shares space with Morcheeba’s downtempo silk; Ween detours into stoner swagger. Marc Shaiman threads it together with a compact suite that winks at noir without getting precious.

As per AllMusic’s listing, the album landed in spring 2001 and runs just over 47 minutes; Variety’s credits pin Shaiman as composer with Peter Afterman supervising clearances — a combo that explains the album’s pop breadth.

Genres & themes in phases: glossy pop (seduction → setup), alt/indie curveballs (mistrust → misreadings), disco/novelty (male delusion → comic release), trip-hop (schemes → fallout), classic country (reckoning), noirish score (ironic fate).

How It Was Made

Composer: Marc Shaiman. Music supervision: Peter Afterman. Album concept: a Universal/UMG-distributed various-artists set capped with a “Score Suite” from Shaiman. According to the trade credits, the brief was tonal collage: each man’s POV gets a different radio — and the bar’s jukebox stitches them together.

Tracks & Scenes

“Love Is Alive” — Joan Osborne
Where it plays: Early bar-room energy as Jewel sizes up the room; a familiar ’70s hit re-sung with smoky conviction.
Why it matters: Announces the movie’s game — classic sentiments, modern edges.

“Velvet” — a-ha
Where it plays: Slow-motion entrances and private fantasizing; soft focus, hard intent.
Why it matters: The film’s sultry core — romantic, a little dangerous, perfectly unhurried.

“Sexy Body” — Jungle Brothers
Where it plays: Randy’s heady montage after his first “win” with Jewel; swagger outpaces judgment.
Why it matters: Hip-house confidence as blindfold — we hear the mistake before he sees it.

“Y.M.C.A.” — Village People
Where it plays: A party beat crashes a law-and-order moment; dance-floor camp inside a crime farce.
Why it matters: Tonal whiplash on purpose — laughter is a narrative weapon.

“Love Is Rare” — Morcheeba
Where it plays: Post-mischief exhale; Jewel’s gaze turns gauzy, the room dims, someone gets played.
Why it matters: Downtempo as deceit — the groove is too smooth to trust.

“Take Me Away” — Ween
Where it plays: A getaway that isn’t; wheels spin, the plan doesn’t.
Why it matters: Off-kilter charm for off-kilter thinking.

“Wanted Man” — Johnny Cash
Where it plays: Police chatter and bad decisions; the lyric lands like a dare.
Why it matters: Outlaw country as Greek chorus.

“Score Suite” — Marc Shaiman
Where it plays: Album closer; on screen its motifs dot interrogations, trysts, and cross-cut confessions.
Why it matters: A compact noir pastiche that grins — muted brass, brushed snares, and sly woodwinds.

Notes & Trivia

• The retail album runs 12 tracks; digital listings mirror the 47-minute program (release week April 2001).
• Peter Afterman’s credit explains the eclectic pull — camp classics, UK trip-hop, Scandinavian pop, and alt mischief in one basket.
• a-ha’s “Velvet” (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy/Lauren Savoy) is a deep-cut choice that doubles as Jewel’s theme in feel, if not name.
• Shaiman’s cues aren’t issued separately; the OST’s closing “Score Suite” is the primary official score release.

Music–Story Links

Each man hears a different movie. Randy hears dance-floor bravado (“Sexy Body”), Carl hears outlaw glory (“Wanted Man”), and Detective Dehling hears soft-focus romance (“Velvet”). Jewel drifts between them, and the jukebox obliges — a trick the album preserves by sequencing bounce beside brood. Shaiman’s suite ties off the threads with a winky, noir-lite cadence.

Reception & Quotes

Reviews of the film were mixed; the soundtrack earned kinder notices for its “better-than-it-needs-to-be” curation and that final, droll score button.

“Music by Marc Shaiman; music supervision by Peter Afterman.” — according to Variety’s credits note

“Release Date: April 3, 2001 … Duration: 47:16.” — as per AllMusic

Interesting Facts

• Cover vs. catalog: Joan Osborne opens with a Gary Wright staple (“Love Is Alive”) re-cast in smoky alt-soul.
• Camp as blade: “Y.M.C.A.” isn’t just comic — it undercuts a macho fantasy beat for a laugh that stings.
• Trip-hop truth serum: Morcheeba’s “Love Is Rare” scores the film’s most honest lie.
• Alt curveball: Ween’s “Take Me Away” keeps the chaos unserious — until it isn’t.
• Score in miniature: Shaiman’s suite is a tour of noir colors: muted brass, brushes, woodwinds, sly bass walks.

Technical Info

• Title: One Night at McCool’s — Songs from the Motion Picture
• Year: 2001
• Type: Various-artists soundtrack + score suite
• Composer: Marc Shaiman
• Music Supervisor: Peter Afterman
• Label/edition: Universal/UMG-distributed release; 12 tracks (~47:16)
• Notable placements (selection): Joan Osborne “Love Is Alive”; a-ha “Velvet”; Jungle Brothers “Sexy Body”; Touch & Go “So Hot”; Ween “Take Me Away”; Village People “Y.M.C.A.”; Morcheeba “Love Is Rare”; Johnny Cash “Wanted Man”; Marc Shaiman “Score Suite”.
• Trailer Video ID: WvcpwTe0FeQ
• Availability: Streaming on major platforms; physical CD widely circulated.

Questions & Answers

Who composed the score?

Marc Shaiman — his work appears as a compact “Score Suite” on the OST.

Is there a separate score album?

No official standalone; the suite on the compilation is the principal release.

Why such an eclectic song list?

The film’s POV-carousel invites genre shifts; the music supervision leans into that joke and keeps the energy up.

Which track best captures Jewel’s aura?

a-ha’s “Velvet” — slow, inviting, and just dangerous enough.

Where can I hear the album?

On Apple Music/Spotify under the 2001 compilation; the sequence clocks ~47 minutes.

Canonical Entities & Relations

Sources: AllMusic (release date/runtime); Discogs master & release pages (track/credit details); Apple Music & Spotify (public album sequence); Variety review credits (composer/supervision); Rotten Tomatoes/Metacritic credit pages; YouTube trailer page.

November, 18th 2025