HAVING TURNED BLUEGRASS INTO GREEN, MUSICIANS COME TO L.A.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

Whichever artist wins the Grammy Award for best album Feb. 27 will get a neat sales boost. But one of the nominees, the rootsy soundtrack to ``O Brother, Where Art Thou?,'' is already the year's steadiest - and most unlikely - seller.

Certified quadruple platinum, the ``O Brother'' disc features a selection of Southern musical idioms encompassing tunes from the nation's rich history. The project received seven Grammy nods, the Country Music Association's album and single of the year trophies, and is clearly the best-selling country album of the year, occupying the top position on the country albums chart for more than five months.

Like the Buena Vista Social Club phenomenon of the late '90s, in which vintage Cuban folk and jazz was made trendy, the success of ``O Brother'' started gathering steam at National Public Radio and in influential newspapers and magazines. Also, outside of Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss, the artists on the soundtrack were unknown to mainstream audiences.

``I would say it was a process of discovery where people heard the music in the movie and liked it, then read about the album and started hearing the songs again on a few radio stations,'' said Sharon White of the Whites, a Texas bluegrass-gospel vocal trio which appears on the ``O Brother'' album.

As proof of its popularity, a tribute to the Coen brothers film soundtrack will be among the performances at the 44th annual Grammy show, broadcast from Staples Center. Sunday, musicians from the album will gather at the Universal Amphitheatre under the ``Down From the Mountain'' banner, a reference to the ``mountain music'' label covering timeless rural acoustic genres like bluegrass, country blues, gospel and folk.

The soundtrack also spawned a documentary film and Grammy-nominated live album, ``Down From the Mountain,'' of the ``O Brother'' musicians playing at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium in May 2000.

Everyone involved in the ``O Brother'' musical project is shocked at its success, which gathered momentum outside the usual marketing channels such as commercial radio airplay and MTV videos. Two weeks ago, the soundtrack peaked at No. 10 in the pop albums list, where it has remained for more than a year.

``People nevertheless discovered it and it became the gold record we always wanted,'' filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen said. ``But, gold record notwithstanding, this is music that evolved in everyday performance.''

Sunday's ``Down From the Mountain'' concert includes Krauss & Union Station, Harris, Patty Loveless, Ralph Stanley, the Whites, Norman and Nancy Blake, Chris Thomas King (who had a memorable role as Tommy Johnson in the Coens' comedy), the Peasall Sisters, the Nashville Bluegrass Band and Bob Neuwirth. There will be individual and collective performances, ending with everyone together on stage.

``It's music that communicates honestly with people,'' says Neuwirth, musical director of the tour along with producer T-Bone Burnett. ``The songs deal with life, death, God and the devil. It's got all the elements of great drama with universal themes. You don't need a face lift, a $10,000 wardrobe and gelled hair.''

The fact that audiences loved the film had a lot to do with the music's success. ``O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' stars George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson as ragged convicts in the 1920s who escape from their chain gang and hit the road. The good-natured fun begins after the trio makes a record under the name of the Soggy Bottom Boys and the song becomes a hit.

The soundtrack is an anthology of bluegrass standards, including ``Big Rock Candy Mountain,'' ``Keep on the Sunny Side'' and ``You Are My Sunshine.'' The Soggy Bottom Boys tune ``I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow,'' based on an arrangement by bluegrass greats the Stanley Brothers, features a lineup of first-rate singers and musicians, including Krauss' Union Station ensemble and the Nashville Bluegrass Band. Both acts are on the tour.

``We've been looking out at the audience and it's pretty amazing what we see,'' White said. ``It's all kinds of folks - all ages, all types. You get the feeling people have been waiting to hear something like this - music that has a heart you can actually feel.''

Adds Neuwirth, a singer-songwriter with longtime ties to the roots-music scene: ``When we played New York, some of these people (the performers) had tears in their eyes. They were so nervous 'cause they'd heard about these jaded New Yorkers who just sit and stare. Then they got out there and people were jumping out of their seats.''

DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN: MUSIC FROM ``O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?''

Where: Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City.

When: 8:15 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets: $35 to $80. Call [phone] or www.ticketmaster.com.

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4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 3 -- cover -- color) Alison Krauss, top, Colin Linden with Chris Thomas King and Emmylou Harris and part of the ``Down From the Mountain'' concert at Universal Amphitheatre on Sunday.

(4) Buck White, left, Sharon White Skaggs and Cheryl White Warren - the Whites - play Universal Amphitheatre on Sunday with the other artists on the ``O Brother'' tour.