In celebration of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button soundtrack being released last Friday, I’ve decided to rank the songs in this fantastic musical. For context, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Pickled Crab LTD, 2025) involves the story of Benjamin, a man who ages backwards. Throughout the story, we learn about the importance of living in the moment and how everything is all just a matter of time.
18: A Glass Bottle
This song is very short but does a good job of continuing the story. Benjamin finds the bottle he had wrote earlier and realises what is important to him. I don’t particularly think this is much of a song but the melody works well for the purpose of the story.
17: The Pickled Crab
An instrumental song which introduces both us and Benjamin to the Pickled Crab pub. The song is high energy and requires impressive work from the cast to pull off. However, the song is short and doesn’t pose much purpose within the story due to a lack of lyrics.
16: Anythin’s Possible
Benjamin talks to Elowen as she is dying, having a similar discussion to their first interaction. The song isn’t particularly one you’d sing a long too, but the tune works incredibly well within the show. However, on the soundtrack, it’s not one I will be revisiting often.
15: The Last Part of the Journey
This song finishes the story as the ensemble discuss the final years of Benjamin’s life. It works well narratively but not necessarily as a stand alone song.
14: To Be Cast to the Sea
Benjamin is persuaded to write a letter to his love, Elowen. He throws this in a bottle into the ocean. The song is short and suits the purpose within the show, but is not a song I would listen to as a stand-alone song.
13: Rag Ty Yw Tre
A soft tune to open the musical in the language of Cornish. It brings about a mysterious tune which works well with the upcoming story. However, with a run time of less than a minute, I can’t place it any higher in the ranking.
12: Matter of Time (I and II)
Both parts of this song pull in the idea that everybody is affected by time: changing your fate depending on the time. I enjoy both parts in the show as they make for some backstory for minor characters. However, on the soundtrack, they wouldn’t be songs which I would actively put on. Regardless, I do enjoy the ‘It’s all just a matter of time’ lyrics: helping to bring across the message of the show.
11: Time
Again, this song is not one I remember very well from the show. Therefore, I am excited to listen to it on the soundtrack. Throughout the song, Elowen sings about how they should make the most of the time they have together: forgetting difficulties and enjoying time. Clare Foster sings this song incredibly well and I’m excited to listen to it more!
10: The Moon and the Sea
Benjamin and Elowen start to fall in love underneath the moon. This beautiful duet allows both John Dagleish and Clare Foster to show off their incredible vocal range. The metaphors are strong with this song: discussing how one of them is the moon and the other is the sea. In the show, this is one of the early emotional moments between both characters. It’s just a fantastic song and a must listen too from the album.
9: Home (and reprise)
Benjamin joins the ‘The Salty Maid’ to become a fisherman. The song is fairly short and allows for a sea shanty like style of lyrics as we see the cast getting ready to go fishing. The song is reprised later on in the show as Benjamin finds what his ‘home’ is. Personally; the reprise is significantly better than this version. Benjamin discovers what is important to him: returning back to his family. The song works well at showing off John Dagleish’s incredible voice and the instruments used are soft: allowing focus on vocals instead.
8: The Western Winds
Roger walks through the local town in preparation for his son’s birth: unknowing that Benjamin may not be the same as everyone else. The song boasts a range of jokes, multiple melodies and offers opportunities for the whole cast to join in with an opening number. The use of ‘time and tide wait for no man’ helps to foreshadow future events within the show. Similarly, this is the first time ‘it’s all just a matter of time’ is used: an ongoing phrase within the show. It’s a fantastic, fun and engaging opening number for a magical show.
7: Rollin’ Away
Taking a 180 from the previous scene, this song leads an upbeat track as Benjamin attempts to find an answer to his aging. The song is catchy and is a fun listen on the soundtrack. The ensemble’s voices are fantastic and you can hear the passion behind the words they are singing. It’s a song I don’t remember well from the show so I’m looking forward to listening to it more now that the soundtrack is available.
6: The Kraken’s Lullaby
This song follows Benjamin’s mother, Mary, sings a lullaby about a kraken. In this case, she believes that Benjamin is the kraken, a monster which needs to be put down. At times she uses lyrics like ‘I hope he won’t wake from his sleep’ and discusses how being the monster’s mother would be worst fate. The song ends very dramatically (I won’t mention how). The tune is akin to a lullaby, with calm backing vocals. The song also allows for a wave sound, which makes for an enjoyable listen. Compared to some of the other songs, this song is less optimistic: giving a contrast to the future of the show. On the soundtrack, this is immaculately sung.
5: A Little Life
Benjamin wishes that he could live a ‘little life’ but being born so close to dying takes this opportunity away: until he finds out he ages backwards. The song is upbeat and makes you excited to see Benjamin live a little life for himself. John Dagleish is such a fantastic Benjamin and his voice in this song is amazing, showing both emotion and incredible vocals. Similarly, the rest of the cast give fantastic vocal harmonies: leading to a speculate song!
4: The Tide Is Comin’ In (including reprise)
Benjamin and Elowen sing at the beach with their new son, Lochran. Benjamin, at this point in the show, is still yet to tell his family that he is ageing backwards. The song does a great job of discussing the problem that Benjamin faces as he doesn’t know what to do about his ageing. The use of the ensemble discussing how his life is built on a lie adds pressure to Benjamin: resulting in questionable actions later on in the show. The reprise happens after a tragedy takes place and allows Benjamin come face to face with his problem. On the soundtrack, this song sounds amazing and they really have nailed the live music played in the theatre.
3: Will You Go?
Benjamin and Elowen plan on running away together. However, when they go to each other’s home, the opposite parent convinced them that have gone their separate ways. The song is very upbeat with a fast melody. It really does feel like a song with urgency, as both parties feel the need to run away together with their new found love. Unfortunately, due to the misunderstanding, the two go their separate ways: leaving the opportunity to find love. However, ‘it is all just a matter of time’ before they are reunited.
2: Shippin’ Out Tomorrow
Benjamin and his friend Jack attends the Navy ball. Whilst there, he just so happens to meet back up with Elowen. This song has so many different layers to the tune. The beginning of the song has the ensemble singing about Benjamin and Elowen being at the same place. It leads into a brass instrumental which sounds fantastic, by the ensemble. Meanwhile, Benjamin and Elowen start to fall in love all over again. The ending of the song mixes previous songs together to add atmosphere to the first kiss between our loves. This song is one of the best within the show: ending the first act on such a high that you can’t possible not return for more!
1: When E’re She Looked At Me
The celebrations continue in the Pickled Crab as they continue to sing along. Throughout the song, we learn about Benjamin and Elowen’s growing relationship as Benjamin keeps going back for beer. The song does a clever job of showing and telling at the same time. As we watch the show, we see Benjamin and Elowen’s relationship grow whilst also hearing the ensemble sing about the same story. I particularly enjoy the different parts of this song, especially the multiple instruments used to give the song some real flair. It’s the best song in the show, receiving a massive audience reaction when I saw the show.
Max
References:
Pickled Crab LTD (2025) ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’. Available at: https://benjaminbuttonmusical.com (Accessed: 19/05/2025)
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