Track Listing

1. Mona Lisa - Seal
2. You Belong To Me - Tori Amos
3. Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered - Celine Dion
4. The Heart Of Every Girl - Elton John
5. Santa Baby - Macy Gray
6. Murder He Says - Tori Amos
7. Besame Mucho - Chris Isaak
8. Secret Love - Mandy Moore
9. What'll I Do - Alison Krauss
10. Istanbul (Not Constantinople) - The Trevor Horn Orchestra
11. Sh Boom (Life Could Be A Dream) - The Trevor Horn Orchestra
12. I'm Beginning To See The Light - Kelly Rowland
13. I've Got The World On A String - Lisa Stansfield
14. Smile - Barbra Streisand
15. Suite - Rachel Portman

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74824 in Music
• Released on: 2004-03-15
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Original language: English, Italian
• Running time: 117 minutes

Customer Reviews

Mona Lisa half-smiling
The movie has proved a popular success at the box office in its first week on release, but got something of a mixed response from the critics, who thought it was a pale imitation of "Dead Poets Society".

The music from the soundtrack album looks on paper to be manna from heaven; a combination of highly respected mega-stars singing dreamy 1940s standards. However, these things have a habit of being patchy and ultimately disappointing (for example the all-star tribute album of Gershwin songs) and this is no exception.

The high points first. The album kicks off with Seal sounding amazingly like Nat King Cole (which, as a one-off, works, but record companies please don't get any ideas!). Mandy Moore's higher register voice and languid treatment of "Secret Love" is a perfect antidote to the usual emotive readings, although the jaunty orchestral bridge and ending spoils things. Kelly Rowland and Lisa Stansfield sound perfectly at home on the two big band numbers - well, Lisa's at home with the genre anyway. And Barbra Streisand is up to form with the dreamy "Smile".

The other big names are less impressive. Tori Amos's tetchy vocals sound well out of place, and Macy Gray is unable make "Santa Baby" sound any better than the grot it is (it was fine for Eartha Kitt but many others, including Madonna, have tried it and failed). Celine Dion, Elton John and Chris Isaak contributions sound as if they were just going through the motions. And Alison Krauss is totally wasted on "What'll I Do", welcome though it may be to hear someone other than the "Birds Of A Feather" doing it.

The sound mix and production is somewhat odd. Perhaps to give it that authentic 40s feel, the percussion is so far back in the mix that you have to check your amp to make sure it's not faulty. All comes clear, however, with "The Trevor Horn Orchestra" tracks, actually choral versions, a la Ray Conniff Singers, and the more obviously big-band tracks beyond.

It's always nice to hear this material, and in truth it's not murdered. You just expect more from artists and producer of this calibre and you end up a bit disappointed.

everything old is new again
Whether its Seals uncanny rendition of Nat King Cole's Mona Lisa or Tori Amos becoming a stylish 50s bandsinger, the idea of rerecording classic songs with modern recording artists has seldomly paid off so well.And Elton Johns new song , The Heart of every Girl is a bouncy, snappable number that plays over the movie's end credits followed by Barbra Streisand's exquisite rendition of the Chaplin classic SMILE.Completed by a suite from Rachel Portman's dependably melodic score, this soundtrack leaves you smiling for a long time.

makes me smile like mona lisa
As soundtrack albums go, this is quite excellent - I would quite happily play this just for kicks. I actually bought it for the Macy Gray version of Santa Baby. The only songs that don't quite fit, to me, are Elton John (too modern and upbeat) and the Tori Amos tracks as her voice is slightly too sharp-edged. Still, I like it a lot and have it playing in the office today!