pintomusica

Cinephiles will know My Blueberry Nights as Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai's first American movie; music fans will know it as Norah Jones' first movie, period. Not only does she play one of the leads, but she also contributes a new song, "The Story," to the soundtrack. Backed by brushed drums, a stand-up bass, and a cool piano, Jones is at her jazziest and sultriest, oozing a sly honky-tonk, come-hither sensibility. Ry Cooder's score is represented by a trio of tracks; the best, "Ely Nevada," is a spooky little thing that feels lifted from a David Lynch movie, but Cooder's spectacular (and varied) guitar work is in evidence on all three cues.


Two other instrumentals are the acoustic, wistful "Pajaros," by Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain), and Shigeru Umebayashi's "Yumeji’s Theme," already in the director's In the Mood for Love. Fittingly, for a romantic road movie that takes place partly on the ghostly, highly symbolic Route 66, the rest of the album is made up of songs that represent very American sounds. Cat Power (who has a cameo in the film) brings two tunes from her Memphis album, The Greatest, and they coexist nicely next to Otis Redding's smoldering "Try a Little Tenderness," Cassandra Wilson's eerie cover of Neil Young's "Harvest Moon," and Mavis Staples' powerful take on "Eyes on the Prize." --Elisabeth Vincentelli (amazon.com)