Veering from his unlikely role revitalizing old-time bluegrass, T Bone Burnett explores different terrain this time around in his continued quest to revive the dying art of the soundtrack. His companion piece to the Ashley Judd/Sandra Bullock film Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood is as pleasantly unambitious as O Brother, Where Art Thou? was iconic, though it works along basically the same lines, combining vintage recordings with contemporary reworkings of traditional songs. Instead of country and folk, Sisterhood is packed with Cajun and blues tracks, boasting a lineup that includes Jimmy Reed, Ray Charles, Tony Bennett and Bob Dylan.
There's nothing here that isn't worth hearing, though some tracks are more successful than others. Taj Mahal's version of Fats Waller's "Keepin' Out Of Mischief Now" is one of his best, most unrestrained performances in years. Alison Krauss' mournful, lovely version of "Sitting In The Window Of My Room" is just about perfect, as are Richard & Linda Thompson's elegiac "Dimming Of The Day" and Ray Charles' "Lonely Avenue" (both previously released).
But three tracks from Cajun musician Ann Savoy is at least two too many, and Dylan's new, slightly gamey "Waitin' For You" is remarkable only because it exists, as Dylan rarely bothers with soundtracks.
Most of the younger artists stick to their own songs. Lauryn Hill's "Selah" would have fit nicely onto her Miseducation album, and Austin singer-songwriter Bob Schneider's little-heard "The World Exploded Into Love" (from his Lonelyland disc) gets a welcome airing. Macy Gray goes the interpretive route, be-bopping her way through an authentic version of Billie Holiday's obscure "I Want To Be Your Mother's Son-In-Law" with surprising success -- if only because, in this period context, her Betty-Boop-on-laughing-gas vocals seem oddly less frightening.
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