Sex and the City [PA]

Performer: Original Soundtrack
Artist: Joss Stone; Steven Tyler
Distributor: Alternative Dis. Alliance

Notes: Liner Note Author: Michael Patrick King. Photographer: Greg Allen. The soundtrack to the 2008 big-screen arrival of HBO's SEX AND THE CITY features a fittingly glamorous set of pop songs to accompany the urban adventures of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda. Reflecting the movie's fashionable New York City setting, this collection includes Fergie's sleek "Labels or Love," which plays on one of the dramedy's central themes, and the soulful, clothes-conscious "All Dressed in Love," a tune belted out by SEX co-star Jennifer Hudson. Other highlights of this proudly cosmopolitan compilation include Morningwood's rocked-out "New York Girls" and Al Green's stirring "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart," performed with young R&B acolyte Joss Stone. Big-budget films call for big-budget soundtracks, so the silver screen 2008 debut of Sex and the City gets a much splashier treatment than the 2004 soundtrack to the television series. That 2004 set struck a balance between New York cabaret and club, with just a hint of feminist pop in Aimee Mann and Imani Coppola. The 2008 Sex and the City is decidedly splashier, cutting out Bette Midler and replacing her with a heaping dose of hipsters of all kinds, ranging from wannabe indie rockers Morningwood to the inescapable bling soul-pop of Fergie, whose grotesque "Labels or Love" perverts both the S&TC themes, musical and meaning. Some might say that the film itself perverts the show but whether it does or not, it's not an issue with the soundtrack, which is kind of its own entity, as much as a movie tie-in can be. It would be a mixed bag regardless of whether or not the movie was any good, as it mixes a new cut from the movie's co-star Jennifer Hudson ("All Dressed in Love," her first big tune since Dreamgirls) and a track from neo-folkies the Weepies with India.Arie singing Don Henley, a dorky Nina Simone remix, and two Bee Gees covers -- the Bird and the Bee tackle "How Deep Is Your Love" and Al Green duets with Joss Stone on "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart." Some cuts feel as if they serve the film (why else have "Auld Lang Syne" on the record? Or Run-D.M.C.'s "Walk This Way" in this context?), much feels as if it's here only because there's a girl singer (only "Walk This Way" is all testosterone), and it's hard to imagine listening to it from beginning to end, but cherry-picking the best moments makes for a pleasurable experience that may wind up making it an appropriate soundtrack to the movie itself. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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