It's love (and sex)

Sun, 06/29/2008 10:56 AM | Entertainment

Artist: Various Artists
Album: Sex And The City (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Label: Decca/Universal Music
Rating: **1/2 out of *****
Standout Tracks: Mercy, How Deep Is Your Love, Auld Lang Syne

Sex And The City on HBO was a revolution in the history of cable television. It has an impeccable 'bardic voice' in which viewers can just jump into any episode and follow the plot and story easily without watching the previous one.

Better yet, the series could successfully portray a city, New York City, as the brightest star of them all.

Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha are four ladies who live in Manhattan, and they rarely leave the city. All have good (or bad) times with their love lives. Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) is the leading lady as she narrates the story of their life through her journal.

Just like the characters' existence, this soundtrack has its ups and downs.

The upside here is Mercy, a runaway hit song by the British singer Duffy. Not only her sound retro (it has a dubby Motown-like bassline) but the musical approach is antithetical to the rest of the commercial music sound design. It's a standout and thanks to this film, some people will discover Duffy's great singing skills.

How Deep Is Your Love? by The Bird & The Bee is a cheap steal, but it works as the song's sweet melody has an lasting appeal. A previous cover of the song by Take That did not work as well. Because the singer of The Bird & The Bee is a woman, it feels refreshing. It's too bad the song is less than three and a half minutes long.

Auld Lang Syne by Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis, is an old song (again). It is a folk song traditionally sung on New Year's Day. Many of the rather rock-ish tunes in this soundtrack will be stale soon, but this serene lullaby has 'classic' written all over it.

If you truly love Sex And The City, both the movie and series, this album will be a great companion.

However, the other songs could be a nuisance or seem out of context (Labels Or Love by Fergie or Walk This Way by RUN D.M.C., Steve Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith) without the moving images of the four fashion-conscious divas.

-- Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo

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