William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet

ROMEO & JULIET is an enhanced CD which contains multimedia information accessible with a CD-ROM drive as well as a full-length musical program accessible with any normal CD player.

On this electric, evocative soundtrack album, alternative, R&B and gospel artists perform music that vibrates with the energy of Baz Luhrmann's unconventional film version of the William Shakespeare play. Although completely modern, the album remains true to the passion and tragedy of the original story and lives up to the imagery of the visually striking film.

Standouts of the eclectic set include Radiohead's brooding "Talk Show Host," Des'ree's poignant, innocent "Kissing You (Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet)" and the dark, trippy desperation of "#1 Crush," by Garbage, which offers as the opening line of the record a mournful, melodramatic "I would die for you, I would die for you." The contrast of sweetness and ferocity mirrors the dramatic range of emotions in the film, in which the fervor of first love is buffeted by the intense hatred between rival families.