My Blueberry Nights Soundtrack

My Blueberry Nights is a road picture; a journey that is both literal and figurative. The music, released by Blue Note on a 14-track "Music from the Motion Picture" CD is intensely and completely integrated into the film in both senses. It's an apt soundtrack to a cross-country road trip, and an insightful reflection of the moods and development of the characters and the journey. This is Wong Kar Wai's first English language film, and it opened Cannes last year. The essential score was written by Ry Cooder: a master at integrating sonic landscapes with cinematographic ones. The film's cast includes Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz. The CD's track list includes a cast as stellar, featuring Cassandra Wilson, Otis Redding, Cat Power and Ry and Joachim Cooder themselves. This record is a traveler's must for beating those summer gas price blues. It stands on it's own, apart from and integral to the movie, perfectly.

My Blueberry Nights stars none other than Norah Jones as Elizabeth, the soul-searching protagonist in her film debut. A mysterious and seductive photo of Ms Jones on the back cover of the package illustrates, once again, that she is as beautiful as she is talented. Norah opens the record with a new tune, "The Story." It's a very Norah Jones cut, sultry and sensuous with a world weary, reflective lyric. Lee Alexander, Norah's bassist and frequent collaborator, produced the track with an easy laconic style that is very like Mr. Cooder himself. The second verse begins, "I don't know how it will end, with all those record playin'..." Not only is it completely suited to the film, it's a perfect opening to the album. "The Story" is followed by a Chan Marshall song from Cat Power's The Greatest, and the title track closes the Blueberry CD. Cat Power, AKA Chan Marshall also appears in the film. Her soulful and subtle voice is wonderful.

The outline of the story here is that Elizabeth, disenchanted and heart-broken, embarks on a soul searching and healing journey of self-discovery from New York to California along the venerable Route 66. While neither Joni's "California" or Nat Cole's "Route 66" are included here, there are some awesome "classics" on the CD. Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness" and Mavis Staple's "Eyes On The Prize," both definitive cuts by incredibly powerful artists flesh out the CD. Cassandra Wilson's haunting take on Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" adds dark emotional intensity.

Ry Cooder contributes several mood settings. The most "song like" is Hello Stranger's (Joachim's band) "Devil's Highway," featuring vocals by Juliette Commagere. This track, and several others with the combined Cooder team imprint give the collection a certain "Lost Highway" vibe that blends perfectly with the self-discovery theme that uplifts the overall tone. Three Cooder instrumentals (in the Paris, Texas mode) and a Gustavo Santaolalla instrumental, "Pajaros" are interspersed with the songs to round out the album. Finally, in the review not the a;bum, Ruth Brown's awesome, soul-filled, heart grabbing "Looking Back" sums up all the regrets anybody's ever had and hangs those tears out to dry. The My Blueberry Nights CD is a fantastic compilation of moving songs and instrumental interludes.

By Dave Morgan