Happy Texas soundtrack (Arista Nashville, 1999)
Various Artists
Reviewed by Eli Messinger
The styles range widely, from the retro-swing and honky-tonk of Parnell and Mo', BR5-49, Robert Earl Keen and Brown, to the Nashville pop of Tillis (reprising Linda Davis' "After a Kiss") and Paisley. In between, Scruggs and Joan Osborne rock a bluesy tune from his latest LP, and Harris presents the set's folky jewel, "Ordinary Heart" (co-written by the ever-impressive Kimmie Rhodes). Perhaps the most puzzling inclusions are Moore's downbeat modern-pop "Happiness" and Yma Sumac's exotic 1950's vocal pyrotechnics. The former, by an Arista artist, smacks of marketing, the latter's quirkiness suggests the filmmakers' hand.
As a soundtrack these songs may work wonderfully. On its own, however, the CD is erratic and offers but a few new choice items.
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