SERENDIPITY

Music from the Motion Picture
(Columbia/ Sony)

RATING: three and a half


How is it that the sappiest movies often have a canny instinct for hip soundtracks? The Pretty Woman OST was unusually quirky for its time, using tracks from David Bowie, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Jane Wiedlin alongside Roy Orbison and Roxette. More recently, there was One Fine Day, with such sweet retro classics by the Ad Libs, Ella Fitzgerald, and the Shirelles, and Natalie Merchant remaking the title song. My Best Friend’s Wedding had indie folk singer Ani DiFranco covering a Burt Bacharach classic.

This streak of unusually good taste continues with the soundtrack for Serendipity, this season’s big love story. The lineup comes from left field, with the artists summoned for this effort having more cult cred than mainstream success. Instead of going for the more obvious choices (Celine Dion? Vonda Shephard? Ronan Keating?), we have Bap Kennedy, Wood, David Gray, and Nick Drake. Like the film company that produced the movie, Miramax, the lineup isn’t exactly underground, but stays just far enough away from the mainstream to have a fairly high hip factor.

Actually, the Serendipity soundtrack is reminiscent of the surprisingly smart soundtracks for the television shows Felicity and Dawson’s Creek, which introduced their viewers to some very good musicians they’ve never heard of. In fact, Serendipity does have at least one thing in common with those two other OSTs: Heather Nova, who contributed songs to both, reappears on this soundtrack, performing “Like Lovers Do,” a song from her new album. Shawn Colvin also provides a link to the One Fine Day soundtrack, this time with “When You Know.” Even Chantal Kreviazuk, who made her name with a cloying cover of “Leaving on a Jet Plane” for Armageddon, does better here, offering the lighthearted and hopeful “This Year.”

It’s the lesser known artists, however, who provide the highlights. The sensitive, introspective “Never a Day” is a great introduction to the band Wood, while the delightful “Moonlight Kiss” is also the first I’d ever heard of Bap Kennedy. I’d consider the money for the CD well-spent if only for the introduction to these two artists.

There are also some old favorites whose presence on this album prove to be a welcome surprise. David Gray, long a favorite who just seems never to have caught on here, presents the beautiful instrumental “January Rain.” Annie Lennox sets aside the Eurythmics’ originals catalogue, choosing instead to redo Bob Marley’s classic “Waiting in Vain” as a love song. The little-known “Northern Sky” by Nick Drake is also called up for this outing; it’s a beautiful, poetic song that, I hope, will get the exposure it deserves this time around. The collection is rounded off with the jaunty “Cool Yule” performed by Louis Armstrong, a slice of fruitcake that comes just in time for the season.

Serendipity is a very tasteful album, and while the sapfest that is the movie starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale has gotten only bad to lukewarm reviews, its soundtrack succeeds in becoming everything the movie aspires to be: uplifting, surprisingly intelligent, and charming.—Kristine Fonacier