T Bone Burnett goes back to roots, movies

A combination of blue grass, blues and folk music, the soundtrack to the motion picture Cold Mountain has a charming feel to it. \nProduced by Grammy winner T Bone Burnett, the compilation includes new music from such award-winning artists as Alison Krauss, Gabriel Yared and Jack White, as well as the Sacred Harp Singers at Liberty Church. The greatest aspect of the album is the way in which many of the songs tell simplistic tales of people and their emotions in an easily relatable manner. The soft, flowing strings of banjos, violins and guitars take a backseat to the lyrics, which are filled with feeling.\nIn "You Will be My Ain True Love," Alison Krauss portrays the lyrics, "and as you walk through Death's dark face, the cannons thunder can't prevail," with such sensitivity that you can imagine her own heartache.\nJack White brings authenticity through five different blues pieces, and Gabriel Yared's sweeping compositions are all quite appropriate for the film's various scenes, which are set in the Civil War-era south.\nAll of the tracks, excepting Yared's works, have the same ring as the soundtrack from O' Brother, Where Art Thou. This is not surprising as both albums were produced by T Bone Burnett and feature many of the same artists. Fans of the represented genres will surely enjoy this CD -- all others need not apply.