Various Artists
Cold Mountain Original Soundtrack
(Sony)
It was a shrewd move to second garage rock's auteur du jour, Jack White, for this gorgeous accompaniment to one of the year's most talked-about motion pictures. White, who also appears in the film, where he met former sweetheart Renee Zellweger, features on five of the 19 tracks. He penned one original, the plaintive and threadbare Never Far Away, which would not be out of place on the White Stripes' Unplugged. Elsewhere, White reinterprets traditional tunes, including the opener Wayfaring Stranger, the rousing jig Christmas Time Will Soon Come and a ragged reading of the Howlin' Wolf classic, Sittin' On Top Of The World.
And while White's contributions have generated the most buzz, there are many others worthy of their place. The gospel stylings of the Sacred Harp Singers (I'm Going Home and Idumea) are stunning for their grace, and the dueling fiddle and banjo of the The Cuckoo, performed by Tim Eriksen and Riley Baugus, will bring out the hillbilly in any listener.
This collection comes with some strong ties to the O Brother, Where Art Thou? project that opened the world's ears to American folk music. Former Bob Dylan sideman T-Bone Burnett oversaw production, and imparts the same passion he brought to O Brother.