Various Artists – The Hottest State Soundtrack

First things first, any sympathetic soul would like to rave about the soundtrack to The Hottest State, the movie, based on his novel, was written and directed by Ethan Hawke. Why? The reviews to the movie have been particularly harsh with the Chicago Tribune calling the flick "self-important" and "disheartening" while the influential movie website Premiere said the screenplay was full of "trite observations" and was guilty of "shockingly flat writing." Ouch.

Those reviews are not much of a shock as the novel the movie was based on did not receive many accolades when it was published either. Knowing this, one would like to say something positive about Hawke's The Hottest State and the most obvious subject area would be the film's soundtrack. You see, the Training Day actor has always had a keen ear for music as proof of his using Wilco's Jeff Tweedy to score a previous movie of his has shown.

Unfortunately, there is not too much to recommend about the 18 songs on The Hottest State. The CD is an interesting concept as Hawke used it to showcase the writing of Jessie Harris. The New York songwriter most known for his work on Norah Jones Grammy-winning song "Don't Know Why" wrote every single track here. The actor/writer/director also wisely decided to use a wide array of artists to perform on the soundtrack including Willie Nelson, Feist, Cat Power, Bright Eyes, and Harris and Jones themselves.

With all of those talented artists, you would think the soundtrack would be an interesting one for the listener but it turns out to be disappointing one instead as the sparse, organic vibe of the majority of the songs end up making the record sluggish and tired at times.

Every track does not come across that way, however. Bright Eyes do a great job on "Big Old House" with an eclectic performance along with a sunny horn arrangement and an impressive use of pedal steel. The Black Keys' version of "If You Ever Slip" is the lone rocker of the bunch and it adds some much needed muscular bite.

Of the many slower songs, the cream of the crop are the bluesy, piano-based "World of Trouble" performed by Norah Jones and the somber, country-jazz number "Always Seem To Get Things Wrong" sung by Willie Nelson.

In the end, however, the soundtrack to The Hottest State does not stand out enough on its own. The songs might be perfect for particular scenes in the movie and it might be successful on that level though. But based on those reviews by film critics, who wants to sit through the entire movie to find out?