Cold Mountain

Cold Mountain

1	Wayfaring Stranger 4:25
2	Like a Songbird That Has Fallen 3:13
3	I Wish My Baby Was Born 3:09
4	The Scarlet Tide 2:59
5	The Cuckoo 1:39
6	Sitting on Top of the World 3:48
7	Am I Born to Die? 2:32
8	You Will Be My Ain True Love 2:31
9	I'm Going Home 2:18
10	Never Far Away 3:40
11	Chistmas Time Will Soon Be Over 3:16
12	Ruby With the Eyes That Sparkle 3:11
13	Lady Margret / Cassie Franklin 3:02
14	Great High Mountain 4:33
15	Anthem 3:24
16	Ada Plays 3:18
17	Ada and Inman 5:03
18	Love Theme 3:40
19	Idumea / Sacred Harp Singers 3:18

Barnes & Noble

Directed by Anthony Minghella (The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley) and based on Charles Frazier's bestselling Civil War novel, Cold Mountain tells the story of wounded Confederate soldier Inman (Jude Law), who embarks on a perilous journey home to his mountain community -- and to his sweetheart, Ada (Nicole Kidman). For a musical match to this epic tale, Minghella tapped esteemed producer T-Bone Burnett, the man behind O Brother, Where Art Thou?'s acclaimed soundtrack. Burnett has assembled a sweeping set of folk- and bluegrass-inspired music, which he pairs with selections from the film's stirring score by Oscar winner Gabriel Yared (The English Patient, Possession). Highlights include several newly recorded songs by Jack White of the White Stripes (who makes a cameo in the film), as well as two new tracks from bluegrass queen Alison Krauss.

All Music Guide

Miramax hops on the old-timey bandwagon with the release of the soundtrack for Anthony Minghella's Civil War epic Cold Mountain. Like O Brother, Where Art Thou?'s dark, older sibling, the latest collection of blues, ballads, and laments from producer T-Bone Burnett is a veritable dictionary of traditional country and Americana, but with a weightier muse. Jack White opens the record with a stark rendition of "Wayfaring Stranger" featuring Nashville heavyweights Stuart Duncan, Norman Blake, and Dirk Powell. For the most part, the White Stripes frontman successfully transplants himself into the genre, utilizing his throaty warble on Howlin' Wolf's "Sittin' on Top of the World" like a dust-bowl carny, and channeling fellow tenor Ralph Stanley on "Great High Mountain." However, it's the self-penned "Never Far Away" that elevates White above his garage rock trappings. With its delicate front-porch picking and wistful lyrics, it manages to walk the line between heartache and puppy love with a sweetness that's genuinely moving. That same bleeding heart pumps through Alison Krauss' delivery of Elvis Costello's powerful "Scarlet Tide," a ballad of devastating beauty that works almost like a spiritual. Recovering songwriter Sting contributes the record's only bad apple, the bland "You Will Be My Ain True Love." Krauss does her best to paint the tune in period colors, but Sting -- who insists on singing harmony -- keeps the piece firmly entrenched in the very nonsepia-toned world of adult-contemporary pop. Unfortunately, the orchestral work for the film is hastily assembled as if it were an afterthought. While it may lack the initial punch of Tim Eriksen's "I Wish My Baby Was Born" or either of the shape-note tunes provided by the Sacred Harp Singers at Liberty Church, Burnett clusters composer Gabriel Yared's understated score at the end of the record, delegating it as filler, which is unfair, as its quiet power mirrors the songs as well as the characters. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi

Rolling Stone

Cold Mountain's salvation is the Sacred Harp Singers at Liberty Church, a shaped-note choral group that delivers its two hymns with an otherworldly intensity. Gaylord Fields