Moulin Rouge [Original Soundtrack]

1	Nature Boy / David Bowie 3:25
2	Lady Marmalade / Pink 4:24
3	Because We Can / Fatboy Slim 3:27
4	Sparkling Diamonds / Lara Mulcahy 2:52
5	Rhythm of the Night / Valeria 3:49
6	Your Song / Ewan McGregor 3:38
7	Children of the Revolution / Maurice Seezer 2:59
8	One Day I'll Fly Away / Nicole Kidman 3:18
9	Diamond Dogs / Beck 4:34
10	Elephant Love Medley / Ewan McGregor 4:13
11	Come What May / Ewan McGregor 4:48
12	El Tango de Roxanne / Jacek Koman 4:43
13	Complainte de la Butte / Rufus Wainwright 3:05
14	Hindi Sad Diamonds / Alka Yagnik 3:28
15	Nature Boy / David Bowie 4:08

Barnes & Noble

For the soundtrack to his film Moulin Rouge, a tale of star-crossed lovers who meet at the famed turn-of-the-century Paris nightclub, Romeo and Juliet director Baz Luhrmann has erased musical boundaries. David Bowie opens and closes the disc with two drastically different versions of the standard "Nature Boy" -- the opening track is accented by a dramatic orchestral arrangement, while the closing version is a trip-hop collaboration with Massive Attack. In between these sonic bookends, stylistic hybrids run delightfully wild as each selection helps tell the film's forbidden affair between main characters Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. Beck, with the help of Timbaland's beat wizardry, delivers a spacey, minimalist take on Bowie's "Diamond Dogs," and a superstar summit between junior divas Christina Aguilera, Mya, Pink, and Lil' Kim results in a paint-peeling cover of Labelle's "Lady Marmalade." Kidman and McGregor also flaunt their surprisingly effective vocal chops on several tracks and combine their talents on the comical "Elephant Love Melody," a call-and-response medley of love songs from such varied artists as the Beatles ("All You Need Is Love"), Whitney Houston ("I Will Always Love You"), U2 ("In the Name of Love"), and Thelma Houston ("Don't Leave Me This Way"). Elsewhere, the endearing McGregor and Jose Feliciano transform the Police classic "Roxanne" into "El Tango de Roxanne," and a vampy Kidman delivers the showstopper "Sparkling Diamonds," complete with Vegas-flavored brass arrangements, street-credible beats, and lyrics borrowed from Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" and Madonna's "Material Girl." With Moulin Rouge, Baz Luhrmann -- who had a pop hit back in '99 with the spoken-word curio "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" -- shows that besides being a visionary filmmaker, he's got a flair for things musical as well. Dave Gil de Rubio

All Music Guide

At the very least, director Baz Luhrmann has created something different here. His modern-day musical weaves new cover versions of songs from the past three decades into one story about a brothel in turn of the century Paris. Its an odd combination to begin with, and the soundtrack itself bounces back and forth between very hip, modern tracks from artists at the top of their game and big Broadway-style ballads from the cast of the film. Some of the most well-respected names in music signed on for the project, including Beck, Bono, Timbaland, and David Bowie. Fatboy Slim created a "Can Can" for the next generation with "Because We Can," and Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Pink, and Mya teamed up for a surefire hit with their naughtier version of Patti Labelle's "Lady Marmalade." In stark contrast to these edgy tracks, the album spends the rest of its time on love songs from Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman. They perform big-voiced, orchestra-backed versions of sentimental favorites like Elton John's "Your Song." The "Elephant Love Medley" strings together some of pop's sappiest hits, including "Up Where We Belong," "One More Night," and "I Will Always Love You." Perhaps to many people's surprise, Kidman and McGregor can really sing, and maybe in a different environment it would be easier to take these songs seriously, but standing here outside the context of the film and next to Beck covering David Bowie, they seem more comic than creative. ~ Brad Kohlenstein, All Music Guide