Smile: Songs from the Movies

1	Blue Skies From With Honors 3:11
2	Straighten Up and Fly Right From Dear God 3:10
3	Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You From Kissing Jessica Stein 4:58
4	Smile From Hope Floats 3:38
5	Moritat (Mack the Knife) From Quiz Show 4:43
6	Summer Wind From for Love of the Game 2:53
7	What'd I Say From Where the Heart Is 4:00
8	Till It Shines / Keb' Mo' 3:50
9	You've Got a Friend in Me / Randy Newman From Toy Story 2:39
10	Walking Tall From Stuart Little 3:13
11	Pass Me Not From Leap of Faith 5:00
12	I'm a Soldier in the Army of the Lord From the Apostle 3:29

Barnes & Noble

On Smile, Lyle goes Hollywood -- not with a collection of new original songs but rather with a dozen cuts he's done for recent films. Leaning towards American pop songbook classics -- the ideal vehicle for his restrained expressiveness -- the sometimes actor serves up a feisty, playful take on Nat King Cole's "Straighten Up and Fly Right"; a warm reading of Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies"; a saloon-style blues turn on "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You"; and a beguilingly orchestrated, decidedly sinister arrangement of "Moritat (Mack the Knife)," with producer Mark Isham adding evocative support via steely, muted trumpet lines. A duet with Randy Newman on the latter's whimsical, old-timey tune, "You've Got a Friend in Me," featured in Toy Story, is a nice change of pace. The gently swaying folk-rock of Bob Seger's "Till It Shines," from the 1999 film Mumford, gets a lift from Keb' Mo''s gritty exposition of lyrics expressing hope within a plea for salvation. The disc concludes with two powerful gospel numbers produced by and featuring George Duke. "Pass Me Not," from Leap of Faith, builds to a slow boil, thanks to a gospel chorus featuring the great Francine Reed, who takes a Mahalia-like solo that lays waste to all the sinners, and the roaring "I'm a Soldier in the Army of the Lord," from Robert Duvall's The Apostle, which is fueled by frenetic hand clapping, incessant foot stomping, and rousing call-and-response parts by Lovett and a formidable backing choir that includes Sweet Pea Atkinson. Smile is a spirited collection exploring a fascinating sideline to Lyle Lovett's extensive career. David McGee

All Music Guide

Since The Road to Ensenada in 1996, Lyle Lovett has released a collection of covers in 1998, a live album in 1999, a predominately instrumental soundtrack in 2000, and now, in 2003, Smile, a collection of songs he recorded for movie soundtracks between 1992 and 2002. None of these were on his official albums and none of them are originals (meaning that it's been nearly seven years since he's released a collection of new songs; this may or may not be a sign of writer's block). Most are covers of pop standards, with a couple of R&B and gospel standards thrown in for good measure (the one contemporary tune is "You've Got a Friend in Me," the Randy Newman duet from Toy Story). All are given perfectly tasteful, perfectly pleasant Large Band-styled arrangements; they're very faithful to the songs yet are styled to Lovett's idiosyncratic delivery. Overall, it's a nice listen and it's nice for collectors to get these all tunes in one place, but it's not essential and it's hard not to wish that Lovett would just finally do an album of new material already. Stephen Thomas Erlewine