The Talented Mr. Ripley

1	Tu Vuo' Fa l'Americano / Matt Damon 3:02
2	My Funny Valentine / Matt Damon 2:35
3	Italia Bonus Track 1:40
4	Lullaby for Cain / Sinéad O'Connor Bonus Track 3:32
5	Crazy Tom Bonus Track 4:47
6	Koko / Charlie Parker 2:54
7	Nature Boy / Miles Davis 4:48
8	Mischief 2:26
9	Ripley Bonus Track 3:30
10	Pent-Up House / Arne Somogyi 2:40
11	Guaglione / Marino Marini 3:17
12	Moanin' / Guy Barker 4:16
13	Proust Bonus Track 1:59
14	Four / Arne Somogyi 3:41
15	Promise Bonus Track 2:49
16	The Champ / Dizzy Gillespie 2:45
17	Syncopes Bonus Track 4:49
18	Stabat Mater / The London Metropolitan Ensemble Excerpt 2:56
19	You Don't Know What Love Is / The Guy Barker International Quintet 5:22

Barnes & Noble

This multicolored musical tapestry marks an auspicious reunion for composer Gabriel Yared and director Anthony Minghella, both of whom won Oscars for THE ENGLISH PATIENT. Patricia Highsmith's quirky, noirish thriller, on which the film is based, is set in sun-drenched Italy in the mid-1950s. Music is an essential part of the film, with such swinging jazz classics as Charlie Parker's "Ko-Ko" and Miles Davis's "Nature Boy" evoking images of the era's smoke-filled jazz clubs, juxtaposed with Yared themes, such as "Mischief," where vibes and violins make an elegantly spooky combo. Sounding more than a little like the legendary Chet Baker, Matt Damon sings on record for the first time ever, doing very nicely by "My Funny Valentine." There's a haunting spareness to Sinéad O'Connor's rendition of Yared & Minghella's "Lullaby for Cain." Fresh new recordings by the Guy Barker International Quintet add further spice to this well thought out collection, which makes for tangy listening. Andrew Velez

All Music Guide

Director/screenwriter Anthony Minghella is a meticulous craftsman, known for his vigorous attention to every element of a production. In the case of The Talented Mr. Ripley, his 1999 adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith potboiler, he lent particular focus to the film's music. In the novel, the gregarious American expatriate Dickie Greenleaf (played in the movie by Jude Law) was a painter. But Minghella made him a jazz enthusiast instead, contrasting Dickie's tastes with the classical inclinations of the enigmatic title character Tom Ripley (Matt Damon). The result is a film that gains much of its texture from its carefully chosen musical selections. The soundtrack opens with a pair of jazz numbers taken from two of the most fascinating scenes in the movie. In the first, Dickie takes Tom to an Italian jazz club, and both end up on stage exuberantly singing "Tu Vuo' Fa L'Americano." The song, performed on the CD by Damon, Law, Italian singer Fiorello and the Guy Barker International Quartet, establishes Ripley's captivation with his friend's hedonistic lifestyle. The second scene accomplishes the reverse: Dickie is captivated by the depth and sensitivity Ripley expresses in his evocative rendition of the Rodgers and Hart tune "My Funny Valentine." Again, Damon does his own singing on the soundtrack. The rest of the album intersperses several jazz tracks (including performances by Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie) with excerpts from Gabriel Yared's Oscar nominated score. Yared's work here lacks the originality and scope of his breakthrough score for The English Patient, but it captures perfectly both the sunlit Italian glamour and the muscle-tensing intrigue that characterize the film. Yared also wrote the music for the quietly disturbing Sinead O'Connor ballad, "Lullaby for Cain," that is played over the opening credits. The song, which features lyrics by Minghella himself, sets an appropriately ominous tone that effectively foreshadows the gruesome direction the film will eventually take. It is a solid contribution to a soundtrack album that is as carefully and thoughtfully constructed as the movie itself. Evan Cater