While the world waits with bated breath for the release of the massively hyped movie "Fifty Shades Of Grey", we can enjoy its steamy musical counterpart a few days early.Annie Lennox's soulful cover of "I Put A Spell On You" opens the 16 track collection with fiery vocals from Lennox and a beautiful bluesy guitar solo. It previously appeared on her 2014 Grammy-nominated album of covers "Nostalgia".
Upping the tempo is the dark pop "Undiscovered" by Laura Welsh. The Weeknd appears on a pair of songs, the sensual retro-tinged "Earned It" (a UK top 20 hit), and the minimal and masterful "Where You Belong" (with a lovely guitar break).
Download Soundtrack "Fifty Shades Of Grey" Here!
Jessie Ware sings the bluesy piano-sprinkled "Meet Me In The Middle" (with an enchanting string-swept coda), while fellow Brit Ellie Goulding sings the midtempo "Love Me Like You Do" (with gently crashing beats and a catchy chorus), currently #1 in The UK.
Beyoncé's "Haunted" appears as the "Michael Diamond Remix", echoey and mysterious. Her other remix "Crazy On Love" is actually a total re-recording of her massive hit. It's given a delicate piano treatment with deep sensual vocals and a funereal shuffle.
She positively smoulders here, spectacular! "Salted Wound" is a tender piano ballad by an impassioned Sia. Similar is Skylar Gray's "I Know You". A pair of classics, The Rolling Stones blues/rock "Beast Of Burden", and Frank Sinatra's "Witchcraft" also appear and fit in pretty well.
Awolnation cover Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire", folky guitar with a persistent synth riff in the background. "One Last Night" is lilting string-swathed pop by Vaults. Closing the collection are a pair of instrumentals by Danny Elfman; "Ana And Christian", and "Did That Hurt?".
The mood is largely tastefully laid back, accentuating the sensual. Everything works very well with each song complementing the other, as though everyone went into the studio at the same time to record their contributions. If the movie is as good as this, it will be a winner.
