Shrek: Music From The - Harry Gregson-Williams [Audio CD]

1. Stay Home 2. I'm A Believer 3. Like Wow 4. It Is You (I Have Loved) 5. Best Years Of Our Lives 6. Bad Reputation 7. My Beloved Monster 8. You Belong To Me 9. All Star 10. Hallelujah 11. I'm On My Way 12. I'm A Believer (Reprise) 13. True Love's First Kiss  Animated movie Shrek, like The Muppet Show or The , is tiered with visual appeal, fantasy, and sophisticated humour that appeals to children and adults on two mutually exclusive levels. Judging by the soundtrack alone, there is some genuine emotion coming from this movie; Rufus Wainwright, the Proclaimers, and especially the Eels all pen winsome, longing tunes. Dana Glover's "It Is You (I Have Loved)" represents the soundtrack's requisite glossy ballad, but it's better than most, and John Powell's climactic, orchestral "True Love's First Kiss" makes one wish there was a full score to accompany this soundtrack. On the flip side, Smash Mouth cover the ' "I'm a Believer" with a groovy treatment of crunchy hip-hop beats, and Leslie Carter (sister of Aaron and Nick) gives a perky performance on the Britney-esque "Like Wow!" The soundtrack squeezes the last drops of juice from the overplayed Smash Mouth hit "All Star," but other than that, it strikes a great balance between cute-but-not-precious pop hits, and more grown-up songs that are well within reach of young ears. -- Beth Massa