Baz Luhrmann's garish, flamboyant adaptation of Romeo + Juliet was hyper-kinetic and colorful, boasting a heavy inspiration from the visual style of MTV, so it's only appropriate that the soundtrack was tailored for the alternative nation that MTV fostered. Combining modern rock acts like
Garbage,
Radiohead,
the Cardigans, and
the Butthole Surfers with contemporary soul like
Des'ree and adult alternative like
Gavin Friday, the album is slick, polished, catchy -- and surprisingly strong. Though the soul and pop is good, the alternative rock acts on the soundtrack fare the best, with
Garbage and
Radiohead both contributing excellent B-sides ("Number One Crush" and "Talk Show Host," respectively), with
the Cardigans' sleek, sexy lounge-disco number "Lovefool" stealing the show. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine