Original Soundtrack - Sweet Home Alabama / O.S.T. (CD)

All Music Guide

The mildly entertaining romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama features an equally take-it-or-leave-it soundtrack that mixes country, rock, and pop and excerpts of George Fenton's score. Despite the cognitive dissonance that Jewel's glossy cover of Skynryd's title track causes, it's actually not a bad reworking of the Southern rock classic into an adult alternative single. Most of the album features winsome, perky, or feisty music by female artists, such SHeDAISY's "Mine All Mine" and Avril Lavigne's "Falling Down," who sound so similar to each other that it's hard to believe one song is considered contemporary country and the other alternative-leaning teen pop. In fact, aside from Dolly Parton's "Marry Me," the most country-sounding tracks on the album are Sheryl Crow's "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" and Uncle Kracker's "To Think I Used to Love You (DJ Homicide Remix)." A flat version of "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" by the Calling and the Freestylers' out-of-place big-beat number "Weekend Song" are a couple of the misguided attempts at making the track listing diverse, but the album just ends up unfocused. Of course, Sweet Home Alabama will please anyone who liked the music in the movie, but the soundtrack really isn't successful on any other terms.

- Heather Phares, All Music Guide