One of my guiltiest pleasures is the TV series Sex and The City 2. The love story of Carrie and Mr. Big has fascinated me since Season 1 (which I have on DVD…all of the seasons, in fact). He was always my favorite of her boyfriends, so you can imagine my joy when the first movie came out and they ended up getting married at the end. It was a delightful movie, with the exception of the gratuitous sex and nudity. Of course I’m a huge fan of fashion too so when I heard that SATC2 had a fashion budget of 10 million dollars, it only piqued my interest even more.
I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to review the movie soundtrack for Sex and the City 2. I knew it featured Alicia Keys, a favorite of mine. Described as the perfect CD to listen to while getting ready for a night out with the girls, it reminded me of another soundtrack I absolutely loved, My Best Friend’s Wedding. SATC2 had the same combination of catchy pop, reworked standards, and some arabian themed instrumental thrown in for good measure. Here’s the track listing:
1. Alicia Keys “Rapture”
2. Dido “Everything to Lose”
3. Cee Lo “Language of Love”
4. Erykah Badu “Window Seat”
5. Natacha Atlas “Kidda”
6. Michael McGregor “Euphrates Dream”
7. Liza Minnelli “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
8. Ricki-Lee “Can’t Touch It”
9. Alicia Keys “Emire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down”
10. Jennifer Hudson and Leona Lewis “Love Is Your Color”
11. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon “I Am Woman”
12. Sex and the City Men’s Choir “If Ever I Would Leave You”
13. Sex and the City Men’s Choir “Sunrise, Sunset”
14. Sex and the City Men’s Choir “Till There Was You”
15. Shayna Steele, Jordan Ballard, Kamilah Marshall “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”
16. Liza Minnelli with Billy Stritch “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye”
17. Cyndi Lauper “True Colors”
18. Aaron Zigman “Divas and Dunes”
Alicia Keys is spectacular as always. Combining that SATC music with a great Blondie cover works well on the first track, and her song Empire State of Mind is superb. I love the arabian feel so many of these songs have incorporated, fitting for the awesome setting of the movie, Abu Dhabi. Rikki-Lee’s song totally made me get up a dance, which is fitting for a girls night out. True Colors is one of my favorite songs. And I have always loved the standard “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” and this remake is very well done.
The only problem I have with this CD is Liza Minnelli. I cannot stand her singing. It is especially dreadful to hear her butcher such a fantastic Beyonce song. So I will be skipping her tracks, as well as the cast singing I Am Woman…blech. But the rest is great. I can even see practicing some uptempo yoga to the instrumental Divas and Dunes.
Overall I think this CD is a good buy, a really fun compilation from what will hopefully be a really fun movie. Also you can enter to win a phone call from Sarah Jessica Parker!
Full disclosure: I received a copy of the CD to review, but no compensation.
