Hitch

Will Smith makes a welcome left turn from his recent Hollywood McAction Film past in director Andy Tennant's romantic comedy. He is also the film's executive soundtrack producer, taking the opportunity to pay tribute to the R&B and soul that initially influenced his own musical career, as well as showcase its contemporary echoes. Vintage tracks represent Motown (the Temptations' classic "I Can't Get Next to You") and Philly (The O'Jays "Love Train") soul well, while the Caribbean rhythms of Jimmy Cliff's "You Can Get It," Martha Reeves' "It's Easy to Fall in Love" and Earth, Wind & Fire's pop-inflected "Reasons" testify to the old school's rich diversity. John Legend's new cover of Stevie Wonder's "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" doesn't add much to the original, but other new cuts like the hip-hop/soul fusion of Heavy D and the Boyz' "Now That We Found Love," EW&F's collaboration with Kelly Rowland and Sleepy Brown ("This Is How I Feel") and Amerie's funk-charged "I Thing" offer up a tasty modern R&B groove. --Jerry McCulley