Various Artists Good Will Hunting (Music From The Motion Picture) (2 Lp's)

Producers include: Danny Elfman, Craig Street, Rob Schnapf, Elliott Smith, Daniel Lanois. For a movie so ostensibly family-oriented, the soundtrack to Good Will Hunting contains some pretty damn disconsolate music. The bulk of the songs here are provided by Heatmiser main man Elliott Smith, whose melancholy solo work far outshines his more rockist band outings, and has gained him far more acclaim. Smith songs like "No Name #3" and "Miss Misery" plumb the depths of despair without ever getting too noisy about their self-pity. We would use Nick Drake as a reference, were the comparison not rendered moot by the way Drake's name is tossed about recklessly in connection to every moe with a Prozac prescription and an acoustic guitar. Every late-'90s soundtrack is required by law to include at least one retro '70s cut. This album makes good use of that requirement to slip in Al Green's delectable rendition of the Bee Gees' classic torch song "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart." Pass the headphones and the Kleenex.

• Genre: Soundtracks & Film Scores
• Format: Vinyl