Life: Music Inspired By The Motion Picture

Despite the fact that the two share top billing for the soundtrack's credits, R&B crooner R. Kelly plays a much greater role in shaping the sound of Life than does the Fugees' Wyclef Jean. Kelly's slow and languid style of soul gets slathered all over the album--often with mediocre results (Mya's "Why Should I Believe You?," Trisha Yearwood's "Follow the Rain"), though he does manage a gem or two (especially "Speechless," which features the incredible falsetto voice of Ronald Isley). As for Wyclef, he's up to most of his old tricks, including a simply banal (and wholly unnecessary) remix of Minnie Riperton's maudlin "Lovin' You," but he partially redeems himself with the surprisingly good "25 to Life" (featuring Xzibit, Juvenile, Nature, Ja Rule, and Reptile) as well as his own "New Day," which cameos the syrupy-sweet sax of jazz-popster Kenny G. --Oliver Wang