CD Reviews

Nancy Drew: Music from the Motion Picture

Nancy Drew: Music from the Motion Picture | Bulletproof

By JEFFREY GANTZ | June 13, 2007

3.0 Stars

What do Ned Nickerson and the Nancy Drew soundtrack have in common? Neither gets in Nancy’s way. The 12 songs here — nine of them composed for the film — offer upbeat aural wallpaper as they follow Nancy out West (Matthew Sweet’s “Come to California”), share her fears about going to a new school (Liz Phair’s “Perfect Misfit”), and watch her learn about growing up outside of sheltered River Heights (the Donnas’ “Kids in America”). Katie Melua is “Looking for Clues,” but the mystery she’s hoping to unravel is romantic. And the last half of the album drops the thread: the three non-original tracks (Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Like a Star,” Persephone’s Bees’ “Nice Day,” Flunk’s “Blue Monday”), and then three funky party tracks (from J-Kwon, Cupid, and Bizarre) with only the most tenuous connection to Nancy’s birthday bash. And everybody’s so serious. It’s Price, in “Hey Nancy Drew,” who clues us in: “When there’s a problem, you can fix it,” and “I wish everyone could be like you.”

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Topics: CD Reviews , Corinne Bailey Rae, Katie Melua, Liz Phair, More

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