Shall We Dance? Soundtrack (CD)

This original soundtrack features new music from Mya, Pusscat Dolls, and Jamie Cullum, also includes a bonus track quot;I Wannaquot; performed by Gizelle D'Cole and Pilar Montenegro.

Ballroom dancing received a sexy makeover at the box office this year, thanks to the big-screen pairing of Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez in Shall We Dance? Likewise, the soundtrack is giving some new life to old standards, and dusting off some unlikely music that is turning out to be timely and satisfying.

The soundtrack is an extension of the movie, which means it will most likely make listeners want to slide into a pair of dancing shoes and glide around the floor. The disc wastes no time in setting that tone, opening with The Pussycat Dolls' version of "Sway." The Dolls offer a moodier take on the song than Michael Bubl￩ gave in Spider-Man 2, and this sexy marimba number is a surefire way to set a mood.

The upbeat "I Wanna (Shall We Dance)," performed by Gizelle d'Cole and Pilar Montengro, is a guaranteed foot-mover. Jazzy and upbeat, it defies the listener to sit still while being washed over with waves of horn blasts and a strong Latin beat.

If there is any complaint to be made, it comes halfway through the album; an instrumental version of Henry Mancini's "Moon River" is much too brief, clocking in at only one minute and three seconds.

Mixing the old with the new, Peter Gabriel serves up the soft and stirring "The Book of Love." It is an interesting take on romance, painting love as a book full of stories that range from the sublime to the stupid. When read by the right person, however, every word has meaning.

Reaching way back into the musical treasure chest, the soundtrack pulls out an updated version of the Lerner and Lowe classic, "I Could Have Danced All Night." It has come a long way from its days as the showcase number in My Fair Lady, and the song gets a complete makeover here with a male singer. Jamie Cullum gives it a jazzy, offbeat feel that listeners will either adore or not -- either way, this song will make a definite impression.

To close out the disc, Mya's hip-hop cover of David Bowie's "Let's Dance" makes for a grand, urbanized exit. It's completely recognizable, but Mya lends the song a touch of seductive longing that never came through in Bowie's higher energy version.

Like the soundtracks to any great dance movie -- from Flashdance to Dirty Dancing -- this one will not only bring back memories of the film itself, it will also give the listener new reasons to want to get up and move their feet.

By Paula Felps