The movie "Play It To The Bone," a heavily hyped boxing roadtrip vehicle for the multitalented but undercast Woody Harrelson, and the overrated Antonio Banderas, had to have good music. I mean, it had to. Given it's target audience, it had to have soul, salsa, and an alternative track for the occasional ofey who wandered in off the street. And goldurn it, it indeed does have good music. I'm not going to get off of my butt and go watch the movie - the homoerotic spectacle of the sport is a turnoff for me - but the soundtrack, that's something I'm going to be hauling out regularly.

Things start out nicely with Fishbone's "Shaky Ground," a Motown tune that was also done quite proud by Delbert McClinton. Fishbone gives it an exhuberant workout, the effect of which is almost, but not quite, muted by being followed by "Gonna Be A Lovely Day" by Kirk Franklin. Mr. Franklin, unfortunately, needs to find an avenue other than hip-hop for making a living, but for right now we are stuck with him on the soundtrack so his presence here provides the listener with an excellent opportunity to go pee or something while waiting for the festivities to continue with a joint venture by a pair of living legends. "Dangerous Mood," a collaboration of B.B. King and Joe Cocker, isn't as good as it might've been, but it ain't bad either, ain't bad at all. Though Cocker's occasional brilliance is not in evidence here, he is certainly competent, and King is incapable of singing or playing a bad note. Considering that these guys have a collective experience of over one hundred years in music, anything they would do, either singly or together, is worth a listen. That applies here as well.

Two numbers for fans of Mr. Banderas, "Corazon" by Los Lobos and "Why Are You So Mean To Me" by Gipsyland, follow. Los Lobos, who appearence-wise just don't look cool, are an incredibly talented aggregation who can swagger through any genre they wish and cut any challenger or pretender to ribbons inside of 15 seconds. If you don't get, or don't like, border music, don't shut the door on it before listening to "Corazon" and then giving a few other Los Lobos CDs a chance.

The Latino sampler is followed by two great blues numbers, "Why Are You So Mean To Me" by Jimmy (not The Singing Brakeman or the guy who sang "Honeycomb") Rogers, and the unforgettable, classic "Boom Boom" by the unforgettable, immortal John Lee Hooker, and an almost stirring, almost forgettable gospel number by Linda Jackson. A selection by Moby gives you a chance to run down to the corner for soda or whatever; by the time you get back you'll be just in time to hear "On The Road," a quiet but unsettling tune by the heretofore unknown Alex Wurman.

Jacintha closes the CD with "Here's To Life," a torch number that settles things down for the evening. All in all, the soundtrack for "Play It To The Bone should attract those who would not be interested in the movie, yet will appeal to that movie's core audience. It is appealing on its own terms, as all soundtracks should be. The soundtrack also provides listeners with exposure to music, and artists, with which they mighy otherwise be unfamiliar. Check it out and turn it up. Recommended.