Inside Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

From the first seconds of the film Inside Man, a compelling mood is set via the powerful music that accompanies the opening scene. The song, "Chaiyya Chaiyya Bollywood Joint" is an adapted, hip-hop-inflected tune (featuring Punjabi MC) from India's most famous soundtrack creator, A.R. Rahman. Those hoping for a full-on South Asian exploration should note that this is the only Bollywood number on the disc; the rest of the film is scored by Spike Lee regular Terence Blanchard (Malcolm X, 25th Hour,Bamboozled.) Blanchard--a former member of both Lionel Hampton's band and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers--has created moments of quiet beauty in the soundtrack; "Press Here To Play" is a pensive piano and trumpet journey that ends (too soon) at 90 seconds, while "Nazis Pay Too Well" is another highlight, a masterfully-mournful orchestral piece well worth further expansion. Those pieces aside, the lion's share of the soundtrack is a variation on one of two separate musical themes, both of which set an appropriate tone throughout the film. On their own, however, they are almost too soundtracky to play even as background music over dinner. For personal use, Blanchard's non-film, jazz recordings may be the way to go. --Denise Sheppard