VA - For Love Of The Game - Music From The Motion Picture (1999)

The soundtrack to Sam Raimi's ultimate crossover bid For Love of the Game -- face it, a baseball-themed romantic melodrama starring Kevin Costner is the furthest away from Bruce Campbell and the Evil Dead movies as can possibly be imagined -- is as smooth and measured as the film itself, appealing to a wide range of audiences and managing to find the right tone. Of course, it's almost as incoherent as the average big-budget soundtrack, featuring oldies, covers, and newly recorded tunes with chart aspirations, but most of the album has an appealingly mellow vibe, whether it's through country (Trisha Yearwood, Vince Gill, Kim Richey, Lyle Lovett), modern rock (Semisonic's title track, Joan Osbourne's cover of "Baby Love," Jonny Lang's reading of "Paint It, Black"), or even lite reggae (Shaggy, with "Hope"). Apart from Lovett's previously unavailable cover of "Summerwind," there aren't really any major new items here and it probably isn't something that will be played too often, but it sounds good while it's playing, and that's half the battle.~For Love of the Game Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine