The Rookie (Music from the Motion Picture)

The soundtrack to The Rookie, a true story about a late-blooming major league pitcher, is as American as apple pie, the Stars and Stripes, and, naturally, baseball. Composed of down-home country-fried and blues-bred rock, the album evocatively simulates the feeling of America's storied frontier heritage. Seasoned performers like Steve Earle (the uplifting rustic rock track "Some Dreams"), John Fogerty (the swampy blues number "Blue Moon Nights"), and Willie Nelson (the vintage front-porch country of "Nothing I Can Do About It Now") conjure up the simpler times of dusty farms and sparsely settled plains. Contemporary crooners capture this mood just as skillfully--Ryan Adams's fragile "In My Time of Need" and "Tumbling Down," Allison Moorer's piano-sprinkled soul ballad, are both fit for the desolate open road. Never flashy or overwhelming, the album mixes these slower and upbeat tracks seamlessly, ensuring that its energy never drags. Moreover, the quality of the musicians and songs included is rock solid through and through, guaranteeing that The Rookie is one soundtrack that definitely hits a home run. --Annie Zaleski