August Rush (Music from the Motion Picture)

August Rush features actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers doing his own singing and his vocal performances are just as impressive as his thespian ones — just check the romantic rendition of Van Morrison’s “Moondance.” Of course child actor Freddie Highmore is only a musical prodigy on screen, so his intricate guitar playing was done by six-string wizard Kaki King, whose otherworldly progressive “Bari Improv” and “Ritual Dance” both sound like she was born with an extra three fingers on her fretting hand. Similarly, Heitor Pereira and Doug Smith put the kind of astonishing wonder in “Dueling Guitars” that leaves you craving more. Chris Botti and Paula Cole do justice to Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr.’s “God Bless the Child” and Leon Thomas injects some buttery vocals and urban beats into Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba.” The most interesting track is “Bach / Break” where Steve Erdody and Rhys Meyers blend the classical composer’s music with contemporary Brit rock trimmings to make for an uplifting hit that recalls the Verve.