*** ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE

(V2)

Just as Desmond Dekker's half-forgotten proto-reggae chestnut "Israelites" proved oddly apt for the wandering junkies of Gus Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy, so the lost soul nuggets on this soundtrack CD serve unexpectedly well for the lost souls who form a similar ad hoc family of drug hustlers in Larry Clark's new film. Aside from Otis Redding's familiar "Hard To Handle," the selections include such fresh-sounding obscurities as the Fabulous Johnny C's "Boogaloo Down Broadway," Soul Clan's "That's How It Feels," Allen Toussaint's "Soul Sister," Sam Moore's "If I Lose Your Love," Redding's "I'll Let Nothing Separate Us," and Soul Bros. 6's "Some Kind of Wonderful" (what, you thought Grand Funk wrote it?). Blending in are some new recordings, including Chocolate Genius's "Can I Change My Mind," two updates by Clarence Carter (who cameos as himself in the film) of older Carter hits ("Looking for a Fox" and "I Can't See Myself"), and N'Dea Davenport's haunting cover of Bob Dylan's "One More Cup of Coffee." And Dylan, whose line "To live outside the law you must be honest" would be a fitting credo for the movie, offers the majestic "Every Grain of Sand." Who knew he was a soul singer, too?

-- Gary Susman