The Soundtrack » The Album

Not quite a sequel to the original DIRTY DANCING film, DIRTY DANCING: HAVANA NIGHTS is a retelling of the same basic story, but this time set in 1958 Cuba, just before the revolution. You might expect the soundtrack to be full of period music, perhaps as realized by the likes of Ibrahim Ferrer and his cohorts, but instead it's full of modern pop/r&b/hip-hop tracks, mostly sporting a Hispanic flavor. Latin-popsters Yerba Buena and hip-hop group Orishas are pretty much the only representatives of Cuba, most of the disc being occupied by US artists. The Black Eyed Peas deliver a rap-laden title track, while Christina Aguilera touches on her Hispanic heritage to deliver the Spanish-language ballad "El Beso Del Final." Rounding out the collection, Shawn Kane contributes a modernized version of the Sam Cooke classic "You Send Me," providing a link from the 2004 DIRTY DANCING to the vintage-R&B feel of the original movie.