V/A: Moulin Rouge! (2LP, soundtrack) [INTERSCOPE]

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set spreads Baz Luhrmann's pop opera across four sides. "Lady Marmalade" topped the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy, and the album went double platinum in the US.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Limited edition

About the album

Baz Luhrmann set his 2001 musical in 1899 Paris and then cheerfully ignored the calendar, filling the Montmartre cabaret with songs by Elton John, Madonna and The Police. The soundtrack is almost entirely cover versions, rebuilt for Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor and a cast who clearly had a wonderful time.

David Bowie opens and closes the album with "Nature Boy," the second time alongside Massive Attack. Fatboy Slim turns Jim Broadbent's "Zidler's Rap" into "Because We Can," Kidman sparkles through "Sparkling Diamonds," and Valeria takes on DeBarge's "Rhythm of the Night." The "Elephant Love Medley" squeezes a dozen love songs into one duet, and "Come What May," by David Baerwald and Kevin Gilbert, is the one song written fresh for the film. Missy Elliott produced "Lady Marmalade," turning Labelle's 1970s hit into a four-way showdown.

It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, spent 11 weeks at No. 1 in Australia and sold four million copies around the world in 2001 alone. Luhrmann treated the pop songbook like a dressing-up box, and nobody has asked for the costumes back.

Also at Kops: more Moulin Rouge! on vinyl · browse Soundtracks

Tracklist

Listen

On Interscope / Bazmark / Fox Music (cat# B0026719-01), a reissue of the 2001 soundtrack.