Various Artists - The Hottest State

 

Double LP soundtrack to the film The Hottest State

The soundtrack for the film, The Hottest State isn't just another compilation of songs pulled out of obscurity and thrown together for a movie companion piece. No way. If anything, this album and it is indeed, an album could also be categorized as a tribute record. The album features 16 songs, plus two score passages, all recorded exclusively for the film by some of the finest names in music today, all for the benefit of paying tribute to one of the brightest new songwriting talents in the last two decades: Jesse Harris.

Grammy winning singer/songwriter Jesse Harris wrote all the music for the soundtrack and serves as the album's co-executive producer along with the film's director/screenwriter/producer, Ethan Hawke. Together, they assembled a peerless group of artists to record Harris' songs: Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Cat Power, Bright Eyes, Feist, The Black Keys, M. Ward, Brad Mehldau, Tony Scherr and Argentinean newcomer, Rocha.

Harris recorded three songs for the soundtrack himself and also has a small role in the film. The soundtrack will be the second release by Hickory Records, the new imprint of Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Harris, who has known Hawke since the early 1990s, has released six albums as a solo artist. His songs have been recorded by Madeleine Peyroux, Pat Metheny, and Lizz Wright, and in 2003, he won a Song of the Year Grammy for writing Norah Jones' smash hit "Don't Know Why."

Adapted by Ethan Hawke from his novel of the same name, The Hottest State is a bittersweet romance that distills the joy, pain, erotic highs, and emotional lows of first love. Hawke directs and co-stars in the film along with Mark Webber (Broken Flowers) Oscar nominees Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full Of Grace), Laura Linney (Mystic River, The Squid and the Whale), Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain) and Sonia Braga (Kiss Of The Spider Woman). The movie opens in New York and Los Angeles on August 24, and nationwide throughout September 2022.

"Harris has benefited greatly from his association with Norah Jones — who has recorded a number of his songs, including the Grammy-winning 'Don't Know Why' — he could receive an even bigger boost from this soundtrack. Actor Ethan Hawke, who wrote and directed the movie, is plainly a huge Harris fan, picking his songs for the entire soundtrack album, performed by a wide array of luminaries along with Harris. The more radical results range from the electronic atmospherics of Bright Eyes on 'Big Old House' to the narcotic haze conjured by Cat Power on 'It's Alright to Fail.' Three different versions of the key track, 'Never See You,' introduce Argentine newcomer Rocha, performing the song in both Spanish and English, with jazz pianist Brad Mehldau providing an instrumental interpretation. The stripped-down intimacy of Willie Nelson ('Always Seem to Get Things Wrong'), Emmylou Harris ('The Speed of Sound') and Norah Jones ('World of Trouble') brings out the best in Jesse Harris's material, which seems to come from a place where country, blues, pop standards, and easy-listening jazz converge." — Amazon.com

1. Ya No Te Veria Mas (Never See You) Performed by Rosario Ortega

2. Always Seem To Get Things Wrong Performed by Willie Nelson

3. Somewhere Down The Road Performed by Feist

4. Big Old House Performed by Bright Eyes

5. The Speed Of Sound Performed by Emmylou Harris

6. It Will Stay With Us Performed by Jesse Harris

7. If You Ever Slip Performed by The Black Keys

8. Crooked Lines Performed by M. Ward

9. World Of Trouble Performed by Norah Jones

10. Never See You Performed by Brad Mehldau

11. It's Alright To Fail Performed by Cat Power

12. One Day The Dam Will Break Performed by Jesse Harris

13. You, The Queen Performed by Tony Scherr

14. Morning In A Strange City

15. No More Performed by Rosario Ortega

16. Dear Dorothy Performed by Jesse Harris

17. Never See You Performed by Rosario Ortega

18. There Are No Second Chances

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