This seems a good topic for discussion among obsessive music fans: who was the first singer who couldn't sing but still managed to become popular? If you're of the opinion that Dylan couldn't sing (I'm not, at least through New Morning), then he seems a pretty good choice. He was, if nothing else, the most influential of the, uh, less traditional vocalists. Rock lore states that Jimi Hendrix could never think of himself as a singer until he heard Dylan; the man inspired those who couldn't carry a tune to step to the mic anyway.

So we probably have Dylan to thank for the low points of the soundtrack to the Italian film Scarlet Diva. Without Dylan, perhaps John Hughes III would have stuck to instrumental music, something he's quite good at. As things stand, Hughes' flat and unexpressive vocals ruin half these songs. He gives it a good go, opting for the "I'll just double-track my deep, mumbling voice so I sound despondent and exhausted with the post-urban blues" approach, a technique which is at least consistent with the overall feel of the record. But the background music deserves much more.

Just under half these 18 songs feature vocals, so there's still some material to enjoy. The approach is relatively familiar: a very Chicago-sounding blend, complete with John McEntire contributions (as both engineer and instrumentalist) on a number of tracks. This is not an appealing prospect for many, but rest assured, Hughes keeps these pieces short and to the point, as a film soundtrack should. Several of the instrumental tracks even approach the pop sensibility of Air, with warm horns that mix perfectly with the electronics and some cool string samples underneath. Witness the relaxed, funky trombone solo on "Street Song."

Hughes' music is definitely maturing, as he continues to find more interesting ways to combine sophisticated laptop technique with live instrumentation. His sound design style seems heavily influenced by the warm, glitchy electronics one finds with German musicians like Mouse on Mars and SchneiderTM. It's a popular obsession in Chicago these days (where Hughes makes a living running Hefty Records and recording as Slicker), partly due to the licensing deals of labels like Thrill Jockey and Moikai. Hughes does it well, and there are a fair number of "How did he make that noise?" moments on Scarlet Diva. Not quite enough to make up for that singing, unfortunately.

-Mark Richard-San