Charmed-The Final Chapter

As befits a cult TV show about three sisters who happen to be powerful witches, this collection of tracks associated with Charmed is heavy on the alt-girls, starting with the mother of them all, Liz Phair. Her "Baby Got Going" (from 1998's undervalued whitechocolatespaceegg) got a modernized Bo Diddley strut that gets things going on a jaunty foot. What's weirder is that the others--Sarah McLachlan, Chantal Kreviazuk, Natalie Imbruglia, Beth Orton, Eddie Reader, and Conjure One featuring Sin©ad O'Connor--tend to lean more heavily toward a soulful, slightly reserved singer-songwriter mode: the girls don't really rock on this soundtrack, which is kinda odd since the witches themselves kick butt. Thankfully, one of the show's own stars comes to the rescue. Tucked in the middle of the CD is "Superfabulous" by trance star BT, with sultry guest vocals by Charmed's own Rose McGowan--who, based on this track, could have a great career recording Euro-style dance-floor stompers if she ever gets tired of acting. --Elisabeth Vincentelli