Eat, Pray, Love (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

The adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's 2006 best-seller delivers a soundtrack that fits well with Julia Roberts’ jet-setting across the world on a self-discovery adventure, but it could also perfectly accompany your own vacation, contrasting the stress of airport travel with a consistent mix of mellow, soothing jams throughout. Well that is all except for the hard funk of Sly & The Family Stone’s “Thank You (Fallettin Me Be Mice Elf Agin).” But the rest of these songs sound tailored for sipping fruity cocktails poolside, starting with Josh Rouse’s tranquil “Flight Attendant” from his ever-popular album 1972. The two Eddie Vedder songs here sound like grunge never happened; the rootsy “Better Days” is a gorgeous world music-tinged ballad recorded exclusively for the movie, while “The Long Road” is a droning ear massage that he recorded with Sufi Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahnin in 1997 for the film Dead Man Walking. And as proved in the ‘90s, Neil Young’s tunes (“Harvest Moon” and “Heart of Gold”) go with Vedder’s recordings like chocolate and peanut butter.