VA - The Prince of Egypt Nashville (1998)

How confident was DreamWorks about the success of their animated bible epic The Prince of Egypt? So confident that they decided to simultaneously release three soundtracks for the film, each targeted at a different audience. It was an audacious move, since there were few songs in the film -- which means that not only did "the official soundtrack" feature only a handful of tunes from the movie, but there were two companion records that had nothing to do whatsoever with the actual picture, other than existing as tributes. Ironically, those two records turned out to be better and more focused than the original soundtrack. None of the songs on The Prince of Egypt [Nashville] were used in the film -- they're simply "inspired" by the movie, or the book of Exodus. Fortunately, the producers assembled an impressive collection of 17 contemporary country artists that runs the gamut from Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, and Charlie Daniels to Mindy McCready, Clint Black, and Alabama. It's a diverse list, yet all the artists have contributed songs of a similar emotional tenor -- and, make no mistake, it is an emotional record. Its Inspirational companion was often an emotional experience, but this is truly impassioned. That, combined with the strength of the songs, makes it the best of the three albums, and also the only one that stands completely on its own as an album.