Soundtracks are a tricky thing. Sometimes they're done very well, like a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes or a swanky Cosmo (with Grey Goose and Rose's lime juice, of course). Other times, they're tantamount to botched plastic surgery (see the latest facial alterations of Sex and the City co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Chris "Mr. Big" Noth).

So where does the new Sex and the City: The Movie soundtrack rank?

Consider the first Original Soundtrack and the Original Score (both to the original HBO series) as the latter and this new film soundtrack the former. After fans were hustled out of their fifteen bucks twice-over, the film's producers finally decided to give the fans what they wanted — a much tighter, smarter and sexier audio companion that actually matches the mood and means of the film. In other words, their money's worth.

With a track list that offers every bit of cosmopolitan cool, the Sex soundtrack offers succulent cuts from Nina Simone ("The Look of Love"), Morningwood ("New York Girls"), and Jem ("It's Amazing") – along with a slate of dynamite covers by India.Arie (Don Henley's "Heart of the Matter") and The Bird & the Bee (doing the Bee Gee's "How Deep is Your Love"). The opening track by Fergie called "Labels or Love," as director Michael Patrick King once suggested, is gene-spliced from the original Sex theme song (also on the disc).

Covers of "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" (Al Green featuring Joss Stone) and "Walk This Way" (the Run-DMC/Aerosmith pairing) round out the release. But the highlight is clearly Jennifer Hudson. In addition to co-starring in the film as Carrie Bradshaw's assistant, she does a remarkable job on "All Dressed in Love," a track written by MC Jack Splash and Gnarls Barkley's Cee-Lo, which runs during the film's end.

This reviewer never thought he'd tout the pipes of an "American Idol" contestant, but after Dreamgirls and this outing? That's right. Cue the air conditioning in Hades and those flying pigs. In all, this Sex outing is quite fabulous for the ears... and likely to be as big of a smash as the film.