Petra Haden likes the sound of movies as much as the vision; drawn to the emotional artistry of movie scores, the vocalist recorded an album of familiar themes from various films. Petra Goes to the Movies (released by Anti- records) runs the gamut from art house (8 ½) to multiplex (Superman), classics (Taxi Driver) to more recent releases (Social Network). Most of Petra is purely vocal, with Haden coming across (with the aid of multi-tracking) as a one-woman Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. Haden’s best performance is probably “A Fistful of Dollars,” her voice emulating the lonesome twang of Ennio Morricone’s original soundtrack. Bill Frisell is heard occasionally on guitar and Haden’s dad, the great jazz bassist Charlie Haden, plays on “This is Not America.”
