Like they used to do more often back in the good ol' days of CDs for music contained within the film, Sony Classical have just released the actual various artist soundtrack and the original music score (by Theodore Shapiro) for the Bill Murray-led ensemble cast, 'St. Vincent.'

The original music score first, composed by Theodore Shapiro ('The Devil Wears Parda,' 'Tropic Thunder,' 'Marley & Me,' etc.), comprised of an amazing 20 tracks, sure most all are about a minute long, but they combine to bring you a rather delightful story.

As for the nature of this story, well, 'St. Vincent' is the tale of Maggie (Melissa McCarthy), a single mother who moves into a new home in Brooklyn with her 1 year-old son, Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher). Forced to work long hours, she has no choice but to leave Oliver in the care of their neighbor, Vincent (Murray), a retired curmudgeon with a penchant for alcohol and gambling.

An odd friendship soon blossoms between the improbable pair. Together with a pregnant stripper named Daka (Naomi Watts), Vincent brings Oliver along on all the stops that make up his daily routine - the race track, a strip club, and the local dive bar.

Here on this original music score, Shapiro has strived to bring that quirky, bad behavior to the fore, albeit still grounding it in the background. Tracks like 'Life Of Vin,' 'Vin And Zucko,' and both 'Nosebreaker' and' Broken Glass' all come together to ensure that this score is one to remember.

The various artists soundtrack is a whole other kettle of fish, for sure, but still manages to ground itself - title after title - in the quirky, left of center behavior of Vincent. Including classics from the 1960s and 1970s, such as Bob Dylan's 'Shelter From The Storm,' we also get stand true songs as, 'Somebody To Love' (Jefferson Airplane) alongside two songs from Jeff Tweedy: 'Everybody Hides' and 'Why, Why, Why.'

Encapsulating the tone of the film when Daka shows up, Nyzzy Nyce brings us 'Stripper Pole,' and we even get some country-music influence on both, 'One Toke Over The Line' (Brewer & Shipley) and, of course, 'Hard To Find' from JD & The Straight Shot.

Also among the big names on the compilation is The National, performing 'Start a War,' the cheerful electro-pop of 'Molodya Luna' from Vechyaslav Samarin,' and the album finishes with the aforementioned classic cut from Blood On The Tracks, 'Shelter From The Storm.'

Reviewed by: Russell A. Trunk