Best of the Muppets featuring The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (by Various Artists, Soundtrack)

Ashanti turns in a delightful performance on BEST OF THE MUPPETS FEATURING THE MUPPETS' WIZARD OF OZ. On "When I'm With You," she sings gamely along with Kermit, Gonzo, Fozzie, and Pepe. She makes it work, sounding like she's one of the gang. Her two other songs, "Kansas" and "Good Life," feel more like classic R&B ballads and show off Ashanti's voice to its best advantage. Allowed to drop her usual heavy breathing and sexual innuendo, she sounds lovely. Miss Piggy is brilliantly cast as guess who in "The Witch Is in the House," and it turns out that Muppets can do perfect Munchkin vocals.

Only six Wizard of Oz songs on a CD promoted as a soundtrack album seems like a bit of a rip-off. Nine additional tracks of obvious filler are Muppet-ly delightful enough, but we've heard most of these classics before, including "(It's Not Easy) Being Green," "The Muppet Show Theme," and "Rainbow Connection" how many times? Yet there are some non-Oz highlights -- particularly "What Now My Love?" in which Miss Piggy gives Dame Edna an emotive run for her money. Once you get past the "false advertising" about the CD, it really is a fun listen.