MUSICIANS SLIP INTO SAME HOT GROOVE ON SOUNDTRACK.

Byline: Rob Lowman Daily News Staff Writer

"Dead Man Walking's" director, Tim Robbins, sent a rough cut of the film to Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Suzanne Vega and other top recording artists he admires. They, in turn, wrote and recorded 12 songs that reflect various scenes and characters in the film.

The result is an extraordinary soundtrack.

Unlike most compilation soundtracks, there is a sense that these songs belong together. They have a stripped-down, stark feel - even Vega's "Woman on the Tier (I'll See You Through)," which has a percussion background that sounds like someone beating on a piece of sheet metal in an echo chamber. For a film about a guy locked up on Death Row, it's effective.

The biggest surprises on the album are the collaborations between Vedder and the Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan from Pakistan. Qawwali is Sufi devotional music in which the singer tries to reach a sort of link with God through his singing. The music is marked by sweeping melodies and rhythmic hand clapping. Khan, the superstar of Qawwali, is no stranger to collaboration with Westerners. In 1991, he released the Real World album "Mustt Mustt," which was produced by ambient music composer and guitarist Michael Brook. The single version of the title track was remixed by the English techno dance group Massive Attack. Purists may have been upset by it, but one listen to Khan's soaring vocals, and it's easy to see why Western artists and listeners are attracted to it. Even if you don't understand the words - or perhaps because of it - there is something kind of sexy about someone trying to reach spiritual ecstasy.

That probably wasn't Khan's and Vedder's aim in writing songs for a film about redemption. In "The Face of Love" Khan and Vedder trade verses until toward the end, when Khan goes into his trademark vocal styling. In their other piece, "The Long Road," Vedder is the front man while Khan adds background vocals. Both songs incorporate traditional Qawwali drumming and use of the harmonium.

To many fans of Pearl Jam, these songs may be an eye/ear opener. And those attracted to the album by Vedder's name are in for a treat with songs by some of our most critically acclaimed songwriters, including Lyle Lovett, Tom Waits, Michelle Shocked, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Steve Earle and Patti Smith, the latter having recently returned to the music scene after establishing a family. There isn't a bad cut in the bunch, and the performances are top-notch.

And how can you go wrong with a great song by Johnny Cash in a movie that takes place in a prison? It's a perfect match.

THE FACTS

The album: "Dead Man Walking" soundtrack (to be released Tuesday).

The performers: Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Eddie Vedder, Suzanne Vega, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Lyle Lovett, Tom Waits, Michelle Shocked, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Steve Earle and Patti Smith.

Our rating: Four Stars.

CAPTION(S):

PHOTO

Photo no caption (DEAD MAN WALKING CD)