MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: THE RETURN -- ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

Mystery Science Theater 3000 and its sequel The Return are wonderfully goofy and funny comedies, and the numerous musical numbers between the movies are often delightful.  So, Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return -- Original Soundtrack should be a thing of wonder.  However...

This album begins very well, with plenty of music from the new series.  There's the new opening theme song.  We get a rap about kaiju from around the world.  There's a commercial for a dinosaur barbecue restaurant.  ("Jingle!")  Mark Hamill even appears, as a barker for a spectacular circus that he has to describe because it's held in the dark.  This is all very good, with plenty of laugh-out-loud songs.

Next, though, are instrumental songs from the new series.  These may have been useful during the skits, but the instrumentals aren't really amusing on their own.  And these songs take up about a third of the album!

The last third of the Original Soundtrack are some popular songs from the original series.  These would be great -- except these are also instrumental songs!  (Mary Jo Pehl almost sneaks back, but...)  Since the humor comes from the lyrics, these songs tease funny classic hits and pulls the rug out from under us.  Instead of giving us classic jokes, the album plays a cruel joke on the listener here.

I so wanted to like Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return -- Original Soundtrack, and the first third of non-instrumental songs is great.  But the bizarre inclusion of so many instrumental songs on a comedy album really brings things down.

Overall grade: C-
Reviewed by James Lynch

BATMAN: ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK

There are times when bad or silly movies have good soundtracks.  Batman: The Movie (from 1966) was every bit as campy and goofy as the TV series, but its music works quite well.  Batman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack has all the music from the movie, plus a few extra songs.

Composed by Nelson Riddle, the songs on Batman: OMPS have a very jazzy feel to them.  The 29 songs from the movie are all based on scenes from the movie; one can tell the plot of the movie just from reading the track listing.  It's easy to recognize the songs focusing on the villains -- the Penguin's waddle, Catwoman's seductive side, etc.  -- and elements of Neil Hefti's Batman television show theme creep into many of the songs.  (That theme is one of the three bonus tracks on the album.)

The music on Batman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack will never be jazz classics, but it is a fun, breezy album that's fun to listen to.

Overall grade: B
Reviewed by James Lynch

THE MUSIC OF DC COMICS: VOLUME 2

With several decades of superhero shows, movies, and novelty songs, The Music of DC Comics: 75th Anniversary Edition barely scratched the surface of what's out there.  So now there's The Music of DC Comics: Volume 2, a 29-track collection that both covers new material not on the first volume and sometimes feels like it's going for secondary choices.

The Music of DC Comics: Volume 2 has music from a wide variety of times.  There are samples from new live shows (Gotham, Supergirl, The Flash), cartoons (the Superman and Batman cartoons, DC Comics Supergirls), movies (Man of Steel, Batman V Superman) and even video games.  There are funky novelty songs from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.  And yes, the theme from Challenge of the Superfriends made it onto this collection.  Several of the songs are quite silly (The Adventures of Superpup, The Theme of the Justice League of America) but even they represent a more bombastic, often groovy time.  And the instrumentals are almost all pretty exciting and very effective.

The weakness of Volume 2 comes from the times when it tries to follow the "good" stuff on Volume 1.  Since Volume 1 has John Williams' iconic theme from Superman, Volume 2 settles for "The Flying Sequence" and "Lex Luthor's Lair" from the movie.  Volume 1 has the theme from the Batman TV show; Volume 2 has a cover of the theme.  Volume 1 got the original theme song from Wonder Woman; Volume 2 had the theme song from its last season.

Even with the limits from following the first collection, The Music of DC Comics: Volume 2 is still pretty good.  The songs here are a nice mix through the decades, and several songs will be new to even the most devoted superhero fan.

Overall grade: B+
Reviewed by James Lynch

FRIDAY THE 13TH: ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SCORE

Horror movies rely as much on their music as their monsters or gore to bring tension and fear to a movie.  While the Friday the 13th movies may be best known for its hockey-masked killer (at least from the third one onwards), Friday the 13th: Original Motion Picture Score demonstrates how Harry Manfredini's music helped propel these movies to their success.

Friday the 13th: Original Motion Picture Score manages to capture the slashing feel of the slasher flick with many sudden, jarring bursts of the violin.  The music draws out the tension with long notes, has the drama of the chase often, and its closing "The Boat in the Water/Jason in the Lake" reflects the serenity and sudden surprise that wraps up the movie.

This soundtrack does have its share of flaws.  Many of the songs borrow/steal from Bernard Herrmann's music from Psycho.  The non-horrific "Banjo Travelin'" and "Sail Away, Tiny Sparrow" feel out of place, not contrasting the horror of the other music but giving a jarring contrast.  And the movie's iconic chant "ki-ki-ki, ma-ma-ma" is used so often it quickly becomes, er, overkill.

Friday the 13th: Original Motion Picture Score manages to match the scares and slashes of its movie perfectly, and it works pretty well on its own.  While it's neither wholly original nor flawless, this is ideal mood music -- if you're in the mood for fear.

Overall grade: B
Reviewed by James Lynch

THE MUSIC OF DC COMICS: 75TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION

DC Comics was the first huge comic book publisher, and with iconic characters like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, DC Comics has expanded well beyond comic books to television and movies, animation and live action.  The Music of DC Comics: 75th Anniversary Edition is a 31-track sampling of the wide variety of the music (and, often narration) that has accompanies those sound-filled exploits.

While 75 years of music could easily fill several volumes, The Music of DC Comics (released in 2010) does a quite satisfactory job of showcasing the sounds accompanying their superheroes, from 1941's "Superman March" to 2009's "Green Lantern: First Flight."  There are iconic numbers (such as the theme from the Batman television show or John Williams' Superman movie theme) and rarities (introductions to cartoons from the 1960s; the opening to the "Legends of the Superheroes" comedy roast; and who remembers the Swamp Thing cartoon, let alone its opening?).  The first seven songs are all from Superman-based works, the next seven from Batman's body of work, then a variety follows.

The Music of DC Comics is a terrific trip down memory lane -- but it feels like two albums mixed together.  The instrumental songs here are all very well done, quite dramatic and often very powerful.  Then there are the narrated songs, which are often just a smattering of background music while a narrator extols the powers of the hero.  (These are contrasted at the end of the album, where the dramatic instrumental from the end of the Wonder Woman animated movie is followed by the disco-inspired theme song from the live-action Wonder Woman show ("in her satin tights/fighting for her rights."))  Worse, there are no notes on how the album is put together, what determined which songs made the cut (like the intro to the Plastic Man Comedy Adventure Show) and what didn't (no Challenge of the Super Friends, though there are two other Super Friends songs).  There isn't even an introduction by one of DC's writers or artists to talk about the impact these tunes have had on the heroes or on them.

But these complaints pale next to the very wide variety of songs collected here.  The Music of DC Comics is far from complete and could have used more explanation, but what this provides is a neat trip down memory lane, a showcase of songs the listener hasn't heard before (I doubt even the most ardent comic book fan has heard all the songs here), and a pretty exciting soundtrack to go along with some of comic books' mightiest heroes (plus Aquaman and Hawkman).

Overall grade: A-
Reviewed by James Lynch

Big Star, NOTHING CAN HURT ME soundtrack

Big Star was an artistically infleuntial and commercially unsuccessful music group that was recently examined in the documentary Nothing Can Hurt Me.  To go with the docuemntary, the Nothing Can Hurt Me soundtrack collects demos and new muixes of songs from the band's three albums, plus a few tunes from Alex Chilton and Chris Bell after the band broke up.

Nothing Can Hurt Me is a bit of an oddity.  This isn't exactly a greatest hits collection, as several of the band's bigger songs are missing (such as "Watch the Sunrise" and "Thanks You Friends").  And while none of these songs are the original studio recordings, the songs aren't that different from the originals that die-hard fans will need to hear the different versions.

What Nothing Can Hurt Me does is remind the listener of how amazing Big Star really was.   Big Star could disaplay the rocking feel of the 1970s when they were recording, but they also captured the angst of teen romance (on songs like "September Gurls" and "Thirteen") and they had a musical feel that foreshadowed the college alternative music scene of the 1980s.  The songs are mostly in chronological order, which shows the band's steady movement to both experimentation and disillusionment (the latter highlighted by Alex Chilton's "All We Ever Got from Them Was Pain").  Nothing Can Hurt Me is a great look at a band whose music never took off like they wanted -- but was loved by so many.

Overall grade: A-
Reviewed by James Lynch

UNDERWORLD AWAKENING Soundtrack

The movie Underworld: Awakening has a pretty gloomy mood -- from the battling supernatural creatures to the muted blue visual feel -- so it's no surprise that the Underworld: Awakening soundtrack features many goth and downbeat songs. While these songs weren't featured glaringly in the movie (no one "big single" getting lots of radio airplay), they also aren't that distinct on their own.

Almost half of the songs on the Underworld: Awakening soundtrack are remixes, while the rest are originals. The remixes are of varying quality -- done well on Evanescence's "Made of Stone" and the Cure's "Apart," but reducing Linkin Park's "Blackout" to mostly screaming -- and they all sound like the typical music you'd hear in an industrial/goth club.

This sameness of the songs here applies to the original songs as well. There's a consistently downbeat theme to most of the songs (as titles like "You Won't See the Light" and "It Rapes All in Its Path" indicate) and the overall effect is that nothing really stands out. Some of the songs on the Underworld: Awakening soundtrack are some better examples of this darker genre of music, but not enough songs stand out from the ones that come before or after the other ones here.

Overall grade: C
Reviewed by James Lynch

FOOTLOOSE 2011 soundtrack

While I didn't see this year's remake of Footloose, it's safe to say -- from the trailer, and the original -- that the theme of the movie is that teens just gotta dance. Considering that the remake is set in the south, it also follows that they just gotta dance to country music. This year's Footloose soundtrack delivers plenty of country music; but as for the dancing...

This Footloose soundtrack is almost half remakes of songs from the original movie and soundtrack, and half original material. The covers are a mixed lot: Blake Shelton stays pretty close to the original for the title track, giving enough of a country twang to make it remain fun. Likewise, the country music feel that Jana Kramer brings to "Let's Hear It for the Boy" makes the song fresh and uplifting. But the duet of Hunter Hayes and Disney singer Victoria Justice on "Almost Paradise" is a little too close to the original, while making "Holding Out for a Hero" into a slow, almost-mournful ballad doesn't quite work.

The new songs are also mixed. It's hard not to want to get up and dance to songs like "So Sorry Mama" (a tribute to those irrestible bad boys) and the Big & Rich=Gretchen Wilson collaboration "Fake ID" (about an underage kid eager to sneak into a bar to hear a band). But the soundtrack takes an odd turn halfway through, slowing down for the aforementioned "Almost Paradise" and following that with two blues songs and a slower rocker before returning to dance with David Banner and Denim's cover of "Dance the Night Away." Maybe this shift from dancing makes sense in the context of the movie, but it's an odd change of mood on the album. I'm also surprised that Julianne Hough, the movie's co-star, doesn't have any songs here since she has her own country album out.

Overall, the Footloose soundtrack is a fairly enjoyable collection of mostly country songs.

I would have though the soundtrack to a movie about dancing would have a lot more songs you could dance to, but there are plenty of good covers and originals through this album.

Overall grade: B
Reviewed by James Lynch

BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY -- THE ALBUM

This is a new one to me: a soundtrack album

inspired by a video game that hasn't come out yet -- and the music's not in the game, just inspired by it. Welcome to Batman: Arkham City -- The Album, a largely goth collection of songs that match the grim and gritty feel of how the Batman: Arkham City game looks and plays.

If you were wondering, neither Batman nor the other characters from the game are mentioned directly on the songs here (except from a dialogue sample used in Panic! at the Disco's "Mercenary"). Instead, the soundtrack is about obsession, rivalry, the darkness of the city, madness, etc. It's not exactly cheerful.

Fortunately, the artists here are skilled at making music out of dark themes, whether it's punk loudness (The Damned Things' "Losing You") or almost acoustic intensity (Serj Tankin's "Total Paranoia"). Many of the bands here are new to me, though I have heard music from Panic! at the Disco, Coheed and Cambria, and Daughtry before.

My main issue with Batman: Arkham City -- the Album isn't with the songs (which are all solid), but with the concept. The game may have inspired the music, but you could just as easily remove all traces of Batman and Arkham City, call it an alternative collection, and no one would notice any difference.

Overall grade: B-
Reviewed by James Lynch

GLEE: THE MUSIC, DANCE PARTY

The show Glee is, much like American Idol, a combination of tv entertainment and music machine: People who like the people and performances from the show may also seek out the songs on cd/iTunes. Glee: The Music, Dance Party (disclaimer: This is a Target exclusive, and I work for Target -- or does Target work for me?) is a six-song collection of upbeat covers from the show.

I'm not sure what makes this collection a "dance party" -- the lack of slow ballads, perhaps? -- but the songs here are a mix of pop, rap, and even '80s nostalgia (with "I Know What Boys Like"). The problem is that there's no attempt to make these covers sound different from the original versions (unless you count the slightly cleaned-up lyrics on "Yeah!").

That's not to say the songs are bad per se. Heather Morris (Brittany on the show) has a decent voice, singing on "I'm a Slave 4 U" and "Tik Tok." There's also a nice, almost deliberately amateurish version of, well, high school kids singing together on "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend how to Dance with You."

Glee: The Music, Dance Party is neither terrible nor great. It is, simply, six routine covers of popular songs that were performed on a popular show.

Overall grade: C
Reviewed by James Lynch

THE BOOK OF MORMON soundtrack

What do you get if you combine the co-creator of Avenue Q, the creators of South Park, and America's nicest and goofiest home-grown religion? You get The Book of Mormon, an energetic musical that's both irreverent and sweet -- and whose songs are damn funny.

The play has the format of a road trip/fish-out-of-water story. In Salt Lake City, the Mormons are being paired up and sent off to do missionary work. Elder Cunningham is nerdy, nervous, and prone to making things up. Elder Price is handsome, charismatic, and dreams of going to Orlando. But while the other Mormons get great assignments ("Oh, Japan!" "Land of soy sauce!" "And Mothra!") Price isn't happy to find that he and Elder Cunningham are going to Uganda -- where starvation, AIDS, and warlords make life miserable. What are two amazingly polite white missionaries to do?

The Book of Mormon soundtrack is terrific, capturing the story of the play and providing a nice variety of musical styles. The Mormon world is overly clean-cut, from a chorus of doorbell-ringing pitches ("Hello!") to a goal of repressing one's emotions ("Turn It Off") to a rousing anthem of Mormon beliefs ("I Believe") that includes all the goofy ones. Meanwhile, Africa has its own sound: the coping phrase "Hasa Diga Eebowai" (which, when you know the translation, won't replace "Hakuna Matata" as your feel-good phrase), the idealized version of Salt Lake City ("Sal Tlay Ka Siti"), and the pretentious "I Am Africa" ("Like Bono!"). And both sounds, like both sides in the play, come together for the big finale "Tomorrow Is A Latter Day."

Parody is easy, and mockery too, but The Book of Mormon soundtrack manages to walk the line between making fun of the Mormons and not overlooking their silliness. There's plenty of crude humor ("I can't believe Jesus called me a dick!" "Let's be really fucking polite to everyone!"), but also lots of silliness, from the near-campy "Spooky Mormon Hell Dream" to a baptism presented just like a deflowering. We even get two versions of the Mormon history: the official one ("All-American Prophet") and the one with Elder Cunningham's embellishments ("Joseph Smith American Moses") that includes the starship Enterprise and a magical fuck frog. It all works very well, showing both a wicked sense of humor and a love for catchy Broadway tunes.

The Book of Mormon won the Tony for best new comedy, and The Book of Mormon soundtrack is a great reflection of the humor, heart, and twisted laughs of the play. It's a delight.

Overall grade: A
Reviewed by James Lynch

BURLESQUE soundtrack

The art of burlesque involves both less and more than a striptease: less skin (but still skin) and more art. If you accept this, the Burlesque movie soundtrack makes a lot of sense: The songs here are both soulful classics and could be used to strip down. And they work very well.

This album has ten songs: eight from Christina Aguilera, two from Cher. Unlike Aguilera's far too electronic album Bionic, on Burlesque her voice is given a chance to shine -- and shine it does. Aguilera covers classic songs (Etta James' "Something's Got a Hold of Me" and "Tough Lover," Mae West's "A Guy What Takes His Time") extremely well, capturing the old-time soul of the songs without merely copying them. (Her teasing "But I Am a Good Girl" could also be from that era, but it's an Aguilera's original.) Aguilera also has what could be current club hits, from "Express" to a song that borrows the chorus from Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People," and these are terrific fun: a modern contrast to the classic-sounding tunes.

As for Cher, while I've always been indifferent to her music, her two songs on Burlesque are quite good. Her "Welcome to Burlesque" certainly feels like an intro to a burlesque club, and "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" is both sad and strong, about being tough when things get rough. Cher fans will be thrilled that she's singing again (even for just two songs), and they work well with Aguilera's music.

I haven't seen the movie Burlesque, but I really enjoyed the Burlesque movie soundtrack. This is sexy and fun, the classic and contemporary mixed together.

Overall grade: A-
Reviewed by James Lynch

THE RUNAWAYS Sountrack

The movie The Runaways showed the atmosphere of the 1970s that influenced the creation of the Runaways -- and The Runaways soundtrack reflects that period in time as well.

Rathter than jumping right into the Runaways' songs and cover, The Runaways soundtrack takes an overview of the alternative music scene of the '70s. Before a note of Runaways music is played, there are songs from Nick Gilder, Suzi Quatro, MC5 and David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel." Towards the end of the album the listener gets The Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and The Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant." These are a nice reminder that disco was far from the only thing in the '70s. (Not everything from the movie is in here, notably the original of "Do You Wanna Touch Me (There)" which would later be covered by Joan Jett.)



A strength of the movie The Runaways was the music performed by Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart, and that music is here in all its glory. Indeed, one slight flaw with The Runaways soundtrack is the jumble of original songs and covers: The music bounces around between Runaways songs, Runaways covers, the Runaways performing live, and finally a post-Runaways song by Joan Jett. The Runaways soundtrack is ultimately a tribute to not just the Runaways but the culture they loved and joined.



Overall grade: A-

Reviewed by James Lynch

VALENTINE'S DAY soundtrack

"I don't wanna write a love song for the world/ I just wanna write a song about a boy and a girl." This line from Micahel Franti & Spearhead's "Say Hey (I Love You)" summarizes the soundtrack to the movie Valentine's Day, being released two days after, well, Valentine's Day. As one might imagine, the theme of the album is romance.

Valentine's Day features songs about love, be it love enjoyed, love hoped for, or love missed. There's a wide variety of artists here: old pros like Willie Nelson and Nat King Cole; newer artists include Taylor Swift (who has two songs here, possibly thanks to her role in the movie), Joss Stone, Jewel, Maroon 5, and Leighton Meester from Gossip Girl; and new artists (to me, anyway) like Black Gold and Steel Magnolia.

So what's here? There are lots of covers, of varying quality. Maroon 5 give an excellent big band feel to "I'm in the Mood For Love." Sausalito Foxtrot's perky "Everyday" won't replace the Buddy Holly version anytime soon. And I still don't know what to make of the Indian stylings of Anju Ramapriyam's "Signed Sealed Delivered I'm Yours."

While Valentine's Day is for the most part sappy and sentimental, the album does better by including artists with numerous styles. Taylor Swift's songs are her usual pop-country hybrids (though I found "Today Was a Fairytale" more country than most of her singles), but Joss Stone provides a jazzy touch with "4 and 20," Amy Winehouse delivers the blues on "Cupid," Michael Franti and Spearhead deliver a Caribbean tune, and Nat King Cole goes with the Spanish song "Te Quiero Dijate."

Overall, the songs are decent. As with most soundtracks the song quality varies, and few of the ones here really stand out. Then again, the songs are enjoyable as well, something light to listen to for getting in the spirit of the holiday. Valentine's Day is a nice little album, nothing awe-inspiring but a pleasant listen.

Overall grade: B-

Reviewed by James Lynch

ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO soundtrack

Soundtracks are interesting creatures. Sometimes they have the instrumental music that sets the tone for the movie, and other times they collect songs that advance the story and remind the viewer of key scenes in the film. The Zack and Miri Make a Porno sountrack, from the film of the same name, has most of the music from the film -- and more -- but the parts of the whole aren't always good.

As with many soundtracks to Kevin Smith films, this soundtrack has numerous clips of dialogue from the movie. These are quick -- most are less than a minute long -- and they're hilarious, capturing some of the funniest moments from the movie Zack and Miri Make A Porno.

As for the songs, they're a mixed bag. Just as one would expect from a movie about shooting a porno, there are lots of songs about sex, from Primus' "Winona's Big Brown Beaver" to Jesus and Mary Chain's "Just Like Honey." Alas, several of the songs are ones I wouldn't listen to on their own: The Pixies' "Hey" is one of their weaker songs, Lem's "Steal My Sunshine" had justly been forgotten, and I could have gone the rest of my life without hearing Jermaine Stewart's "We Don't Have to Take Out Clothes Off." Also, some songs played in the movie are missing, including DJ Cool's "Let Me Clear My Throat" and Live's "Hold Me Up."

There are highlights on the Zack and Miri Make A Porno soundtrack. Blondie's "Dreaming" is always great to hear, plus MC Chris provides the perfect geek rap with "Fett's Vette." And the comedy clips are funny. The Zack and Miri Make A Porno soundtrack should have included all of the music from the movie, and some of the songs are duds, but it is a nice diversion -- and a good reminder of an amusing film.

Overall grade: B-
Reviewed by James Lynch