VARIOUS ARTISTS
"Music
From and Inspired by Mission Impossible 2" (Hollywood Records)
Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton
As anybody who's seen the enormous summer blockbuster starring Tom Cruise can tell you, "Mission Impossible 2" benefited greatly from the music. In fact, some have said that "M:I-2" was nothing more than one big, really expensive music video. (My response: Who cares? It rocked!).
The film's music includes the excellent traditional film score by Hans Zimmer (whose work appears on only one track on this CD but in its entirety on another) as well as an impressive line-up of rock talent whose music was incorporated into the film brilliantly by director John Woo and crew.
"Music from and Inspired by M:I-2" begins with Limp Bizkit and their rendition of the classic "Mission Impossible" theme, originally written by Lalo Schifrin (another legendary film and television composer). I'll admit - when I first heard that Limp Bizkit was recording the theme for "M:I-2," I was concerned. Danny Elfman (former Oingo Boingo frontman and a superb film composer himself) did a terrific job with the theme for the first film. It seemed impossible that Limp Bizkit could fill Elfman's shoes.
I was in for a pleasant surprise. "Take a Look Around" is a killer track, taking the "Mission Impossible" theme and tweaking into a modern rock tune that kicks some serious ass.
As if to ensure that the CD wouldn't lose its momentum, a new song by Metallica, "I Disappear" follows and this track could have easily been a cut off the band's "Black" album. Heavy, throbbing and incredibly well-crafted, "I Disappear" is a great Metallica song.
Rob Zombie's "Scum of the Earth" is next and readers of Rough Edge will know what to expect from Zombie. More of the same here. Great stuff.
The Butthole Surfers' provided the surprisingly sophisticated "They Came In" next. Another great tune, "They Came In" is somewhat more modern than we've come to expect of the BH Surfers and fits in with the rest of the CD perfectly.
"Rocket Science" by The Pimps follows and it's a solid pseudo-nu-metal tune, though really nothing spectacular.
As anyone might imagine, it's not easy to do a Pink Floyd cover, but the Foo Fighters And Brian May don't do badly with "Have A Cigar." They don't change the song so much it's unrecognizable, but they manage to make it their own as well. Very cool.
Chris Cornell offers "Mission 2000" next and it's another song that fits the film and CD's theme perfectly. Sounds a lot like Soundgarden doing the theme for a summer adventure movie.
"Going Down" by Godsmack is next and it's a solid rock tune the likes of which you'd expect from the ultra-successful Godsmack. Not as heavy as some of the band's other material but still a pretty good rocker.
Uncle Cracker is next with "What U Lookin' At?" produced by Kid Rock. Starts out like standard rap but (thankfully) morphs into a pretty good rap/metal tune.
The following few tracks, Apartment 26 and "Backwards," Diffuser and "Karma," Buckcherry and "Alone," Tinfed's "Immune" and "My Kinda Scene" by Powderfinger are all adequate tunes with "Backwards" shining the brightest and rocking the hardest.
The CD ends with Tori Amos and "Carnival" (love-theme type music) and "Nyah" by Hans Zimmer and Heitor Pererira. "Nyah" is an acoustic Spanish guitar track that's pretty damn cool.
Overall, "Music From and Inspired by Mission Impossible 2" is a great movie soundtrack. Less filler, more rock - it's that rare soundtrack collection that you buy for the entire CD, not just a song or two.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
Copyright © 2000 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights
reserved.
Revised: 16 Sep 2024 12:51:58 -0400.
