The average "cash grab sequel to a cult hit" affair. There are some good songs such as the contributions by PJ Harvey, Filter, and Iggy Pop's re-recording of "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is fierce as a fireball. However, as a whole, the attempt to imitate the magic of the first
The Crow soundtrack is completely lackluster. The deep cuts and b-sides that were chosen on that album never felt like forgotten scraps that were dug up. In fact, they eclipse the big hits in the tracklist because of how
good they are. Even the covers are outstanding, with Nine Inch Nail's legendary rendition of Joy Division's "Dead Souls" being one of the soundtrack's obvious highlights. On
City of Angels, Hole's cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Gold Dust Woman" is good, but it's only held together by Courtney Love's snarling attitude. The other two covers offer nothing special in either performance or interpreting the original song... Who decided Bush covering Joy Division was a good idea?
What gave the original
The Crow soundtrack its unique, cohesive sound is the atmosphere its tracklist created. At times it's noisy and abrasive, some times moody and gothic, and other times contemplative and melancholic. With some smart sequencing, the end product was a potent collection of songs that can still be appreciated outside of the film's context. By comparison,
City of Angels stubbornly operates on one note, completely missing the nuance of the former's success. It certainly succeeds at sticking to an aesthetic, but across its 70 minute run time, aggressive post-grunge and industrial metal songs just blend together. Too few songs lack any dynamics, as they are often just big and loud. Not only does this keep the listening experience from being totally engaging, but dates the soundtrack in a very unflattering way. It defines mediocre 90's radio rock even more than the already dated production.
That last point is ultimately what makes this soundtrack not work: it tries too hard to appeal to its contemporary rock audience. It's a shallow attempt at cashing in on the sequel to a movie that should have stayed singular out of respect for Brandon Lee's death.
