Soundtrack
Batman Forever
Batman. Arguably the greatest super hero of all time and one of my favourites, no doubt. Now I know what some of you are thinking. But Metallicaman, what about Spider-man? Well, Spider-man is pretty cool, but they make it entirely too easy for him. Like come one, he lives in New York City. Id like to Spider-man in Saskatchewan. What would he do then? Hed just be like damn, theres nothing to swing off of. Thats why Batman is better. The only thing I dont like about Batman is the fact that he lives alone, in a big house, with a young man and an old man. Now, Im not saying hes gay for sure, but based on the fact that he also wears tights the evidence is convincing is it not?
Anyways, getting more on topic this is the official soundtrack for the movie Batman Forever. You know, its the one where The Riddler and Two-Face combine forces to try and take out Batman. Only to have their efforts thwarted by the caped crusader and his new found rambunctious young partner (Robin). I found this to actually be a very good movie. Some stupendous acting, especially coming from Jim Carrey. Over all the movie was very well produced as well. Some nice digital FX used when necessary. The plot line developed nicely. There was some good comic relief, mostly provided by The Riddler. Not too mention some babes here and there *raises eyebrows up and down quickly*.
Now, I know some of you are already ready to neg this, but keep in mind this album is made up of various artists so its not like I can describe to you the overall feel of it and I cant say anything about the band because its not actually a band. The fact is there was somewhat of a selection of songs on the album. Some rock, rap, hip-hop. All in all it was a splendid collaboration of songs except for a few. I wish I could describe the album to you further in an overall approach, but I cant. So I think Im going to have to make this a TBT.
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me (U2) 4.5/5- Superb song to start the album off. The first few seconds sound like some sort of computer generated FX, I suppose they may have been able to make that sound with a guitar but I doubt it. Its also briefly accompanied by the drums before all the other instruments and the vocals kick in. The verse was more than adequate, good flow and quite catchy. The guitar work was also rather outstanding. Some nice riffage throughout. From what I could tell the bass was also pretty good, but it was hard to here at times. Bono did a splendid job with the vocals for this track. His voice was perfect for the lower parts and he managed to hit the high notes perfectly as well. I also though I heard some sort of orchestra instrument in the background at parts, a violin perhaps?
One Time Too Many (PJ Harvey) 2.5/5- Some nice bluesy guitar to kick things off. The beginning guitar actually drags on for a little too long, but it didnt take that much away from the song. The vocals however took a lot away from the song. To be frank they sucked. They were completely off key and brought this track down immensely. There was some nice soloing in here but it was completely ruined by the vocals. The rest of the instrumental work was pretty sound, but most of the song was just guitar bends and the singer trying to sing in the same key and failing miserably. This wouldve been a solid track if it were not for the vocals.
Where Are You Now (Brandy) 3.5/5- Steady drum beat to get things going. Soon after were joined by some pretty funky guitar and bass. The guitar and bass were nearly flawless throughout actually. Some very jazzy instrumental work all through this track. I believe I heard some keyboard in here as well. Which was also very well written. All in all I loved this track except for Brandys vocals. They werent that bad I suppose, but they were nothing special either and I think she sang too low for her voice. She shouldve done this song in a higher pitch.
Kiss From A Rose (Seal) 5/5- The vocals in this track were indescribably beautiful. They were marvelously harmonized at the beginning and they were accompanied by a flute to add to the melodic, tender feel of the song. The verse is breathtaking with some superb instrumental work and while it only has one vocalist singing instead of harmonized vocals like in the beginning and in the chorus the singer still did an excellent job. I loved the feel of this song. There were so many different instruments that helped to add to its atmosphere. I believe I even sitar in there and the flute like I mentioned. This song also has probably my favourite chorus of all-time. Its powerful and beautiful at the same time, like a really angry cat.
The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game (Massive Attack with Tracey Thorn) 4/5- This song had an interesting sound to it. It was kind of retro. It was the kind of music women used to make, before they changed the qualifications of being a female singer from being talented to being smokin hot. The instrumentals were very good. A lot of brass instruments were used. I loved that aspect of the song. There was a nice little interlude in here as well. Im not sure what instrument they used to get the sound. It pretty much just sounded like some guy whistling. Overall this was a worthy edition to the album.
Nobody Lives Without Love (Eddi Reader) 3.5/5- Very catchy track. The instrumentals were like techno, but slower. The vocals were also exquisite. She managed to keep her voice on key and in the right tone, which several other artists on the album fail to do. Like many other songs on the album this track had a nice variety of instruments. Some brass was used. I believe I heard some wood-winds also. Even some piano. I love tracks with lots of instruments, it gives the songs such a nice diversity. The only thing that really bugged me about this track was it was kind of depressing and the vocals were a bit cheesy.
Tell Me Now (Mazzy Star) 3.5/5- This track had sort of a bluesy/folk feel to it. The guitar was interesting. I think the guitarist perhaps used a slide bar. There was some very good riffage in this track. I also enjoyed the bass lines. The vocals, while not being that bad didnt suite the music at all. This song needed a middle age country western singing, preferably male or a women with a deep voice. Instead they threw in some young pop-star whose voice is completely unsuited for the genre. That was a pretty big mistake. Otherwise this is a solid track.
Smash It Up (The Offspring) 5/5- Probably my favourite from this album. We get things started off with some nice mellow guitar, shortly into the song its pace quickens. Then theres a short pause and the guitar becomes rather distorted and the vocals come in. Which by the way Dexter (from the Offspring) did an exceptional job with. Lots of power in voice. The vocals really carried this track. There was some fine solo-y guitar in there as well. No actual solos, but little compilations of bends here and there. The rest of the band did a nice job with the underlying vocals. They really lifted up Dexters vocals in the chorus.
There Is A Light (Nick cave) 2/5- Ill just say right off the bat, I didnt like this song at all. It was way too busy. All the instrumentals sort of blended together. But no in a good way. It was like blending chocolate, carrots, dry gin and shrimp. They just didnt go together. The vocals certainly didnt help to bring up this songs rating either. They were mediocre at best. Even the back up vocals were bad. I wont waste anymore of my time describing this. Lets move on.
The Riddler (Method Man) 2.5/5- This track was decent. The first little bit seemed kind of busy. Lots of things going on the same time. Kind of confusing, but then it gets into a nice steady verse. Some of the rhymes were kind of lame. As for the instrumentals, theres not much to say. A lot of them were obviously computer generated. The drums were slightly less than adequate. Throughout basically the entire song the drums were just a simple beat not changing at all. This track seemed kind of pointless and overall was just annoying.
The Passenger (Michael Huthcence) 3/5- the first minute or so of this song was absolutely dreadful. It was just some sort of quiet humming noise. Eventually things do pick up. We get into a very nice little techno beat. The vocals werent bad either. In key for the most part. Although, the chorus was dumb. It was just la-la over and over. The instrumentals were pretty good. The drums were on time for the whole song and the beat was somewhat complex. The bass line was also pretty well-written. Nothing too special about this one, but it was still pretty good.
Crossing The River (The Devlins) 4/5- Nice vibrant techno beat to get things going. The percussion underneath picked the intro up nicely. Once the vocals kick in you can sort of here an orchestra underneath the vocals. The majority of this track was very beautiful. The vocals were in key, throughout and the guys voice was in the right pitch for the song. I found the techno-esque parts of the song a little annoying, but that probably has something to do with the last few tracks all having boring techno beats in them. There was a nice little interlude in here as well. Nothing else to say about this one, it was pretty darn good, but nothing too spectacular.
8 (Sunny Day Real Estate) 4/5- Mellow guitar to start things off. Soon joined by the vocals. Which were very great, but difficult to hear. Just when I thought this track was starting to drag on things immediately pick up. We get into some very heavy guitar work and some driving bass lines. A little too many power-chords for my taste, but considering this is just a soundtrack Im not complaining. One thing I found strange about this song is that I still cant tell whether or not the vocalist is male or female. Closer to the end there were some nice underlying vocals accompanied by a nice guitar riff mostly composed of octaves.
Bad Days (The Flaming Lips) 3/5 An interesting intro. First I thought it would be another sort of techno song, then it was joined by some brass and bass. Then when it got into the verse it turned into sort of a folk-esque song. I didnt really like the tone on the guitar. There was some piano in here but it was pretty basic. The back up vocals were pretty good. Then this songs string of surprises continued. It picked up its pace and threw in a funky bass line. All in all this was a strange track. Varying constantly, which keeps the listener on his/her toes but is also kind of annoying
Overall Rating: 3/5
Im not sure what a lot of these songs have to with Batman. Most of them werent even in the movie. To be honest I wouldnt recommend looking into this. There were a lot of solid tracks, but a fair share of not so solid tracks as well. Also, I was quite disappointed when I realized they didnt include the classic nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh BATMAN!! Until next time keep your stick on the ice.
Metallicaman
