A Review
Of "The Crow: City Of Angels" Soundtrack (1996)
SIVART
CHRISTENSEN
This soundtrack
served as a great introduction for me to some great musicians that I still
like today including
Tricky, RZA, Korn, Deftones,
and more. It also gave me a better taste of radio staples Hole, Filter,
White Zombie
and Bush with tracks that
when I got the CD weren't singles. All of those but the Bush track spawned
radio hits
and videos. When I first
got the CD I was disappointed because, like the movie series, it pales
compared to the
original. But unlike the
movie, this is actually a very decent piece of work, something I should
have liked more.
For a 13 or 14 year old
it was most likely too much to handle.
I hadn't
picked up the CD in two years, but I did yesterday out of curiosity what
the Tricky song sounded like
. I always remembered it
as "the creepy track" although I didn't know Tricky or the Gravediggaz.
It didn't dawn on
me until I was reading lyrics
on a Tricky website
that it featured RZA, the leader of the Wu-Tang Clan, my favorite
hip-hop group. I wonder
why I never put two and two together, as I've liked Wu-Tang for nearly
three years now and
have long known that RZA
was responsible for The Gravediggaz as well. I remember the chorus to the
song on this
album, it's very hard to
forget. And it sounds like him too, I just never realized it. Anyway, in
addition to this track,
the CD is full of great
songs. I recommend the review I wrote below. Overall I give the disc about
a 7.
Key
to ratings: "Genre"
is what type of music I classify the song as being.
"Instr."
is short for "instrumentally", meaning just the music without the singing.
"Voc."
is short for "vocals", meaning the quality of the singing alone.
"Lyrics"
is my rating of the words to the song, taking into consideration what type
of music it is.
"Originality"
is a rating based on creativity and uniqueness. To be original the band
must not sound too much like everyone else or itself. Bands who
are unique from others but have similar sounding songs earn somewhat of
a low grade.
"Placement"
is my opinion on how well the track blends in with the rest of the soundtrack
album. Being a dark and sinister movie, the songs should fit into this
style, but many do not.
01. HOLE - Gold
Dust Woman (5:07)
GENRE:
Grrl
alt. rock
MUSIC
(INSTR.): 8
MUSIC
(VOC.): 7
LYRICS:
5
ORIGINALITY:
4
PLACEMENT:
5
Probably my favorite Hole song, this is a pretty vintage track in the world
of '90s rock. It does rock. Courtney Love effectively uses snarling vocals
to invoke a pretty menacing song. It is a cover, it was originally written
by Stevie Nicks so I can't blame Ms. Love for the lyrics. The guitars are
probably the best part of this track, they're even harsher than the vocals,
and since this is definitely Pre-Celebrity Skin, that's pretty harsh.
It suffers in originality not just because it's a cover; it sounds totally
different from the original. It suffers because it sounds like every other
Hole song of that era.
02. WHITE ZOMBIE
- I'm Your Boogieman (4:27)
GENRE:
Funky
metal
MUSIC
(INSTR.): 7
MUSIC
(VOC.): 5
LYRICS:
6
ORIGINALITY:
7
PLACEMENT:
3
A frankly silly cover of a KC & The Sunshine Band song, the song is
one of the weirdest on the album. Let me say up front I am not a Zombie
fan. I do like this song though. It has kooky instrumentation, including
weird keyboard and drum machine riffs by Charlie Clouser of Nine Inch Nails,
I think. It's a cool song, but it's only placement on the album is due
to its commercial appeal as White Zombie pretty much dominated the mid-'90s.
I do find it interesting they placed two covers as the first two tracks.
03. FILTER -
Jurassitol (5:13)
GENRE:
Pop
industrial
MUSIC
(INSTR.): 8
MUSIC
(VOC.): 6
LYRICS:
7
ORIGINALITY:
6
PLACEMENT:
6
Like in all of the Filter tracks I like, this song features crazy background
noises and kitsch music. The song is good, great guitar and drums. Come
to think of it, I can't even hear a bass. The song almost like drum 'n'
bass but with guitars and singing. The lyrics are interesting, something
about "hey old man got something for you". They did the song live when
I saw them.
04. P.J. HARVEY
- Naked Cousin (3:56)
GENRE:
Alternative
MUSIC
(INSTR.): 8
MUSIC
(VOC.): 7
LYRICS:
7
ORIGINALITY:
8
PLACEMENT:
8
Just a kickass song. This woman is a great musician who I should get into
more. The vocals are cool, there are weird instruments in the song (undoubtedly
the touch of Flood, my favorite producer, who worked on this song), the
lyrics are really fun. In a way this song is the best representative for
the disc.
05. BUSH - A
Lonely Place (5:58)
GENRE:
White
boy trip-hop
MUSIC
(INSTR.): 10
MUSIC
(VOC.): 8
LYRICS:
7
ORIGINALITY:
10
PLACEMENT:
9
Truly bizarre. I would have never expected Bush to
do a song like this. Also, I wondered how this Bush song and the following
Tricky song segued so well. Finally, I looked in the CD insert. This song
is produced and mixed by Tricky, and is probably partly performed by him
too. It definitely reeks of Tricky and I wonder why it eluded me at all.
If you listen with headphones you can faintly hear his vocals singing underneath
Gavin Rossdale's. The writing credits go to people I've never heard of,
so it's a cover. I have no idea who the original band is, it doesn't say.
It may as well be a new song because it sounds like nothing else. There
is faint guitar strumming underneath a trippy organic background mostly
performed by bass guitar, bass drums and an analog synthesizer most likely
played by Tricky. Just a great track. The lyrics are very melancholy and
I don't even remember the words, the singing sets the tone better than
the words. The beauty of this song is that it doesn't sound like Bush at
all.
06. TRICKY vs.
THE GRAVEDIGGAZ - Tonite Is A Special Nite (Kaos Mass Confusion Mix) (4:41)
GENRE:
Trip-hop
meets underground
hip-hop
MUSIC
(INSTR.): 10
MUSIC
(VOC.): 10
LYRICS:
10
ORIGINALITY:
10
PLACEMENT:
10
"Let's just record", Tricky begs in a way only he
can make sound dope when the track begins. Record they do, creating the
best song on the album and a truly unsettling musical piece. This epic
collaboration between trip-hop master Tricky and Wu-Tang leader RZA and
his side project street rappers The Gravediggaz is one of the most unique
things I have ever heard. Musically the piece is mind blowing, mixing RZA's
trademark piano riffs with Tricky's dark ambient soundscapes and spooky
ominous vocals. I don't know if this is a remix of a Gravediggaz song or
if it is a separate collaboration, but both styles blend perfectly for
this experimental piece. Tricky adds strange murmuring samples in the background
throughout and RZA chimes in "throw your hands in the air, tonite is a
special nite." His Gravediggaz contribute evil silly sounding gospel vocal
tones to very grimy lyrical themes involving the darkness of the city's
nightlife. Tricky finishes his track with some memorable lines, including
"Is this real? I don't know how I feel. Do you know how you feel?" and
"Are you someone else? Cuz I am me!" as he giggles like the crazy disturbed
man he is. And this truly is a crazy, disturbing track.
07. SEVEN MARY
THREE - Shelf Life (4:30)
GENRE:
Grunge
revisited
MUSIC
(INSTR.): 6
MUSIC
(VOC.): 3
LYRICS:
4
ORIGINALITY:
2
PLACEMENT:
5
Tricky didn't produce this one. This band is still stuck in early '90s
grunge, but with their own "hick bar" spin. It's simply not a good song.
Instrumentally the music isn't bad, with some decent guitar grind. But
just nothing interesting.
08. LINDA PERRY
featuring GRACE SLICK - Knock Me Out (6:51)
GENRE:
Modern
electric guitar blues
MUSIC
(INSTR.): 8
MUSIC
(VOC.): 8
LYRICS:
9
ORIGINALITY:
7
PLACEMENT:
8
I don't know the artist at all, but this is a very good song. The singing
is very depressing and the lyrics touch upon some scary issues involving
spousal abuse (apparently). Totally a blues song, it is one of the best
tracks on the album. The singing is very soulful, reaching at high drawn
out notes. It's like Portishead without Geoff Barrow. The song is also
very long, but not in an annoying way. It definitely deserves some attention,
even though it isn't a metal anthem or trip-hop groove.
09. TOADIES -
Paper Dress (4:44)
GENRE:
Hard
rock
MUSIC
(INSTR.): 6
MUSIC
(VOC.):
5
LYRICS:
4
ORIGINALITY:
3
PLACEMENT:
4
I have no idea what this song is about. It is simply not very interesting.
It's kind of catchy and it does reach a cool angry climax. But just
not much to write about. This was one of those mid-'90s bands no one knew
what to make of.
10. NY LOOSE
- Spit (5:52)
GENRE:
Hard
rock
MUSIC
(INSTR.): 4
MUSIC
(VOC.): 4
LYRICS:
4
ORIGINALITY:
6
PLACEMENT:
7
I don't know what to make of this song. I think it's about sex. I've never
heard anything else by the band. To me they sound like one of those lame
chick goth bands only without keyboards and lyrics about wanting to die.
The lyrics are still self-depreciative if they are even about anything
at all. There is no real theme to the song. Oddly it fits in quite well
with the rest of the album. It kind of reminds me of Korn with a female
singer, hence the choice for the following track.
11. KORN - Sean
Olson (4:46)
GENRE:
Heavy
metal
MUSIC
(INSTR.): 7
MUSIC
(VOC.): 7
LYRICS:
7
ORIGINALITY:
8
PLACEMENT:
7
Distinctively Korn, this song has more in common with their hard edged
debut album ('94) than their hastily put together goofoff followup released
in the same year of the soundtrack. A great song with Jon Davis's snarling
vocals and messed up childhood lyrics, the song has no major flaws except
that it's by Korn. Not that Korn is bad, but you can only expect so much
from them. The song does not really show any of their apparent rap influence
they began to show in their '96 album and utilized fully in their commercial
breakthrough Follow The Leader two years later. A very angry track
that I enjoy. This was my first introduction to Korn.
12. DEFTONES
- Teething (3:33)
GENRE:
Hardcore
MUSIC
(INSTR.): 6
MUSIC
(VOC.): 7
LYRICS:
6
ORIGINALITY:
6
PLACEMENT:
5
My mom hates this song. A logical followup to the Korn track, this song
is an example of pure thrash music. I always thought this song was completely
insane. Vocalist Chino Moreno screams his head off, outscaring Jon Davis
ten fold. The only lyric I can really pick up is "Look at yourself, you
ain't no genius!" and I think that's a great line. This song is more in
ilk with their debut album Adrenaline than their more professionally
produced followup Around The Fur, and logically so as the song precedes
the second album. A cool song in general.
13. IGGY POP
- I Wanna Be Your Dog (live) (4:40)
GENRE:
Hard rock
MUSIC
(INSTR.): 8
MUSIC
(VOC.): 7
LYRICS:
6
ORIGINALITY:
9
PLACEMENT:
7
A classic song with a great guitar riff, this live track serves as a nice
nod to former Stooges member Iggy Pop who stars in the film. It's really
hard to beat this song and Iggy always proves himself a talented musician
and a just downright weird individual.
14. PET - Lil'
Boots (4:08)
GENRE:
Hard rock
MUSIC
(INSTR.): 5
MUSIC
(VOC.): 4
LYRICS:
2
ORIGINALITY:
2
PLACEMENT:
5
Disappointing. The album goes down hill with this boring and frankly stupid
track. The band is endorsed by Tori Amos, whose label they reside on and
whose husband-to-be Eric Rosse produces. Pet shamefully trades off between
ripping off Tori herself and Hole. Who would have thought a Hole rip-off
band would be on the same CD as Hole? The formula of soft crooning into
loud angry screams gets old fast, kind of like current band Staind.
15. ABOVE THE
LAW featuring FROST - City Of Angels (4:52)
GENRE:
Sinister west coast rap
MUSIC
(INSTR.): 4
MUSIC
(VOC.): 4
LYRICS:
5
ORIGINALITY:
5
PLACEMENT:
3
Wessssssssside! A rap song and not a good one. Although the group namechecks
The Crow, the song is pretty dull and unoriginal. The vocals are not grabbing
and the lyrics are nothing special. This is laid back vintage west coast
rap but with dark themes. Not a very good song to close the album with.