ShareThis"FAST & FURIOUS" soundtrack, various acts (Interscope/Star Trak)
Soundtracks rarely make this much sense, but the compilation for the new "Fast & Furious" film is a natural accomplice to an action movie about fast cars: It's juiced up and larger than life.
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker re-team in the new sequel for the first time since they were paired in 2001 for the original "Fast & Furious" movie.
Yet the star of the soundtrack is Pitbull, the Cuban-American rapper who has commanding lead vocals on four cuts (five counting a remix). He and other performers also add irresistible Latin flavor (the movie is set in Los Angeles and Mexico), grinding through a spattering of Spanish lyrics plus heady percussion that whirls around the high-voltage electricity of the hip-hop/dance grooves. The Neptunes' Pharrell unleashes Pitbull into the churning banger "Blanco," which is offered in bilingual and "Strictly Spanish" versions, while Lil Jon steps up with yelps and "yeahs" in support of the tenacious rapper on a manic "Krazy." Pitbull also gets assistance from Tego Calderon, injecting a shot of lust into the machinery of the Latin-electro "You Slip, She Grip," and singer Robin Thicke's high, soulful voice adds balance to the rapper's hard drive over the mad cadence of "Bad Girls."
The collection is rich in non-Pitbull material, too: Opening cut "Bang," by Rye Rye, is a full-throttle roll of fractured, marching drums and surreal vocals; Busta Rhymes leads the attitude-filled strut of "G-Stro"; Shark City Click pounds through the chunky arrangement of "Head Bust"; and Kenna's "Loose Wires" is tethered to heavy bass and a grainy rope of electronica.
The only bump in the road is Tasha's choppy, momentum-killing remake of Madonna's "La Isla Bonita" -- an estrogen-filled slick spot on a testosterone-packed track.
Consider it a pit stop.
Rating (five possible): 4
"NEW YEAR'S DAY," The Bacon Brothers (Forosoco)
Kevin Bacon has had a lot of unmemorable roles, and one of those is his part in The Bacon Brothers. As he and his brother, Michael, put out their sixth release, "New Year's Day," you have to wonder how many sequels they have left in them. For a pair of brothers who've been playing together off and on 14 years, it seems like they would be more advanced than this.
At least Michael's work as a film and TV composer doesn't hurt. "New Year's Day" is a modest sonic adventure, with Philly soul (they're from Philadelphia), California rock, a little reggae and general bar-band bluster breezing in and out of the mix. There are nice touches, too, from the unexpected flageolet on "Architeuthis" to the chant-along denouement in the electric-chugging title track.
But oh, those voices. Both brothers sing, so poorly that they destroy whatever good will might have been mustered by the serviceable arrangements. And their delivery underscores other flaws on the release: The hokey harmonica on the flat "Tell Me What I Have To Do" sounds that much more obtrusive, the pacing of cuts such as "Almost Got Rich" and "Bunch of Words" is lethargic to the point of lifelessness, the lyrics are generic, etc.
Those weak, sub-karaoke-level voices splatter the songs with such pedestrianism that "New Year's Day" would be more viable as an instrumental.
Surprisingly, finale "Kikko's Song" -- written, produced and mixed by Kevin Bacon (his most hands-on role on the release) -- is not quite the disaster that might be expected. The acoustic ditty proves the virtue of keeping it simple, though it's too little, too late to save this "New Year's Day."
Rating: 2
"RELAPSE TO RECOVERY," These Green Eyes (Blackledge)
The band These Green Eyes earnestly addresses serious issues on its new "Relapse to Recovery," and the New Haven, Conn., group's plaintive sincerity goes a good way in compensating for its humdrum execution.
A central theme to "Relapse to Recovery" is the suicide of a close friend of the band members, and the pain is palpable as Colin Cunningham sings "When I heard the news, I knew that I had failed you" on the mournful "Blood Sweat and Beers." That mid-album highlight is precipitated by an arching "Drunk Driver," in which the vocalist grapples with betrayal and frustration before concluding, "Now I'm giving up on you!"
Yet for all the band's heartfelt struggles, "Relapse to Recovery" is relentlessly formulaic, not just a slave to the genre that's allegedly passing for punk these days, but also to an array of sound-alike songs and the one-note style of Cunningham's vocals.
Crushed between the limited variation of arrangements and the narrow lyrical focus, listeners are sure to feel battle fatigue as "Relapse to Recovery" pounds away predictably and redundantly. (To the band's credit, These Green Eyes knocks out a few unconventional rhythm-section treatments, though they're of minor consequence.)
However, emotions are riveting on "Relapse to Recovery," and Cunningham will elicit empathy with raw accusations like "I don't know what you've got to be so upset about when everything that's been done to you, you brought upon yourself" (on "Words"). So if nothing else, the songs seem grounded in reality rather than merely contrived to manipulate.
That gives the release soul, if not deliverance.
Rating: 3
(E-mail Chuck Campbell of The Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee at Campbell(at)knews.com.)
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