Review of Soundtracks From Neil H

Alan here stepping into tontosgirl's shoes (man my feet are swollen), with a review of the soundtracks CD that Neil sent.


Now right up front I need to be honest. When tontosgirl opened her envelope and out came this CD her face fell a little. It's a CD of soundtracks. She doesn't do soundtracks. I on the other hand love soundtracks, soundtracks make movies. Anyway with a little encouragement from me, she slipped the CD into the drive on the PC and ripped the tracks, I was hopping around the room in anticipation. "Go on put it on shuffle-play," I said. "You might find something you like afterall. Look there's a Tom Petty track, and some Vangelis."


Click shuffle play, and the first thing the PC selected was Cluckin' Bell from the GTA soundtrack. A HIT! Both for me (obviously, I've been playing GTA IV since it was released), and tontosgirl.


1. Interstate '76 Theme. / 2. Never Get Outta The Car
Here's why mixclub is such a great idea. Not only does the CD you get sometimes inspire you to listen to a new artist, in this case it can do so much more. A CD of movie and game soundtracks can send you looking for a new movie to watch or a new game to play. Both tracks come from the game Interstate '76 which I have never played, but probably would enjoy. A hit for me, but sadly a miss for tontosgirl


3. A Lawless Town, Christopher Lennertz
Another hit for me, I'm not sure where this comes from, and I couldn't find it from a quick google. It does have a very cowboy feel to it though. So I wouldn't be surprised if it were from a western movie or a game where men with guns take on overwhelming odds!


4. Honeybee Kingdom, Mario Yokota. 5. Buggie Running Beeps, Kenichi Sugiy...
No didn't like either of these and neither did tontosgirl. From SuperMario or something similar I suspect, but in all honesty don't know. Too repetitive for me I'm afraid.


6. Truth and Reconciliation Suite
I think this is from the game Halo, but I could be wrong (I'm a Playstation man, not an Xbox). It's good though, really takes you through the track and keeps building all the time. A Hit for me, but not tontosgirl.


7. Cluckin' Bell & 9. Weasel News.
Both hits with both of us, see my comments at the start of the review for more.


8.Green Onions, Booker T & The MG's
This was a reversal of opinions. Tontosgirl loved it, as an old familiar favourite. I didn't. It just plods on to me.


10. Zombie, Fela Kuti
A double miss for this one, neither of us liked this one.

11. Get Innocuous! LCD Soundsystem
Pretty sure this is another take from GTA IV, I'm sure I recognise it from cruising the streets of Liberty City. Great track for just chilling, but the voice-over from the "DJ" did get a bit annoying at times. Another hit for me, a miss for tontosgirl.

12. Running Down a Dream, Tom Petty.
Guaranteed instant hit for me, love Tom Petty. Tontosgirl also taken with this one, so scores twice! Not sure where it's from in soundtrack fame though?

13. Crossroads, Cream.
Another double hit. The track speaks for itself really as a classic guitar anthem.

14. Cohens Masterpiece, Bioshock.
Another one I would miss from being a playstation gamer, as this is another Xbox track (I think). Out of context though it could be mistaken for some classical piano, quite easily. Not a hit for either of us though, but no strong aversion to it either. Just didn't like it.

15. Struggle for Pleasure, Wim Mertens
I'm guessing from the cover art to the CD that this comes from the film "The Belly Of An Architect", and continues the piano theme from the previous track. This time however you had us both hooked. A double hit, and I think I'll be tracking down the rest of this soundtrack to add it to my collection, based on this one track.

16. Powaqqatsi, Philip Glass.
From the movie of the same name, I'm guessing, and other soundtrack with a classical bent. A hit with me, I want to hear more, and probably watch the movie too now. Less so with tontosgirl, but I suspect she'll sit through the dvd with me, and who knows it might grow on her!

17. Tears In Rain, 18. Blade Runner (End Titles), Vangelis
I only needed to know there was a Vangelis track on here to know that I was going to like most of the album. An inspired choice though. I wouldn't have thought of either of these as Vangelis soundtracks to put on here. I would of been thinking of other better known ones - Chariots of Fire, Antarctica to name two. Both of these are hits for me though, and tontosgirl, but they had to grow on her a bit.

19. Still Alive, Portal.
I loved this one from the start, but tontosgirl described it as horrid, and it made her feel ill! Guess I will have to listen to it via headphones from now on then! I loved the whole electronic voice, and the words and music gelled wonderfully together. I'm guessing this is from the Xbox game? If there is more of the same I'd be interested to hear it.

So that's it. Overall I rated this mix far higher than tontosgirl, she really did appreciate that Neil went to all the trouble of pulling it together and sending it though, and is sorry that she's not well enough to sit down and type the review herself. For me this was an inspired mix. I really liked the whole idea of a mix of movie and game soundtracks. Excellent idea, and it's left me wanting not only to find the rest of some of the soundtracks, but also watch some movies too. I'd even go so far as to say buy some Xbox games, but I think I might get shot if I do! I'll just have to hope that the platform wars mean that one day games for one platform will eventually be available on another i.e. PS3.