REVIEW: Soundtrack, Higher Learning (Epic Soundtrax)

-Jorge Velez

According to the press release, the people behind the soundtrack to John Singleton's (Boyz n' The Hood) new film Higher Learning wanted "to create a musical atmosphere similar to what you might hear on any college campus in America today". Well, I'd have to give them an A for effort - and that's it. The Higher Learning soundtrack falls short of providing the kind of schizo variety one really encounters in today's dorm CD player, relying instead on hip hop,r&b and alterna-whatever to mold its idea of diversity.

The album opens with Ice Cube's "Higher", which is one of three hip hop tracks, along with the contributions of fellow West Coasters Mista Grimm and Outkast. Cube's track is an example of one of his many current lapses in musical and lyrical energy. The rhyming is particularly pedestrian, and one can only hope that his upcoming Helter Skelter project with Dr. Dre will prove that he's still got it in him. Not here, though. Outkast and Mistah Grimm fare a little better, with Outkast the better of the two as a result of the flowing, creepy track that supports the rambling rhyme. Mistah Grimm is, essentially, some ol' West Coast Mack Daddy Player rhyming which is probably all that out there in CA but bores these East Coast ears.

Tori Amos, pitches in two tracks: a cover of REM's four-year old classic "Losing My Religion", and an original entitled "Butterfly". The cover tune is a piano/voice rendition. And, you know, I would much rather have had Kate Bush doing this - though how many college kids in '95 listen to Kate Bush, huh? - because she would've at least thrown in a few good shrieks. As for Tori's version: it's just there. "Butterfly" has Tori singing in a quivery voice about kittens, a dead man, a running girl. It grates, kids. As do Rage Against The Machine and their wack rap metal (ugh!) sloganeering on "Year Of The Boomerang". Liz Phair shows up with the poppy, pissed off "Don't Have Time". Short and to the point, with great "seagull" effects to boot, it's one of the few worthwhile tracks on the album. Add to that Me'Shell NdegeOcello's "Soul Searchin'", with its smooth circa 1979 Quiet Storm feel and a groove that, for some reason, makes me think of The SOS Band from back in the day. Also, "Ask Of You" by Raphael Saadiq, which, along with The Brand New Heavies' "Higher Learning/Time For Change" proves that when retro is done right, it can (almost) save the day. Definitely a "hear it before you buy it" sort of deal here.