REVIEW: Soundtrack, Dumb and Dumber (RCA)

- Bob Gajarsky

Jim Carrey's latest big screen vehicle is Dumb and Dumber. For its soundtrack, executive producer Ron Fair (Reality Bites) has put together a diverse assortment of today's up-and-coming groups to yield one of the best soundtracks in recent memory.

The first single, Deadeye Dick's "New Age Girl", is a throwback to the catchy 1980's offshoot songs that never succeeded. Times have changed, and with those, this kind of song becomes more accessible to the record-buying mainstream. Don't let the song's commercial popularity dissaude you from appreciating its wit and irresistible chorus. Mary Mo, indeed.

Echobelly, one of England's hottest new groups, makes an appearance with "Insomniac", while the Primitives, who once *were* on the covers of the hip UK rags, have their late 80's hit "Crash" remixed slightly for 1995 consumption.

Willi One Blood's "Whiney Whiney" gets its influence from Mancini's "Baby Elephant Walk" and the Kinks "You Really Got Me" to produce a radio-ready pop/reggae smash. Although true reggae fans won't be able to stomach this, it should prove irresistible to the pop crowd who danced to Ini Kamoze's "Here Come The Hotstepper" and Shaggy's "Oh Carolina".

Two of the cover songs have mixed results: Crash Test Dummies (featuring Ellen Reid) faithfully cover XTC's "Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" with surprisingly good results, but the Proclaimers fall short of recapturing the Motown song on Rare Earth's "Get Ready". The highlight of Dumb and Dumber, in both the film and the movie, can be found in the Gigolo Aunts harmonious and infectious "Where I Find My Heaven".

This top notch quality soundtrack also includes tracks from Green Jelly, Deee-Lite, Butthole Surfers, Pete Droge, the Lupins and Bret Reilly. It is heartily recommended to any alternative music fans; its diverse quality, even if the tracks are unknown to your ears, will immediately find a home in your disc player.