REVIEW: Soundtrack, Spawn (Immortal/Epic/Sony Soundtrax)
- Stephen Lin
Who would've thunk it? That one man, a simple comic book writer/artist, could build a veritable empire. Todd McFarlane is that man and Spawn is the foundation upon which his empire has been built.
Back in 1992, McFarlane and group of the comic book industries hottest creators formed their own company, Image. It was an isolated event of "breaking the rules." Image generated an infectious excitement with their new line of comic book titles (including Spawn). I'd be surprised if anyone was clairvoyant enough to recognize just how popular Image and Spawn would become.
Apparently, popular enough for a few spin-off titles to be published. Popular enough for Todd McFarlane to start his own toy company. Popular enough for HBO to pick up on an animated adult-oriented series. Popular enough for a live-action movie. And perhaps most significantly, popular enough for Sony to release Spawn as a companion to the movie.
Remember the Judgement Night Soundtrack from a few years ago? Where they got a bunch of hip-hop artists to team up with a bunch of alterna-rockers together? Spawn uses the same concept, but a different mix. Instead of hip-hop, we have the "electronica." (Ah, yes "electronica!" Catch phrase of the week!) With the flash success of Prodigy and the like, why not team them with real live rock bands? It works - most of the time.
The album opens up with Filter & The Crystal Method. "(Can't You) Trip Like I Do" is easily the best blend of talents and sounds. It sounds like one cohesive unit playing one collectively written song. This may result from Filter's pre-existing comfort with the use of electronics. Even though "Trip Like I do" has its own singular sound, you can definitely pick out the individual artists influences. Another well-blended track is Mansun (who happen to put on one of the best live shows I've ever seen) & 808 State's "Skin Up Pin Up." Mansun's distinctive vocals and song structure sound perfectly at home in the electronic ambience of 808 State.
Following Filter & the Crystal Method are Marilyn Manson & Sneaker Pimps. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a big Manson fan - but I absolutely adore the Pimps. While "Long Hard Road Out of Hell" is definitely more Manson than Pimps, it still impressed me. "Long Hard Road Out of Hell" has the perfect amount of eeriness, groove, and aggression piled on top of one another. Rumor has it that a Spawn remix album may be in the works where a Sneaker Pimps & Marilyn Manson (more Pimps athan Manson) version of "Long Hard Road Out of Hell" may appear. Please?
Orbital & Kirk Hammett's "Satan" sounds more like Orbital remixing Hammett than a collaboration between the artists. The same can be said of Butthole Surfers & Moby's "Tiny Rubberband" and Silverchair & In Vitro's "Spawn." Prodigy & Tom Morello's "One Man Army" and Henry Rollins & Goldie's "T-4 Strain" sound entirely like one artist with the other's guest vocals. One band inevitably disappears beneath the other. (Not to mention that "One Man Army" has an irritating and repetitious sample which does not sound unlike a Yugo car-horn.)
Soul Coughing & Roni Size's "A Plane Scrapped Its Belly on a Sooty Yellow Moon" is the biggest disappointment on the album; it is nearly impossible to discern any Soul Coughing influence other than M. Doughty's vocals (Doughty's performance on 808 State's album Don Solaris is infinitely more satisfying.) Stabbing Westward & Wink's "Torn Apart" remains rather non-descript in my memory.
One of the more shockingly entertaining tracks includes Korn & Dust Brothers "Kick the P.A." It boggles the mind. Typically Dust Brothers hip-hoppy beats with the ridiculously raucous and crunchy Korn distorted armada of guitars and bass permeate the being of this song. It sounds as if the Dust Brother and Korn were held at gun-point and forced to write the track together. Nothing blends - and that's the beauty of it. Similarly entertaining is Slayer & Atari Teenage Riot's "No Remorse (I Wanna Die)." It's a speed metal freak's wet-dream come true - a mish-mash of Slayer's unbelievably fast guitar riffs scrambling to keep up with ATR's super-hyper jungle-esque beats.
Mr. McFarlane, do you see what you've created? You haven't simply created a comic book character. You've 'spawned' an empire from which others can create. Even if you're not necessarily a fan of some of the above mentioned bands, you'll want to check into this album. The amalgamation of two often distinct bands can produce surprising results.
