REVIEW: Soundtrack, Godzilla (Epic) /
Can't Hardly Wait (Elektra)
- Bob Gajarsky
If you believe the hype, size really does matter. At least that's the marketing scheme behind both the film and the soundtrack for the latest big screen incarnation of the giant ape, Godzilla.
The soundtrack for Godzilla couldn't even climb above the 2nd floor if all the tracks were like the Wallflowers' inspid and utterly useless reading of David Bowie's "Heroes". Why didn't Epic include an already-released, better cover from one of their own artists? Oasis performed the song on the B-side for their "D'You Know What I Mean?" CD (import) single.
Fortunately, the Wallflowers shortcomings aren't repeated by the other artists. Despite my abhorrence of anything Puff Daddy has been involved with during the last year, the threatening and powerful "Come With Me" - his contribution with Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello and Jimmy Page performing his guitar from Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" - certainly ranks as a more inspired sample than anything the Puffster has used before.
And, from this point, Godzilla starts to produce in synch with the hype behind its film. Potential future singles are almost too numerous to name; Stevie Wonder is almost here, thanks to Jay Kay and Jamiroquai, with "Deeper Underground", harkening back to his Innervisions days; Ben Folds Five's "Air" will instantly ring true to anyone who fell in love with the poignant "Brick"; new tracks from Rage Against the Machine and Foo Fighters (the latter the first with new guitarist Franz Stahl) show that neither band has lost a step since their last studio albums. The remainder of the acts featured here (ranging from Green Day to silverchair) barely slow the climb of this monster.
We're talking big. Huge.
Can't Hardly Wait takes a much more minimized approach to the soundtrack, hooking up some of today's top hip-hop artists along with a few cutting edge modern rock acts, mixed with a few veterans (Guns N Roses, Run DMC, Matthew Sweet, Parliament) to work alongside a 90s version of John Hughes' teen-angst films.
Not only does the cast of this film (Jennifer Love Hewitt, Melissa Joan Hart, Jerry O'Connell, Jenna Elfman) echo back to the Molly Ringwald/Judd Nelson clan of Hughes films, but the soundtrack tears a page from Pretty In Pink and Some Kind Of Wonderful.
If "Walking On The Sun" ripped off the Zombies' "She's Not There", Smash Mouth's cover of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons' "Can't Get Enough Of You" takes its opening cue from ? And The Mysterians' "Can't Get Enough Of You Baby".
Current faves Third Eye Blind produce another winner with a remix of "The Graduate"; Britain's Feeder takes a break from their metal background to slow the pace on the McCartney-meets-Oasis track "High", which could become one of the summer's instant classics, and Black Lab are clearly influenced by XTC on "Tell Me What To Say".
Two hip hop smashes - Busta Rhymes'-sampled Knight Rider theme, "Turn It Up / Fire It Up", and Missy Elliott's "Hit 'Em Wit Da Hee", also offer a fine introduction for the uninformed fan.
While not likely to be a smash of gargantuan proportions, Can't Hardly Wait is likely to become the surprise soundtrack of the summer.
