Be
Cool Soundtrack
by David Demarest
Be
Cool Soundtrack
Label: TVT
Rating: 
There are people who will say that the
Be Cool Soundtrack does not suck. There’s no gentle way to
say this: Those people are wrong.
Listen to me and trust me when I tell you
that you do not want this album. Are there good songs? Hell
yes, there are a few. But there are better, more satisfying ways
to work those songs into your music collection. This album will not
get cold before you become embarrassed to have it in your possession.
If you simply must buy it, save some money by waiting a week and buying
it used.
But wait- you’ve read the back, you know
and respect several of the artists, and a few of the other songs spark
your interest- how can it be that bad? It’s like this: Making
a mix can be tricky. You can’t just throw a bunch of songs on a disc
and expect it to be gold. The creator needs to design around a theme,
and pick songs with a listener in mind, so that each song will somehow
relate to the next or to the album as a whole. Obviously, this did
not happen for the Be Cool soundtrack. These are songs that
were probably appropriately picked for their respective scenes in the movie,
but without the theatric set up to create a transition these songs just
don’t belong together.
You’ll find yourself desperate to scrape
together a little bit of a groove, and then the single damn minute you
can get into it just a little, along comes a song to take your right out
of it. And that’s the problem with the Be Cool soundtrack:
Your favorite song might be on this album, but it’s on there with a song
or two that you hate. There really is something for everyone… to
hate.
That being said (and underlined), there
individual efforts on this album are not bad. The Black Eyed Peas
present an interesting track with “Sexy,” and Elis Regina offers another
bright spot with the Brazilian song “Roda.” Of course, you gotta
give it up for James Brown, although “The Boss” is not one of his best.
On the other hand, “Hollywood Swinging” probably is one of Kool & The
Gang’s brighter moments. Someone’s decided to follow some hard core
rap (G’s and Soldiers) with the Original Motion Picture Score, which is
thrown in the mix for absolutely no reason that I can tell. It’s
worth noting that “G’s and Soldiers” by Planet Asia featuring Kurupt is
heavily censored, but to be honest, I think the less you hear of this song,
probably the better. By the time you get to next to last song “A
Cowboy’s Work is Never Done” I would guess that you either hate that song
or you’ve hated nearly every other song on the album. Right now if
you’re me you’ve started a game to try to determine which song was exactly
the worst to be included. All bet’s are on hold, however, until you
listen to the last song “You Ain’t Woman Enough” sung by former professional
wrestler turned actor The Rock. All this song needs is Hulk Hogan
to sing harmony, but he doesn’t, and to sum it all up, this wasn’t my pick
for worst song.
Buy this album for someone you’d like to
break up with.
CD Info and Links
Tracks:
Fantasy - Earth, Wind & Fire
Hollywood Swinging - Kool & The Gang
Be Thankful For What You Got - William
DeVaughn
Roda - Elis Regina
Sexy - Black Eyed Peas
Suga Suga - Baby Bash (reggae remix)
Boss, The - James Brown
Ain't No Reason - Christina Milian
Believer - Christina Milian
Brand New Old Skool - 777
G's And Soldiers - Planet Asia/Kurupt
Cool Chili - John Powell
Cowboy's Work Is Never Done, A - Sonny
& Cher
You Ain't Woman Enough - The Rock
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