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.