Since the advent of cinema, music has played an integral role in the movies. Back in the days of silent films, piano players were employed to play music in the theatres. One of the first really popular film scores to make the leap to popular music was ‘Smile’ from Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times. Since then, popular music and film have integrated like horse & cart and albums containing music from and inspired by movies have become almost as common as the cold.
Recently, the second sequel to the new franchise of the science fiction film based on Hasbro’s toyline, Transformers, screened at cinemas. This genre of film has in recent years spawned fantastic soundtrack albums and we were hoping that this would once again be the case. Unfortunately not. Instead, this album presented a lukewarm mix of songs by some pretty big name artists.
The lead single from the album is by hard-rockers turned mainstream-adult-contemporary stars, Linkin Park. The track ‘Iridescent’ is anything but. It’s lacklustre and sounds more like an outtake than a single. Paramore’s ‘Monster’ is probably the best track on the album. The young pop-punk band from America previously recorded a song for the smash hit film Twilight. Their music just seems to fit perfectly with films for young adults (and old kids). Although this track was recorded about two years after their last album Brand New Eyes, it has a very similar sound and would have worked very well as a single from that album. My Chemical Romance also make an appearance on the album. Their contribution, ‘The Only Hope For Me Is You’, does not really sound like anything else they’ve done before but is pleasant enough to listen to.
One is left wondering why relics of the late ‘90s/early ‘00s, Staind, Goo Goo Dolls and Theory Of A Deadman are even included in this mix. These bands seem completely irrelevant to the audience of this film. Their tracks are the ones that you will most likely not transfer to your iPod. Overall, this album is disappointing. There are a few tracks which make it listenable but in 6 months’ time, this will be included in the pile of albums you’ll be pawning for KFC money.
– Brett Schewitz
