Blues Brothers 2000 - Original Soundtrack

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Considering where the Blues Brothers were supposedly from, the opening number is quite appropriate. "Born in Chicago" is a 1960s style blues number with a rock 'n' roll undertone and reminds me of a slowed down version of a Chuck Berry song, although with the emphasis more on the blues end of the spectrum than the more rock 'n' roll sound that Berry had. But as I'm a Chuck Berry fan, even a slight comparison is good for me.
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...been a part of the Blues Brothers Band since the start, this is the first time I've heard Matt "Guitar" Murphy sing. It turns out he's got a gruff voice which is perfect for singing the blues and that's exactly what this song is. It's a guitar led, generic blues number which doesn't really stick out above any other blues song you've heard before, although it's still a decent enough song. It worries me, however, that the song is so generic ... more

I don't tend to enjoy film soundtrack albums. Generally, this is because the music is usually secondary to the film and, as more of a music fan than a film fan, I would prefer more attention to be paid to the music. This means that the only film soundtrack albums in my collection tend to be those where the music is integral to the story, such as "The Commitments" and "Buena Vista Social Club"; both wonderful films with superb soundtracks.

A few years ago, however, I happened to come across a film where the music was by far the best thing about it. It wasn't just that the music good - although it is - but the film itself would have been a weak film even without the music. I still can't enjoy the film, but I found myself putting the DVD in so I could listen to some of the songs again. But this meant I couldn't listen to the songs on the move, which is where I prefer to have music playing and so I wanted a copy of the soundtrack album.

Considering where the Blues Brothers were supposedly from, the opening number is quite appropriate. "Born in Chicago" is a 1960s style blues number with a rock 'n' roll undertone and reminds me of a slowed down version of a Chuck Berry song, although with the emphasis more on the blues end of the spectrum than the more rock 'n' roll sound that Berry had. But as I'm a Chuck Berry fan, even a slight comparison is good for me.

The performer of the next track, "The Blues Don't Bother Me" is perhaps the most interesting thing about it. Although he's been a part of the Blues Brothers Band since the start, this is the first time I've heard Matt "Guitar" Murphy sing. It turns out he's got a gruff voice which is perfect for singing the blues and that's exactly what this song is. It's a guitar led, generic blues number which doesn't really stick out above any other blues song you've heard before, although it's still a decent enough song. It worries me, however, that the song is so generic I keep thinking it's about to segue into the Lisa Simpson song "Moanin' Lisa Blues" from the "The Simpsons Sing the Blues" album.

Whilst I do like hearing it as an accompaniment, I've never really rated the harmonica as an instrument in its own right. For me, that makes John Popper's "Harmonica Musings" a filler track. It's impressive enough and John Popper is considered one of the best players around, but it's just 30 seconds of a waste of space, although it does start sounding a little like Stevie Wonder's "Fingertips" right towards the end.

Finally, four tracks in, we get to hear from one of the Blues Brothers, as Elwood Blues sings part of "Cheaper to Keep Her". It's an upbeat rhythm and blues number with some of the hallmarks of the Blues Brothers usual sound, with a horn section and a better use of the harmonica than the previous track. Whilst the earlier tracks weren't bad, as a fan of the music as well as the films, this is more like I expected from the soundtrack. Even more so, as I remember this song from the film, whereas I can't place the previous three tracks in that context. There's also a little dialogue at each end of the track, although the end part seems to be a lead in to the following song, which I don't like, especially if you're playing the album on a shuffle sequence as so many music players allow these days.

That following song is another Blues Brothers classic, as I believe it featured in both films. The "Perry Mason Theme" has a down tempo, almost bar room jazz type feel to it, with perhaps a touch of soul mixed in. It's not really a song I'd listen to on its own, but it's one that will always remind me more of the Blues Brothers than it ever will of Perry Mason.

Once more, the Blues Brothers get a song, as Elwood sings with Mighty Mac for the first time. "Looking For a Fox" runs to much the same themes as "Cheaper to Keep Here", although it's a far more upbeat and up tempo number. It's a great rhythm and blues number, although I can't hear it without it reminding me of how bad a dancer John Goodman (who is Mighty Mac) is in the film.

Any fan will recognise "Can't Turn You Loose" as the introduction music for the Blues Brothers from the first film and it's tough to not hear Cab Calloway's intro from that film over the top. I'm not a fan of instrumentals and so, despite this being a great up tempo rhythm and blues number with some soulful touches, I can't see it as anything more than filler and it seems to last longer than the 2 ½ minute playing time.

Fortunately, after this comes a run of great songs, starting with the classic soul number that is "Respect". Aretha Franklin has appeared in both films and so we get her amazing singing voice on this classic song. It's a track that is actually improved by being on the soundtrack album, as I always felt it was shoe horned into the film, but you don't get that feeling here. You can just sit back and enjoy the Queen of Soul singing one of the tracks she will always be associated with, even if it is a slightly updated version from the original and has an ending written just for the film situation which isn't fitting for such a classic track.

The big names of 1960s soul music keep coming, with Eddie Floyd and Wilson Pickett performing "634-5789", which was originally a hit for Wilson Pickett, but was written by Eddie Floyd. I think they missed a trick by not including the dialogue over the intro that is in the film, but this minor concern apart, this is a great upbeat and mid-tempo soul number. It doesn't quite have the edge of some of Pickett's other song, seeming a bit smoother than "In the Midnight Hour" for example, but it's got a couple of great soul voices on it and it's a great tune and would probably be my favourite on the album, if it wasn't for the next track.

From the first time I heard it, Blues Traveler's "Maybe I'm Wrong" has become one of my favourite songs ever, not just in the film and I've bought several of their albums since. Indeed, had this song been on any of their releases, I may not have bought this soundtrack. This is a great upbeat and up tempo blues rock number that is spoiled only by a bit too much of a harmonica solo from John Popper and there being a bit of dialogue acting as the intro to the following song being tacked onto the end. These minor grievances aside, this is a great song that somehow seems to fit right in the middle of the rock-blues of Aerosmith and the Southern blues-rock of the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd and takes the best of both.

"Riders in the Sky" takes the place of "Rawhide" from the first film by acting as a complete change of direction. You wouldn't expect a rhythm and blues band to play country or bluegrass, but that's exactly what they do here. Admittedly, it's perhaps as close to the pop mainstream as bluegrass music tends to get, but the country edge is still there in the song.

"John the Revelator" suffers from being the backing music to what I thought was one of the weakest moments of the film and I can't put that behind me when I listen to it. For the first part of the song, it's a decent mid tempo gospel soul number with Sam Moore of Sam and Dave and James Brown on vocals. Unfortunately about half way through when Cab Calloway comes in, the song takes a downwards turn and the lyrics and vocals get worse as the tempo increases. It's a shame, as this would have been a decent track if it had been left alone, I suspect, as I do like gospel music.

For the third time in the album, we get what I feel is a filler track as it's another instrumental. The Carl La Fong Trio's "Let There Be Drums" is the greater of these tracks, though, having a great rock 'n' roll sound running through it and being as much about the guitar as it is about the drums. It reminds me in parts of some of the Shadows older 1960s instrumental numbers, or something by Duane Eddy. I still think it's a filler track, but it's the best kind of filler.

Dr John's "Season of the Witch" was a song I didn't enjoy at first, but the more I listen to it, the more I like it. It can best be described as "swamp blues", having the kind of almost mystical air that seems to be more associated with songs from the Deep South of the US. I think that the gruff vocal, seemingly off key music and the down tempo and down beat nature of the song put me off at first. But it is these same traits and the twist they bring to the usual upbeat nature of the album that had allowed me to enjoy the song in time. At just over five minutes, though, it can outstay its' welcome.

The same could be said of "Funky Nassau", which is another change of direction for the Blues Brothers as a whole, not just for this number. There's a definite Caribbean influence over the soul in the song, with more of an influence from the horns. Unfortunately, the additional vocals from Paul Shaffer that weren't in the film do take the edge of it slightly, but it's still a decent song with Erykah Badu taking some of the vocals and adding a little bit of extra funk to the soul and helping make the song as enjoyable as it is.

It's back to the old style guitar led blues for "How Blue Can You Get?" The Louisiana Gator Boys is a super group comprising some of the biggest names in blues music over the last three or four decades and the song does struggle to accommodate all of them. It's a shame, as when it's just B. B. King performing, it has the potential to be a great song, but the constant switching of vocalists and musicians so everyone gets a go in the spotlight leaves the song feeling more like a patchwork quilt than one piece of music and like "Season of the Witch", it does seem to go on a bit too long.

The next track is far more what Blues Brothers fans would be expecting from this album, as it has the band playing true to form on "Turn On Your Love Light". This is an upbeat rhythm and blues number with a horn backing that in parts reminds me of the horn section in "Everybody Needs Somebody", one of the band's better known numbers from the original film. This is the song that shows the whole band, musicians and vocalists, at their best and working together, although J. Evan Bonifant's vocal sounds a little shrill.

The big closing number is another where everyone, both the Blues Brothers Band and the Louisiana Gator Boys get a turn. Again, it takes the edge of it as under normal circumstances "New Orleans" would be a decent upbeat rhythm and blues song. It still is, but it feels a little thrown together with the vocalist changing so often and with the varying styles and quality of the vocals and it feels like it goes on a lot longer than necessary just to fit everyone in, as the song is essentially just 4 lines of lyrics, but it lasts for more than 4 minutes and does feel like something to be played over the end credits of a film while people are heading out of the cinema which it actually was.

If you're a fan of rhythm and blues, I doubt this is the kind of album you'd enjoy, as it changes style so often and where there is something you'd like, there's a fair chance it might have had the edge taken off it, either by being a slightly altered version of a classic track for the film, or by being a completely different version, possibly with a slightly inferior vocal given that some of the tracks are performed by actors rather than professional musicians.

For those who are fans of the "Blues Brothers", this is the best way to enjoy "Blues Brothers 2000, as while the film was a bit of a let down and a pale imitation of the original, I felt that the music was by far the best part of it. There is a much greater variation of sound than from the usual rhythm and blues sound of the band, taking in several different genres and being a decent snap shot of all kinds of American music generally. So if you're someone who enjoys compilation albums, this is possibly one you'll enjoy, as no two consecutive songs are the same and mostly they'll be in genres that you wouldn't tend to hear together.

On the down side, thanks to the parts of dialogue included being on the end of the track before the one they relate to, the album loses something when played in a random order as is possible on so many music players these days. It's also next to impossible to track down all the songs when transferring the album onto my mobile phone, as the "Phone 2 Disc" application lists by artist and not by album, so I had to track down all the artists on a list of more than 500 to get the album in a position where I could play it on the move.

This aside, it's still a good album to be playing and at 63 minutes run time over 18 tracks, if you listen to music on the move like I do, it will get you quite a long way. At only £4.98 on Amazon, it's great value for money in terms of time and if you're a fan of the Blues Brothers or compilation albums in general, it's worth a risk for a small amount of money. These may not be the best versions of some of these songs you ever heard, but there are some great songs and some great music here. 

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