CD Review of Lost Boys: The Tribe: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture by Various Artists
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Label
Artists’ Addiction Records/Warner Bros.
Various Artists:
Lost Boys: The Tribe:
Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture

Reviewed by James B. Eldred

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T
he direct-to-DVD Lost Boys: The Tribe is a giant “fuck you” from Warner Bros. to the fans of the ‘80s cult classic, and this thrown-together soundtrack is an added “and your mother too.”

The soundtrack to the 1987 film “The Lost Boys”is nearly as iconic as the movie itself. From Echo & the Bunnymen’s fantastic cover of the Doors’ “People Are Strange” to the classic theme song, “Cry Little Sister,” it’s an album full of the best ‘80s pop had to offer. It’s a soundtrack that has aged as well as the movie; dated in all the right ways – with the possible exception of Eddie & the Tide’s “Power Play.”

Another reason why the soundtrack to “The Lost Boys”worked so well is that almost all of the music on it was either created specifically for the movie or chosen because it fit the film’s darkly comic/Goth tone. The soundtrack for “Lost Boys: The Tribe,” on the other hand, is nothing but a quickie collection of easily marketable potential hitmakers by bands that are just edgy enough to attract the Hot Topic crowd (and if the “inspired by” is any indication, some of these songs aren’t even in the movie).

Only about half of the songs on this soundtrack are exclusive tracks, and that’s including alt-rockers Aiden’s cover of “Cry Little Sister,” which is a near carbon copy of the original with crap vocals pasted over it. Other “originals” include the heinous “Summertime” by post-post-post-post grunge rockers Yeah Whatever (they put as much thought into their name as they did their music), a bland acoustic version of “Burrito” by Seether, and “Wish You Were Here” by the jamtastically boring PJ & The Chile Rellenos (don’t worry, it’s not a Pink Floyd cover). The Von Bondies also contribute an exclusive track with the vaguely gothic “Only to Haunt You,” which should appeal to fans of the group. People with taste, however, should probably skip it. Fans of not having their ears raped by rehashed nu-metal/rap-rock should also skip Styles of Beyond and their contribution, “Nine Thou (Grant Mohrman Superstars Remix).”

The only halfway decent original track is “Long Way Down” by G. Love & Special Sauce. It’s a song that’s been around for a while but never made it onto one of his albums, so if you’re a G. Love fan and patient enough, you should probably just wait it out or buy a live album that has it.

The rest of the album is made up of songs that were already released, so if you like Starsailor, Eagles of Death Metal, David Gahan, the Hold Steady or any other band unfortunate enough to get contractually obligated into appearing here, don’t bother – just buy their albums instead.

Don’t buy this album and don’t watch the movie. It’ll only encourage them to make more cash-in DVD sequels, and the next thing you know, they’ll be releasing Music from and Inspired by the Monster Squad 2: My Name Is Still Horace, featuring Panic at the Disco.

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