Blow (2001 Film)
The first half of this soundtrack features a nice collection of Brit-rock stalwarts showing off their American influences. There's the Santana-ish majesty of Mick Taylor's guitar during the extended instrumental coda to theStones' "Can't You Hear Me Knocking";Cream,Faces, andRam Jamall messing around with Yank blues (the latter doing unmentionable things toLeadbelly's "Black Betty"); evenManfred Manndoing his best to sanitizeSpringsteenwith "Blinded by the Light." But then things start getting strange. Salsa legendWillie Rosariosegues inexplicably intoKC & the Sunshine Band's "Keep It Comin'," while the postmodern lounge of J Girls gets to rub up against good ol' boys Skynyrd and Tucker. By the time we come toBob Dylan's "All the Tired Horses,"Blowhas collapsed into such an oddball grab bag that the obligatory inclusion of a contemporary label hopeful, in this case Nikka Costa, isn't the least bit jarring. Then again, incoherence is the privilege of compilation soundtracks, and there's little here to send you lunging for the skip control.--Bill Forman