Best of the Power Rangers: Songs from the TV Series
When it comes to morphing,Power Rangersproducer Haim Saban is no slouch himself, having seen his efforts at translating and marketing a '70s Japanese kids' action show originally calledDinosaur Task Force Zyurangerblossom into a billion-dollar pop-culture empire. This soundtrack chronicles the musical side of the Saban/Power Rangerssaga, collecting 16 tracks that span the 1990s' "Go, Go Power Rangers" through the show'sTurboandZeophases to its more recentWild Forceincarnation. For the uninitiated, the music here is a long way from cutesy Hanna-Barbera jingles; Saban (who's credited with cowriting many of the tracks) and his studio sidemen have concocted convincing facsimiles of everything from bracing, metallic techno-thrash to harmony-driven modern rock and the swaggering hip-hop of "I Will Rescue You." Powered largely by thunderous bass and drums and punctuated by screaming guitar solos, it's an unlikely bastion forMetallica-lite speed-metal sensibilities, but one that fits its flashing spandex heroes to a "T."--Jerry McCulley