Queer As Folk: Club Babylon / TV O.S.T
Released just in time to usher in the final season of Showtime's gritty, gay-themed series, this accompanying fifth soundtrack anthology expands upon a smart pop music sensibility whose popularity parallels the show itself. The 20 beat-savvy tracks here were inspired by the nightspot that's an integral part of the series' drama, a vibrant double-disc collection that interweaves such 80's-vintage club staples as Bronski Beat's "Smalltown Boy," and The Pet Shop Boys' (with an assist fromPeter Rauhofer) "Break 4 Love" with more contemporary grooves like Ultra Nate's "Free" and "Safe From Harm" by Narcotic Thrust. Fans will note that a number of the versions here differ from those actually aired on the show. But as mixed by Chris Cox (disc one) and Abel Aguilera (the edgier, more expansive disc two) and seamlessly sequenced sans track gaps, the intent is not to offer up a slavish show song-score, but rather to synthesize a fictional night at Club Babylon that stretches from the first disc's upbeat pop to the sensual, hypnotic rhythms of Suzanne Palmer and Rachel Panay that highlight the closer.--Jerry McCulley