Various Artists - SnakesOn A Plane: The Album

Mon 4th Sep, 2006 in Music Reviews

Depending on your musical tastes, on face value this soundtrack looks to be filled with some great cuts from mostly up-and-coming punk-esque acts. Those who proudly put their name to this album include the likes of Panic! At The Disco, All-American Rejects, Fall Out Boy, The Bronx, Armor For Sleep, Coheed and Cambria, and even a cut from the side project (Cobra Starship) of Gabe Saporta of Midtown fame.

Opening the album is the official theme-song to the motion picture, featuring the abovementioned Gabe Saporta with the help of members of Gym Class Heroes, The Academy Is… and The Sounds. If you haven’t heard it yet, don’t be expecting Midtown. The song begins with the most (in)famous line of the movie, Samuel L. shouting “I’ve had it with these mutha fucking snakes on this mutha fucking plane!” It’s poppy, at times almost electronic with moments of rap thrown in.

Unfortunately, from this point the album goes downhill rather horribly. Just about every song, aside from a small handful of tracks (of which includes the opening score to the movie), are remixes. Panic! At The Disco’s song, ‘The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage’, is little more than a slowed down, yawn-inducing version of the otherwise frenetic and fast paced song, backed up with tacky electronic drums. Three and a half minutes it plodded along for, painful to say the least. It’s much of the same again for ‘Black Mamba’ by The Academy Is…

Considering the style of the majority of the artists on the album, it’s a little strange to see a contribution from Cee Lo Green (one half of current pop superstars, Gnarls Barkley). Titled ‘Ophidiophobia’, meaning to have a fear of snakes, is rather predictable in it’s lyrical content, with plenty of “I’m tired of these mutha fuckin’ snakes on this mutha fuckin’ plane” samples, and Cee Lo repititously harmonizing about being a stranger t danger. It’s engaging for all of about 60 seconds.

The next few songs include ‘Can’t Take It’ (All-American Rejects), ‘Queen of Apology’ (The Sounds) and ‘Of All The Gin Joints in All Of The World’ (Fall Out Boy), which I hate to say again, but still sound like nothing more than slowed down songs put to dodgy drum synths.

While the Gym Class Heroes contribution follows the same formula, it’s a witty song that speaks very well to the type of kids that would be most interested in this compilation, that is, the MySpace Generation. Without even hearing the song it’s easy to tell what it will be about, when the title is simply ‘New Friend Request’. Clever lyrics, one of the few songs that will make you stop whatever else you’re doing and listen up.

The Bronx get their particular brand of raucous, all-punches pulled punk-rock toned down for a working of ‘Around The Horn’. Thankfully there are no dodgy synths or crazy beeps to kill the mood. Another great ditty pops up at track 12 in the form of Los Angeles quartet, Jack’s Mannequin. If you haven’t yet heard these guys then make sure to check ‘em out and keep and eye on them because they’re bound to garner much attention.

As a strange ending to the disc, bluesy act Donovan Frankenreiter along with Michael Franti and Spearhead hold the rights to the closing songs (well, excusing the Snakes On A Plane intro theatrical score being the ultimate closer). The songs provided are ‘Lovely Day’ and ‘Hey Now Now’, respectively, and luckily for them their works have remained untouched.

This CD is as gimmicky in as many ways as the movie it is from, and even then it’s a bit silly when the only songs to have any real association to the movie are Cobra Starship’s contribution, along with the score from the movie. You’re money would be better spent elsewhere.