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Bounce: Music From and Inspired by the Movie Various Artists Arista, 2000
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Tracks Reviewed by Sienna Powers
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The Don Roos written and directed movie Bounce is being hailed as the romantic comedy of the season. Starring unlikely hunk Ben Affleck and America's Sweetheart Gwyneth Paltrow, in true romantic comedy tradition, Bounce is short on plot and long on feel good moments. A chick flick. A date movie. The kind of film you only stand in line to see if you require either a lift or a toothache. Sure: it's sweet and sappy, but who would even want to see this particular star pairing in a sad movie where everyone dies in the end except the bad guys? All of this understood, it is almost a foregone conclusion that the soundtrack album released in this happy film's wake and honor is likewise not a depress-fest. One look at the "various artists" associated with this particular project will clue you right in. Beth Orton, Sarah McLachlan, Tara MacLean, Sophie B. Hawkins and Carly Simon, among others. The queens and princesses of current adult alternative, guaranteed to leave you smiling, but with pathos. If you run out and buy this album after you've seen the movie, you might be in for a bit of a surprise. This is one of those "music from and inspired by" albums. Mychael Danna's actual score has been released with a strikingly similar cover by Uni and includes absolutely none of the material included on the Bounce CD we're talking about here. Winnipeg-born Danna spent most of the 1990s gaining a reputation as a composer of noir-ish movie scores. His music-for-film work includes the soundtracks of 8mm (1999), Girl, Interrupted (1999), A Celtic Tale (1997), Exotica (1995) and Sirens (1991), among others. The inspired by "soundtrack" is not, of course, the soundtrack. Some of the music included here was in the film. Some of it wasn't. And some of it went by so quickly you would have had to have been paying close attention to catch it. This isn't a slam: just a fact. And, as soundtracks of this nature go, it's actually a pretty good one, if for no other reason that you'd have to shop far and wide to gather samples of the work of some of these artists. Sister 7, for instance (though the Bounce liner material refers to them as "Sister Seven," this Austin-based Alt Rock outfit is better known as the numeral, not the word.) gained attention when they toured with Lilith Fair. Their latest album, Wrestling Over Tiny Matters, has gained them a greater following than two earlier, less promoted attempts. While we're on the topic of Lilith Fair, the Bounce inspired by soundtrack is practically an alumna meeting of that well-known concert series. The goddess of Lilith Fair, Sarah McLachlan, herself is present on "Silence" with the eletronically ambient Delerium, another Nettwerk Records-discovered act. McLachlan's heiress apparent, Tara MacLean, is represented on "Divided," a track that also appears on MacLean's 2000-released album, Passenger. Also a Nettwerk alumna, MacLean offered her fine voice up at Lilith Fair, as well. Beth Orton contributes "Central Reservation," a tightly twisted song that combines Orton's smokey vocals with an ambiently-bent track. Sixpence None The Richer is heavily represented on the Bounce album, through a remix of "Love," as well as a wave-making solo by Sixpence lead singer Leigh Nash that was released as this album's first single. While "Need To Be Next To You" is, in many ways, one of the weaker offerings from this album, it's being heralded as the earliest whisper of a solo career for Nash. Whatever the case, this is the song that moviegoers are carrying out of theaters with them and -- if Arista has their way -- into the music store. | November 2000
Sienna Powers is a writer, editor and visual artist. |
If you run out and buy this album after you've seen the movie, you might be in for a bit of a surprise. This is one of those "music from and inspired by" albums. Mychael Danna's actual score has been released with a strikingly similar cover by Uni and includes absolutely none of the material included on the Bounce CD we're talking about here. |
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