Search - Various Artists, Shirley Walker :: Escape From L.A. (1996 Film)

Good, but could be better

emcgarvie@curtin.edu.au | Australia | 07/01/1998

(3 out of 5 stars)

"First off - this isnt a soundtrack CD. No sir. What it is, is a group of songs 'Inspired by' Escape from LA, and a collection of 3 or 4 that had 3-4 second bits in the movie.When I bought this CD - I had seen LA the day before - and all I wanted to do was listen to the theme that plays at the end when the satellites go off... that theme that just gets under your skin...But was it on the CD? No... which is VERY annoying - and since half the songs werent even in the movie... very dissapointing..."

Great soundtrack

N. Durham | Philadelphia, PA | 02/05/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Proof that director John Carpenter's metal-esque influence on the musical scores to his films is ever prominant; the soundtrack to his 1996 film Escape From L.A. further illustrates this point. White Zombie's "The One" is a ripping track that makes this compilation an absolute must have for White Zombie fans the world over, while Stabbing Westward's "Dawn", Tool's "Sweat", Gravity Kills' "Blame", Clutch's "Escape From the Prison Planet", and the Deftones' "Can't Even Breathe" are all standout tracks. Sugar Ray's "10 Seconds Down" is a must hear just to hear that this band was actually half decent before they succombed to the world of pop radio, while Ministry's "Paisley" finds the band at their sludgey "Filth Pig" era stage. Tori Amos is an odd artist to be featured here to say the least, but her "Professional Widow" cut is a good listen. All in all, the Escape From L.A. soundtrack is definitely worth picking up for metalheads and industrial buffs."

Some bright spots, some cloudy.

sc_demandred | Irvine, CA USA | 11/02/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Ironically, this soundtrack fails in the same way that it succeeds. A paradox? Maybe. Here's the breakdown:I'm a huge White Zombie / Rob Zombie fan. When this soundtrack was released, there was only one song on it that I really cared about: "The one". I had heard it live at a Zombie / Pantera show in SF a month prior, and the song just ripped up the audience.To my delight, the record contained a bunch of songs by some of my favorite bands; Tool, Ministry, Clutch and Sugar Ray. Sadly, not enough of these were new or very good tracks. "Paisley" is indicative of the turgid sludge that Ministry has become, no fire or wit or power. "Cut me out" shows little of the catchy yet ominous style that made "Possum Kingdom" a hit. I already had "Sweat" (tool) "Escape from the Prison Planet", "Professional Widow" (Tori Amos) and "Fire in the Hole" (orange 9mm) on CD, so this stdk was really a re-hash. The tracks that stuck out for me were "10 Seconds Down", a monster rock track by Sugar Ray at the height of their rocking-ness, "The One", a classic Zombie track, and "Foot on the Gas" by a band I had never heard of before and have never heard from since called Sexpod. the Deftones track was OK. The Stabbing Westward song was as weak as all of their post-UNGOD material.I think soundtracks succeed most often when they include rare tracks or good remixes of songs we already know. All the people who were likely to buy this soundtrack probably already had most of the songs on it, and that never works (you can tell by the wealth of reviews on this page!). I'm sure it didn't help that the movie tanked royally, and most people will miss a couple great songs."