Search - Various Artists :: Trainspotting #2: Music From The Motion Picture, Vol. #2

Sinead M. (bookworm) from SAN JOSE, CA
Reviewed on 10/17/2006...

great CD

Complements Its Predecessor Well

Wilson Smith | 07/08/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

""If truth be telt," as Begy would say, give or take a few songs from each CD, one Trainspotting soundtrack would suffice. I for one find this soundtrack to be vastly better than the "orange" (first) Trainspotting soundtrack. Although Trainspotting #2 has its pros and cons, its pros greatly outweigh its cons, resulting in my giving it a 5-star review. OK, let's get to the best bits first (titles are in 3 classes [best, worst, ordinary] followed by track-order). "The Passenger" by Iggy Pop is a catchy little ditty which, though not included in the film, definitely merited inclusion/is even worthy to replace Pop's "Lust for Life" as Trainspotting's theme song; "Dark & Long" [Dark Train Mix] by Underworld is the song that's playing when the lead character, Renton, is having bizarre nightmares in the teenage bedroom of his parents' house. It is one of Underworld's many electronic epics and I can't praise it enough; "Golden Years" by David Bowie is a classic and was included on this album because it was the original track that Diane was to sing to Renton as he was coming off heroin in the aforementioned bedroom. Fair enough;"A Final Hit" [full-length version] is just a "prolonged" version - only by a minute or so - of the edit which is on the orange soundtrack. Still great;"Temptation" by Heaven 17 is the song playing in/outside the club when Renton is accosting Diane;"Our Lips Are Sealed" by Fun Boy Three is a great tune à la New Order, and the reason it is included is because it was going to be used in the film but the correct spot for it could not be found (the director and producer felt that they related strongly to the group of friends in the story);"Atmosphere" by Joy Division was only included on the album because director Danny Boyle is from Manchester. It's very dark yet melodic, like most Joy Division songs;"Inner City Life" by Goldie is a great song in itself but its inclusion on this soundtrack is questionable: it was only included on the album because author Irvine Welsh stated that "It's what the characters would be listening to now";Born Slippy Nuxx [Darren Price Mix] by Underworld is possibly the best (re)mix of this song, and I've heard many, including the brilliant Deep Pan mix. Now to the two not-so-good tracks - sod it, they're just plain awful: "Choose Life" by PF Project is Renton's "Choose life" monologue superimposed on incredibly long, tedious, cheesy techno music; "Nightbclubbing" [Baby Doc Remix] is ineffably awful: just think of what would happen if you played incredibly amateur techno music with the lyrics and music from "Nightclubbing" at the end, albeit in an almost unrecognizable incarnation. The remaining tracks on the album, which I would rate half-decent are: "Habanera from Carmen", the classical music playing while Renton is citing the list of items needed to withdraw from heroin; "Statuesque" by Sleeper can best be described as "chick rock which really rocks", I believe it was used very briefly in the film; "Think About the Way" by Ice MC is the dance music playing when Renton moves to London. It's quite good; "Come Together" by Primal Scream is the epitome of 90's rock and, according to the liner notes, its admission in the album is the same as "Our Lips are Sealed" by Fun Boy Three. I'll consummate my review with an apposite quote from the late Frank Zappa: "Rock journalists are people who can't write, writing about people who can't play, for people who can't read.""

Only half of a soundtrack, the rest is filler...

Ilker Yucel | Annapolis, MD United States | 07/20/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is not much of a soundtrack when one has to consider that most of the songs on this album were not used in the film, or if they were they were different mixes. Notable is the inclusion of the other Underworld song, "Dark & Long (Dark Train Mix)," which was used during Ewan MacGregor's sobering up scene, and was for some reason absent from the first soundtrack CD. The other tracks on this album that were in the film (exclusing the first track, Ewan's "Choose Life" narrative) were Ice MC's "Think About the Way," and Heaven 17's "Temptation." Mixes of songs from the first CD include a Darren Price remix of Underworld's "Born Slippy," which is still a pretty good mix, but might have been better suited for a single release merely because of the extemporaneous nature of this second CD altogether. There's also the full-length version of Leftfield's "A Final Hit," which is actually a welcome track, a remix of "Nightclubbing," as well as Iggy Pop's "Passenger," and David Bowie's "Golden Years," neither of which were in the film anywhere, nor are they listed in the end credits soundtrack listing. Sleeper and Primal Scream had songs on the first CD, so here they each have two new tracks, and because they probably couldn't get another New Order song to fit in the feeling of "Transpotting," they got Joy Division. While I love "Atmosphere," I fail to see the reason or logic behind its inclusion on this CD. But then again, this second CD was just meant to capitalize on the success of the first CD anyway, so...whatever. If you like this, get it and listen to it. I'd only listen to half of the songs here, but that's me."