Mission: Impossible 2 -- Double Feature

Performer: Disney Read-Along/Original Soundtrack/Disney/1000 Homo DJs
Producer: Mitchell Leib (Compilation)
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Original score composed by Frank Churchill, Larry Morey and Ed Plumb. Recorded on January 27, 1942. Includes liner notes by Randy Thornton and Paula Sigman. Digitally remastered by John Polito (Audio Mechanics, Los Angeles, California). Personnel includes: Alexander Steinert, Charles Henderson (conductor). Includes liner notes by Randy Thornton and Paula Sigman. Digitally remastered by John Polito (Audio Mechanics, Los Angeles, California). MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2 is also available as a 2-CD set with the score music composed by Hans Zimmer. "Take A Look Around" was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. This version of EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE comes with a book, cassette and CD. The Enhanced audio CD that comes in this combo package contains regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. MUSIC FROM AND INSPIRED BY MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2 and MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2: MUSIC FROM THE ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SCORE are also available separately. Original score composed by Hans Zimmer. Producers include: Hans Zimmer. Compilation producer: Mitchell Leib. "Take A Look Around" was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. Composers: Frank Churchill; Larry Morey; Ed Plumb. Music From and Inspired By M:I-2 collects industrial, metal, and rap-rock from acts like the Pimps, Apartment 26, Diffuser, Tinfed, and Uncle Kracker. While much of the music on this soundtrack didn't actually turn up in the movie, the set's predictably in-your-face sound is the audio equivalent of the movie's over-the-top action. The album kicks off with "Take a Look Around," Limp Bizkit's rap-metal remake of the "Mission: Impossible Theme" and Metallica's slow-burning "I Disappear." Much of the collection remains mired in a brooding, hostile vibe, though Rob Zombie's "Scum of the Earth," the Butthole Surfers' "They Came In," Chris Cornell's "Mission 2000," and Buckcherry's "Alone" manage plenty of aggression without sounding monotonous. Softer, quieter moments such as Diffuser's "Karma," Tinfed's "Immune," and Tori Amos' "Carnival" arrive near the end of the album, and the flamenco-rock of score composer Hans Zimmer and guitarist Heitor Pereira's "Nyah" closes the set in a last-minute reminder to buy the score in case you want to hear more the music that actually appeared in the film. ~ Heather Phares Scored in 1942, this restored soundtrack is obviously a labor of love. With numerous sound sources, none of which were complete, it required hours of editing and restoration. But it still sounds, well, dated. The sound quality is marginal in many places, and the material is similarly weak. The instrumental parts are actually the best material here, as the vocal parts are mediocre at best, and the arrangements come straight out of the '40s. ~ Ross Boissoneau Disney's The Emperor's New Groove gets the read-along treatment with a set that includes a CD with word-for-word narration and CD-ROM features, a 32-page full-color booklet, and a bonus audio cassette. A fun, portable way to relive the film's tale of an arrogant young South American emperor who is transformed into a llama by his devious, power-hungry advisor. ~ Heather Phares M:I-2 provides a double feature of music from Mission: Impossible 2, gathering Hans Zimmer's eclectic score and the alt-metal fueled Music From and Inspired by M:I-2. Some of Zimmer's most interesting and effective moments are his quietest: subtle, sensual, flamenco-inspired pieces like "Seville" and "Nyah" (which features guitarist Heitor Pereira) are more compelling than the over-the-top samples, beats, and techno explosions on tracks such as "Mano a Mano" and "Bio-Techno." Zap Mama's version of the African folk-pop classic "Iko Iko" and Zimmer's techno-rock update of Lalo Schifrin's "Mission: Impossible Theme" provide some of the other highlights from this score. Meanwhile, the "inspired by" collection's predictably in-your-face sound is the audio equivalent of the movie's over-the-top action. However, "Take a Look Around," Limp Bizkit's rap-metal remake of the "Mission: Impossible Theme," Metallica's slow-burning "I Disappear," and Buckcherry's "Alone" manage plenty of aggression without sounding monotonous. Overall, this two-pack is an entertaining collection, sure to please fans of Mission: Impossible 2 and its music . ~ Heather Phares "Whatever happened to the feel-good music?" Kid Rock protege Kracker asks at one point here, and listeners will know the feeling. There's not a single cut on this soundtrack to the second MISSION IMPOSSIBLE that could be described as "feel-good music"; in fact, most of it--a very au courant mix of extreme metal and rap--is typified by Limp Bizkit's effective bludgeoning of the familiar theme from the original TV show. Most of the music here is inventive within its genre restrictions, particularly ex-Soundgarden honcho Chris Cornell's "Mission 2000," a characteristically twisted chunk of grunge-metal. There's also a sensational remake of Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar," by the unlikely, but in fact eminently compatible, team of ex-Queen guitarist Brian May and the Foo Fighters. Tori Amos is also on hand to transform the fragile "Carnival," the love theme from the classic French film BLACK ORPHEUS, into one of her trademark collages of industrial-strength weirdness. "Take A Look Around" was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. To their credit, the people behind the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE film franchise decided to give each installment a distinct style, which is why the John Woo-directed second film is far more balletic and noir-ish than Brian DePalma's original. It's also why the songs on the two soundtrack albums are so different. The first film (1996) was dominated by quirky alt-rock from the likes of Bjork, Skunk Anansie, and Cast; the new one is mostly metal and rap metal (Limp Bizkit, Metallica), with chanteuse Tori Amos as the wild card. (As before, however, most of the songs don't appear in the movie itself.) Hans Zimmer's orchestral score for M:I-2 also has a significantly different feel than Danny Elfman's for the original; unlike Elfman, who favors an ironic post-modern update of classic '30s film scoring, Zimmer opts for a more contemporary, quasi world-beat feel.

Q (8/00, p.110) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Frighteningly butch nu-metal....not without highlights: Limp Bizkit's 'Take A Look Around (Theme from M:I-2)' putting a bullish spin on Lalo Schifrin's original..."

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