Blow (2001 Film)

Blow (2001 Film) Review

The first half of this soundtrack features a nice collection of Brit-rock stalwarts showing off their American influences. There's the Santana-ish majesty of Mick Taylor's guitar during the extended instrumental coda to the Stones' "Can't You Hear Me Knocking"; Cream, Faces, and Ram Jam all messing around with Yank blues (the latter doing unmentionable things to Leadbelly's "Black Betty"); even Manfred Mann doing his best to sanitize Springsteen with "Blinded by the Light." But then things start getting strange. Salsa legend Willie Rosario segues inexplicably into KC & the Sunshine Band's "Keep It Comin'," while the postmodern lounge of J Girls gets to rub up against good ol' boys Skynyrd and Tucker. By the time we come to Bob Dylan's "All the Tired Horses," Blow has collapsed into such an oddball grab bag that the obligatory inclusion of a contemporary label hopeful, in this case Nikka Costa, isn't the least bit jarring. Then again, incoherence is the privilege of compilation soundtracks, and there's little here to send you lunging for the skip control. --Bill Forman