Files : Fight the Future

One Band Alone Cannot Fight the Future
by: bill aicher

A great movie, a mediocre soundtrack.  Oh well, I guess we can't have everything.  I personally expected more out of this album than I received.  Perhaps it is because I am an X-Phile and I expected a soundtrack as great as the program.  This is not to say the album is bad, far from it.  There are just a few songs that I don't care too much for.

Chris Carter went all out to get some of the hottest acts in the industry today to be part of this album.   He also stuck with some of the bands that appeared on the first X-Files soundtrack Songs in the Key of X.  Some of these returning artists include Filter, Foo Fighters, and Soul Coughing.

The album consists of basically rock/alternative music.  Filter does a cover of Three Dog Night's "One" (One is the loneliest number).  It is totally different in style from the original, played with classic Filter style - screaming and all.  Personally this is my favorite track on the CD.  Other highlights on the CD include a track from Foo Fighters called "Walking After You".  I would have liked to have seen an original track for the movie from Foo Fighters instead of this song, seeing as how it is on their 1997 release "The Colour and the Shape".  Still, it is a good song, and you may have heard it on the radio - much lighter than their usual rock songs.   Better Than Ezra enters the electronic field on this CD with "One More Murder", a rock song slightly different from their usual style with the electronic samples.  X does a punk version of The Doors "Crystal Ship", and Sting revisits his Police days with a reggae version of "Invisible Sun" - featuring Aswad.  Sarah McLachlan offers a track totally different from her normal pop releases - "Black" is a very dark song with shifting tempos and a minor key.  The last song is the famous X-Files Theme, reworked and remixed by the Dust Brothers.  If you sit around or forward into about 10 minutes on this track, X-Files creator, Chris Carter, speaks about the storyline of the movie and how the whole conspiracy thus far fits together.

If you are a fan of the series, you no doubt already own this album, so you can make your own decision.  I am happy I purchased it because no track on here just totally sucks.  I think I expected more, but what I received is nothing to complain about.  The few tracks on here I just utterly love make the CD a worthwhile purchase for me.  If you get a chance, take a listen, but the final decision lies mostly on your personal preferences - no need to run to the store right now.