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that Robert Smith wrote 'Burn' specifically for The Crow (1994)? Originally, filmmakers wanted the pre-existing The Cure song, 'The Hanging Garden', as it had appeared in the source graphic novel. Smith preferred to do a new song based on the film. He recorded it with The Cure drummer Boris Williams in just 2 days.
I miss the 90s for many reasons, but music videos are at the top. MTV wasn't just endless crap reality programming. Enjoy this one by Filter and The Crystal Method off of the Spawn soundtrack.
Cuban Pete - Jim Carrey in The Mask (1994)
Enjoy Leo and Mikey appearing in Hi Tek 3 feat. Ya Kid K's "Spin That Wheel" 1990
So, as far as superhero soundtracks of the 90s go, this is the one everyone knows. The soundtrack to the blockbuster, was just about as popular peaking at number 5 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and garnering 3 Grammy awards for the mega hit “Kiss from a Rose” by Seal, which reached #1. The tune was inescapable to anyone who owned a radio in 1995. This was both a blessing and a curse as the monster hit overshadowed a very interesting and eclectic compilation of artists and genres. U2’s “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” was probably the 2nd most known track on the album with an awesome animated music video. Even “Weird Al” Yankovic chose it to parody for his song “Cavity Search” with the chorus, “Numb me, drill me, floss me, bill me.” Both the U2 and Seal music videos were nominated for MTV Movie awards with the film’s director, Joel Schumacher, directing “Kiss from a Rose." Michael Hutchence, of INXS fame, provided a decent cover of Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger” and The Offspring covered “Smash It Up” by their heroes, The Damned. That cover featured prominently in the film when Robin steals the Batmobile. In fact, it was only one of 5 songs actually featured in the film. One of the others heard by viewers was “Bad Days” by the Flaming Lips which worked perfectly for Edward Nygma’s end of the day coming home anthem. En Vogue, the popular female R&B and POP vocal group, make a cameo appearance, but unfortunately do not appear on the soundtrack. The album sold nearly as many as Prince’s “BATMAN” soundrack in 1989. After the mega success of the soundtrack, the Grammy nominated score was also released two weeks later that included over 40 minutes of Eilliot Goldenthal’s music for the film.
This, on the surface, seems like a mixed bag, but actually it all flows together fairly well. The mix of r&b with modern swing/big band music worked well sounding like what one would hear at a club in 1994. This film, along with a few others released before and after it, helped usher in the big band/swing revival of the 1990s. One of the bands that appear on the soundtrack, Royal Crown Revue, also appear on screen in a pivotal scene at the Coco Bongo club where the Mask makes his debut to Tina. It wasn’t just established acts that stood out musically, but star Jim Carrey recorded a version of Cuban Pete (complete with accent), also featured in a pivotal scene. The track was even released as a single. Overall, when you listen to the soundtrack, you get the gist of the film itself as music played an important role in the most iconic scenes. It peaked at number 80 on the Billboard 200. The score, composed by Randy Edelman, was also released afterward.
This one is a bit of an oddity. It features a strange mix of bands (White Zombie, The The, The Cure, and The Cocteau Twins…?) that don’t seem to share any cohesion with the story or each other. It seems a bit slapped together. The songs are good, don’t get me wrong, but there are moments of “Huh? Why is that there?” with the song selection. Even Alan Silvestri had to scramble to do rewrites on the score and was actually the third composer assigned the gig. He replaced Jerry Goldsmith who replaced David Arnold. Goldsmith’s work can be heard in the trailers. The Manic Street Preachers were going to have "Judge Yr'self"on the soundtrack but guitarist Richey Edwards disappeared and they pulled the song from inclusion. So, sort of like the film itself, the soundtrack is lacking, but has some great moments.
Much like James O’Barr’s masterpiece of the same name, The Crow (1994) has music woven into its very fabric. Both The Cure and Joy Division feature prominently in the comic so it is only fitting that NIN cover Joy Division’s “Dead Souls” and The Cure’s “Burn” is the driving track during Eric’s transformation scene. New Order (the band born from Joy Division) was asked early on to contribute to the soundtrack but declined due to album commitments, so Trent Reznor offered a blistering take on the aforementioned band’s song. Two bands that appear on the album also appear on screen; Medicine and My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult. If you’re a fan of the film, you are, by default, a fan of this soundtrack. It’s essentially perfect. With bands like Pantera, S.T.P., NIN, The Cure, Rage Against the Machine, and Helmet, it’s as if the producers wanted to guarantee the soundtrack become a cult classic as well. In 1994 it peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 charts and has sold over 3 million copies cementing its triple platinum status with the RIAA.
Released in 1997, this amazing soundtrack features big name Metal and Rock acts mixed with equally big name electronic music acts and producers, a concept previously used for the “Judgement Night” soundtrack. The soundtrack entered the Billboard charts at #7 and stayed on the chart for 25 weeks. The standard version featured 14 tracks, but a special edition featuring cover art from Spawn #39 featured a 15th track (listed below). In all, 3 covers were available.
