Beach Soundtrack CD

With THE BEACH soundtrack, Danny Boyle and Andrew MacDonald, the film's director and producer, continue their trend of exploring cutting-edge electronic and dance music (a pattern established with their films SHALLOW GRAVE, TRAINSPOTTING, and A LIFE LESS ORDINARY). With the help of DJ extraodinaire Pete Tong, they've assembled another impressive collection, this one tilted more exclusively toward the electronic.

There is no filler here. Underworld contributes the steady roll and cheerfully hypnotic beat of "8 Ball," which easily stands with the best of their work. The production work and songwriting of William Orbit greatly improves the dance-lite grooves of All Saints, giving their "Pure Shores" a gorgeous, spectacularly spacious sound that nicely offsets the vocals. Mory Kante's "Yeke Yeke" is a bright, pulsing dance classic-to-be. Also of note is New Order's "Brutal," which is just that--vicious slashes of guitar over a shuffling beat. The album closes unexpectedly, with a monologue by the film's star, Leonardo DiCaprio.

Sugar Ray,Dario G,Leftfield, Faithless,Moby,Asian Dub Found

Producers include: Brian Eno, William Orbit, Unkle, Barry Adamson, Moby.Entertainment Weekly (2/18/00, p.87) - "Partly sunny sounds....All Saints' 'Pure Shores' and Sugar Ray's 'Spinning Away' are bright, while Moby, Leftfield, and UNKLE provide groovy, moody beats....Leo DiCaprio fans...should find cool relief here." - Rating: B
Q (3/00, p.98) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...dance music's major powers have rolled up for a slice of the album tie-in profits....persuading the infamously sluggish New Order to record the chimimg 'Brutal'...is practically miraculous..."
Mixmag (3/00, p.150) - "...something of a mixed bag. All Saints' 'Pure Shores', produced by William Orbit, and Barry Adamson's 'Business As Usual' are superb and 'Brutal' finds New Order's Barney at his most energised in years..."
NME (Magazine) (2/14/00, p.41) - 6 out of 10 - "...lovingly compiled with an abundance of exclusive tracks....the result encapsulates both sarong-wearing dippiness and a moral menace....This is a quality soundtrack...the hand-woven robe, the rare herbs, the endless CD-ROM slide show. It's a conversation piece..."