Warning: the following review is rated R for language, a scene of sexuality and drug use, and intense sequences of terror and violence. Oh yeah, and there’s a slight possibility of motherf***** snakes on the motherf***** plane!

Ok, there is no way that a soundtrack based off the motion picture Snakes On A Plane could possibly be conventional or predictable in any way. If it was, I would have been disappointed. This album reflects its namesake in many ways.

First off, though the film primarily is drawing the attention of the college age crowd, Snakes On A Plane: The Album comes off across as more of a record designed to appeal to the middle school age demographic. Most of the album is purely disposable pop/rock, but in its defense most of it is pretty good pop/rock.

It should be noted that according to the track list, many numbers here are remixes. That quite honestly meant nothing to me, as I had never heard any of these songs previously. Even the bands featured were nothing more than fuzzy recollections in my head.

“Snakes On A Plane (Bring It)” is the best example of this. Functioning as the opening number as well as a collaborative effort between 3-4 of the artists featured on the disc, it is truly infectious. For starters, you gotta love the cheesy Nintendo keyboard riffs that kick things off before you dive headlong into the chugging guitar riffs and various beeps and buzzes.

Panic! At The Disco recently made news in Milwaukee when a riot among adolescent girls started at one of their concerts at Summerfest. After giving their contribution a spin, I can’t see how the hell that managed to happen, since rage is hardly the emotion their music stires up. It reminded me more of the Killers than Rage Against the Machine.

The vocals on “Ophidiophobia,” capture an old school Stevie Wonder sound, which when coupled with the excellent hip/hop production allow for one of the best tracks. The All-American remix “Can’t Take It” is a fun listen simply for the little flourishes contained therein. There’s some backwards-tracked guitar, a few short but sweet orchestral arrangements, and some subtle 70s organ work.

Along with the aforementioned pop material, Snakes surprises with some truly random selections of songs. There’s the reggae number “Hey Now Now,” the rap track “New Friend Request,” and the stripped down, acoustic oeuvre of “Wake Up,” and “Lovely Day.” It is with the inclusion of these songs that highlights what the Snakes On A Plane phenomenon is all about.

Right now you’re saying, “Gee, a touch of the hyperbole there?” But in all seriousness, this album really has no grand marketing scheme to it. Much like the movie, it was made for pure enjoyment. You want to throw a reggae song on there? Why the hell not! It works because it’s Snakes On A Plane, motherf*****.

Rating: B+

User Rating: D+

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