Quentin Tarantino has been responsible for some of the most memorable musical moments in modern cinema, comparable to select works by Scorsese or Kubrick. He gave Dick Dale’s “Miserlou” new life as “Pulp Fiction’s” frenetic opener. The same movie resurrected John Travolta as he swiveled away to Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell” at the Jack Rabbit Slim’s Twist Concert and saw Uma Thurman voicing-over an Urge Overkill reel-to-reel.
The sounds of The Delfonics create “Jackie Brown’s” most memorable audio motif, and Michael Madsen, chopping off a police officer’s ear while singing and dancing to Stealer’s Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle,” launched Tarantino’s career. The soundtrack for Quentin’s first new movie in six years, “Kill Bill Vol. 1,” should continue a tradition of juxtaposing feel-good tunes and stomach-churning violence.
Admittedly, this soundtrack will be better after viewing the film, but as a stand-alone album, the “Kill Bill” soundtrack is weaker than its predecessors.
On this effort, Tarantino has opted for Kung Fu thematic melodies (think the soundtracks to John Woo’s “Killer” or “Hardboiled”) and spaghetti-western instrumentals. These tracks, including Meiko Kaji’s “The Flower of Carnage” and Luis Bacalov’s “The Grand Duel (Part Prima)” will undoubtedly make for excellent background during the film but are not exactly meant for repeated listening and actually just wear down the collection.
Tarantino does add a few topnotch cuts throughout. The album’s opener, Nancy Sinatra’s sultry drama of early-life love and childhood games, “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down),” designates the atmosphere as uniquely Tarantinian. Sinatra’s ode to children’s violent games presents Tarantino with a perfect opportunity for poignant satire with lyrics like, “Bang bang, that awful sound / Bang bang, I used to shoot you down.”
The garage-rock antics of The 5.6.7.8’s “Woo Hoo” could have easily snuggled into the “Pulp Fiction” soundtrack and will find fans in any rock ‘n’ roll connoisseur. Charlie Feather’s “That Certain Female” is a mock-Elvis romp through the depths of early reverb technology. The track is full of echoing whispers and a sexual desire animated via twanging guitar.
Isaac Hayes and Al Hirt both contribute jiving instrumentals full of flaring brass sections and bouncing toms. Hirt’s “Green Hornet” contains a fumitory trumpet solo so fierce that it mirrors Dick Dales shuddering surf guitar on “Miserlou.”
The pure standout track is Santa Esmeralda’s 10-and-a-half-minute salsa-funk epic, “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood/Esmeralda Suite.” This track is worth the price of admission and its integration into “Kill Bill’s” epic revenge plot should be more than entertaining. And, as usual, select vocal snippets from the movie powder the soundtrack with a unique flow.
Unfortunately, efforts from The RZA (his “Ode to Oren Ishi” comes off as pointless and distracting) and the reduction of intrepid tracks by Quincy Jones and the fabulous electronic pioneers Neu! to mere snippets frustrates the soundtrack. Additionally, the musical section of the disc closes with samples of “Kung Fu stings and SFX,” creating an unlistenable closure.
The few choice tracks make Kill Bill Vol. 1 perfect fodder for a unique mix tape, but a somewhat difficult listen on its own.
Grade: B
