For a series that's only produced one six-part season so far, the RANDALL & HOPKIRK (DECEASED) merchandising bandwagon is already on its way, but is that necessarily a good thing?

Possibly not if the soundtrack CD is anything to go by - what could have been an enjoyable, if difficult to market, EP has been stretched out to a full thirteen track CD.

First up is David Arnold's THEME FROM RANDALL & HOPKIRK (DECEASED), except that it's not.  Instead of the theme itself we get the single version featuring Nina Persson of the Cardigans, which is nowhere near as good.  The original is great and I'm a big Cardigans fan, but the track just doesn't work as well with the inclusion of vocals.  Of course, the original version isn't here because it's included on the CD single, which does smack a bit of a rip-off.

Fortunately, after the rather poor mambo-esque JUS' TONITE by Basement Jaxx, things start to pick up.  I've been a James fan ever since their Factory days and CONFUSION is probably the soundtrack's highlight, even if it did remind me of HOW WAS IT FOR YOU?

Other highspots are the Charlatans' MY BEAUTIFUL FRIEND and MY BODY MAY DIE by Pulp vs. The Swingle Sisters, and the contributions from The Orb, Witness and Emiliana Torrini are more than okay, but most of the rest is pretty forgettable, and you may well be thankful for the 'skip' facility in one or two cases.

It's nice to see a 'new' series getting some merchandise support early on, but this is probably a little too soon for a soundtrack CD.  There aren't enough quality tracks here, and the omission of the instrumental version of the theme is very annoying.  Nice in parts, but by no means essential. BACK TO THE TOP

RANDALL & HOPKIRK (DECEASED)
THE SOUNDTRACK

ISLAND RECORDS


RATING: 6/10