MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - T2 TRAINSPOTTING

The new T2 Trainspotting movie is going to have a lot to live up to, with the original 1996 film such a fan favourite. The soundtrack will have just as much to live up to, if not more. It cemented the iconic reputation of Iggy Pop, introducing him to a whole new generation with Lust For Life and Nightclubbing featured. It raised Lou Reed up a notch as well, with Perfect Day. Blur, Pulp, Elastica, New Order and Underworld all helped make the disc a start-to-finish must-listen, and is now considered on the top ten or so soundtracks. There was even a second volume released the following year, one of those "songs that helped inspire" deals. Cue Bowie and more Iggy,


So 20 years later we revisit the same characters, older but possibly no wiser. Since nostalgia is a theme of the movie as the friends reunite, we get echoes of the original film, with Lust For Life returning, but this time in a Prodigy remix, and Underworld's Born Slippy becoming Slow Slippy. Blondie had sort of appeared in the first movie, as their cut Atomic had been covered by Sleeper; this time, it's Harry and Co. classic Dreaming. But now what? You can only have so many nods to the first, and they needed a lot more music than that. I'll give them full props for using three tracks from Edinburgh heroes Young Fathers, the hip-hop/pop group that won the Mercury Prize in 2014. They have the right kind of edge for the film, anti-authority and almost underground.


Other choices though feel too much like trying to recapture the initial magic. The Wolf Alice track seems like an attempt to get the hot new British bands involved, and same goes for Fat White Family. High Contrast supplies the necessary electro track. And then there are the classics, and unfortunately, that's the real letdown. Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Relax? Gosh, I don't know how it's used in the film, but even so, who wants to hear it? Queen's Radio Ga Ga is way too popular to be interesting or needed on such a collection. Only The Clash early hit (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais has the opportunity to inspire like the Iggy and Reed cuts of the original. I'm underwhelmed.