Spy Kids [Soundtrack, Import]

Danny Elfman (Composer), John Debney (Composer), Harry Gregson-Williams (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 10, 2001)
• Original Release Date: March 30, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack, Import
• Label: Chapter III Records
• ASIN: B00005B1AE
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #222,159 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Cortez Family

2. My Parents Are Spies

3. Spy Wedding

4. Spy Kids Demonstration

5. Parents On Mission

6. Kids Escape House

7. Pod Chase

8. The Safehouse

9. The Third Brain

10. Buddy Pack Escape

11. Oye Como Spy

12. Floop's Song (Cruel World)

13. Spy Go Round

14. Minion

15. Sneaking Around Machetes

16. The Spy Plane

17. Floop's Castle

18. Final Family Theme

19. Spy Kids (Save The World)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

What's more unlikely than gritty cult director Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, Desperado, From Dusk til Dawn) directing a kid-oriented mainstream action film and seeing it top the box office? How about an orchestral musical score credited to no fewer than six film composers, not to mention the director and his brother--and did we mention Los Lobos? But what might have easily been a case of too many cooks turns out to be a loopy, suitably lighthearted romp. John Debney, Danny Elfman, Chris Boardman, Gavin Greenaway, Heitor Pereira, and Harry Gregson Williams are credited--individually and in various collaborations--along with Rodriguez and brother Marcel (and some crucial supervisory help from Hans Zimmer) with a soundtrack of short, to-the-point cues that largely send up hoary action and spy film clichés. The acoustic guitar stylings of Los Lobos highlight "Spy Wedding," while the L.A. vets crank their amps for the riff-heavy "Oye Como Spy," an off-the-wall reworking of the Tito Puente standard. Danny Elfman also contributes "Floop's Song (Cruel World)," a show song earnestly sung by film heavy Alan Cumming and sounding for all the world like an outtake from the composer's cherished "Nightmare Before Christmas." Pass the popcorn, please! --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WOW!!! :), June 25, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Spy Kids (Audio CD)

This CD is very Good! My favorite song is Spy Kids (Save the World)!!! I'd recommend this CD to kids of all ages! You should also buy it if you're getting the movie when it comes out!!! ;)

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprise!, April 22, 2001

By 

Timothy Linsley "Tim Linsley" (Flint, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spy Kids (Audio CD)

While I was browsing the liner notes of this album, I was shocked to see that no less then five artists contributed to this film score, ranging from the hispanic pop group Los Lobos ("La Bamba") to lush film composer Danny Elfman ("Batman, Edward Scissorhands") to the film's director Robert Rodriguez. Usually, the old addage of "too many cooks spoil the soup" comes to mind. With this many people involved, the results are almost guaranteed to be a mess.

Surprise! There's an exception to every rule, and "Spy Kids" is it! Instead of having one person work on each track, each one adds their own strengths over the entire album, making it a wonderfully cohesive whole.

In keeping true to the film's locations, the whole score is tinged with a slight salsa feel, straight out of Buenas Aries, and you can hear that delicate sounding guitar in nearly every track. This is the primary contribution of Lobos, Rodruiguez, and veteran rocker Harry Gregson-Williams ("The Rock").

From there, Elfman and fellow composer John Debney ("SeaQuest DSV") add a lush orchestral tapestry, adding depth to the whole. Indeed, Elfman's trademark dissonance and offbeat percussion are perhaps the biggest thing helping to elevate the music from merely "good" to "great." Elfman is even given his own moment to shine, with "Cruel World," the theme song to the villain's deranged TV show.

The only real dissapointment on the album is the final track, "Spy Kids (Save the World)," a pure pop track with shallow, self-referential lyrics that nearly undermine the fact that it's at least not a boy-band, or a Brittiny wannabe.

Also in the liner notes, Rodriguez states that he wanted to create "... the coolest spy music this side of Bond." I think he and his team have succeeded wonderfully. That it also happens to be for a kid's movie is entirely incidental.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, June 12, 2001

By 

"dveditor" (Papillion, NE USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spy Kids (Audio CD)

This soundtrack has some awesome songs in it and sort of retains that "Mission Impossible" theme. I liked the movie, and I was not disappointed with the soundtrack. I think that the movie was one of the best "starring kids" movies of all time. So, I give this and the movie four stars, and my hat is off to the talent behind it all.