The X-Files: The Album - Fight The Future [SOUNDTRACK]

Various Artists - Soundtracks - Television, The X-Files (Related Recordings)

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 2, 1998)
• Original Release Date: June 2, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000006OAQ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (121 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #84,622 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
According to the liner notes, 20 million people gather 'round the tube to watch The X-Files each week, so it's not a stretch to believe that the movie will be huge beyond belief. With that kind of hype, the producers were under a lot of pressure to put together an incredible soundtrack to back it up. At first glance, the disc looks aptly huge, featuring artists like Foo Fighters, The Cure, Bjork, and Sting. How does it stand up? Surprisingly, the smaller groups are the ones providing the best music within. Filter's reworking of Three Dog Night's "One" kicks the disc into high gear but the excitement plummets from there. The Foo Fighter's new track, "Walking After You," is a softly-sung mediocre pop song; Sting should be ashamed to be regurgitating yet another number ("Invisible Sun" with World Beat artist Aswad). It's also disappointing to see the inclusion of already-released cuts, like Bjork's "Hunter" and a forcibly altered version of Sarah Mclachlan's "Black." --Denise Sheppard

New Musical Express
A cult show with an army of sci-fi geek pop acolytes, it should lend itself to some inventively cosmic selections. Instead, you get predictable tracks from Foo Fighters, The Cardigans and Björk that any fan will already own; a risible reworking of "Invisible Sun" by Sting and Aswad, a collaboration forged in some hideous alien experiment; and Noel Gallagher doing what he doesn't do best: techno.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice collection of music, if not that representative., February 13, 2001

By	Gary Gardner "Your resident dillettante" (Ellsworth, ME United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"X-Files" producer Chris Carter was personally involved in the production and compilation of this soundtrack album. Truth be known, very few of the songs compiled here are actually heard in the "The X-Files" 1998 film. However, it was Carter's decision to compile this talent, if only for the fact that a movie of this scale needed to have a soundtrack of popular music to represent it. Therefore, the album is non-essential to the nature of the film, but stands alone as a fine piece of work.

Three of the tracks are remakes: Filter performs the Three Dog Night song, "One"; however, it is a minimalist screamer that does no justice to the musicality of the original; Sting teams up with Aswad to do a nice reggae dig at The Police's "Invisible Sun", featuring great opening synth; too bad the guitar solo's buried in the mix; and X remakes "Crystal Ship" in a style reminiscent of It's a Beautiful Day...if they were to recreate a Doors song.

Fans of Sarah McLachlan probably won't care for the eerie, dark "Black". I know, my sister-in-law's a big fan of McLachlan's, and she shuns it. Those who like the nihilistic musical landscapes of Bjork will love "Hunter"; it is stark and mystifying all at the same time.

The best tracks are "Walking After You" by the Foo Fighters (featured in the film's end credits); "Deuce" by the Cardigans, before they, too, unfortunately went minimalist with their last album; and Better Than Ezra's "One More Murder".

The Dust Brothers' unusual, spacy arranging of "The X-Files Theme" features a solid synth backing, along with a heavy dose of stomping drum machines. After this song, fast forward your CD player to 10:13 as the time; there, you'll hear Carter talking about the X-Files mythology and how it relates to the film. Very insightful for the fans! Why 10:13? Why, that's the name of Carter's production company, of course!

Even if you're not a fan of the show, fans of alternative music will enjoy much of what's here.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now I can watch the show AND listen to it., May 5, 2000

By	"glitterbabydoll" (England) - See all my reviews

I'm a huge fan of The X-Files and have been since it started, so obviously I'm going to want to give the soundtracks a try. I loved 'Songs in The Key of X' so I decided it would be worth my while to give this CD a try. One listen to it - and I was in love with it. It's great. The first song on there: The X-Files theme is a great way to kick start things, an atmospheric remix of the theme tune that's great to dance to. Then came Flower Man by Tonic - a group I'd never heard of it. I love this song, I was singing along straight away even though I'd never heard it before. Only problem - this track didn't really reflect the mood of X-Files, but good nevertheless. Next track is One by Filter. This is great, I very good track by the band that gets things rolling nicely. Then comes Walking After You by Foo Fighters. This is my favourite track on the album. From the very first line it's great. It captures Mulder and Scully's relationship perfectly, it's the perfect song for one of those times when they hug. Next track is Beacon Light by Ween. This is great, it really reflects the mood and feel of X-Files. I've never heard this band before but I'm tempted to check out more stuff. Next track is Invisible Sun by Sting/Aswad. At first I didn't like this, but now I love it. It's different but great. I can't really see it fitting in with The X-Files but it meld perfectly with the other songs on the album. Next track is Deuce by The Cardigans who are one of my favourite bands. This song is typical Cardigans, and it's laid back atmospheric style suits X-Files perfectly. Great track. Next track is One More Murder by Better Than Ezra another band I've never heard of. This is great is you listen to the lyrics you can imagine them being sung by Mulder. It totally weighs up all of the people that have been murdered in X-Files to cover up the government conspiracies. Next song is More Than This by The Cure. I love this it's laid back and melodic, it's great. Next song is Hunter by Bjork. This isn't one of the best tracks but it is good. It fits in with the other songs although I can't really imagine Mulder and Scully singing along to this. The next track is Crystal Ship by X. I love this it's quite upbeat and a bit more lively that the previous two tracks which is good. It sort of beings the album back to life after it's being plodding along quietly for a few tracks (which isn't a bad thing). The next track is Black by Sarah MacLachlan. I love this it took me a few listens to appreciated it fully. She has an amazing voice and this track reflects that. It suits X-Files especially the movie. This is quite different from her usual music so it's a nice change. Last track is another remix of The X-Files theme, which is a good way to beings things to an end. The talking bit by Chris Carter is great. It sort of summarizes where Mulder and Scully's quest towards the truth is up to, so it's good if you're slightly lost with the myth arc. It's just nice as well to see that Chris Carter has contributed to the album. I've given this five stars because I'm in love with this album. It's so nice to be able to watch the TV show and listen to it. The only critisms would be:

1. Not all of the tracks reflect the mood of X-Files, but the fact they are great tracks make up for it.

2. I think that one of the remixes of the theme tune should be the original. I don't think that two was really necessary (only the english version has two remixes of the soundtrack).

X-Files fans should definitely buy this - but only if you actually like some of the artists on the CD. Take a look and if there are three or more artists that you like then get it. If you're into alternative/rock music and are a fan of the show then buy it. Enjoy it because it is one cool album!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, February 17, 2000

By	Mandy (Texas) - See all my reviews

I LOVE this cd. I bought it the summer the movie was released and it's still my #1 pick out of my entire cd collection. I will admit, I was a little unsure at first, but after giving it a chance, it quickly grew on me. Filter's remake of "One" is pretty good if you like their style of music - don't expect it to sound like the original though. Tonic has a great song on it called "Flower Man" and Ween's "Beacon Light" is a 1000 times better than anything else they've ever done. Sting and Aswand remade "Invisible Sun" which is pretty good. The songs by The Cardigans and The Cure are both awesome. It also has a couple songs by Better than Ezra and Sarah McLachlan that are really good. "16 Horses" by Soul Coughing and "Crystal Ship" by The-X are really different but really great in their uniqueness. The instrumental by Noel Gallagher is great and The X-Files Theme by the Dust Brothers has got a great little twist to it. My least favorite on the whole cd would have to be Bjork's "Hunter." It's a decent song, I'm just not really into her music. My favorite, by far, though is definitely the track by the Foo Fighters called "Walking After You." I know, it's a little more mainstream but I think it does such a great job representing the Mulder-Scully relationship. There's also an enlightening hidden track by Chris Carter at the end. I'm a huge fan of the show, and the movie, which may explain why I like the cd so much. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone, though. I think it's awesome and I can't imagine any fan of the show not liking it. Definitely a must-have.