BiLL & Ted's BOGUS Journey – MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE

Another album of extreme rock'n'roll fun, much like the movie these tracks supported.

There are a couple of artists who don't quite get the joke, for example the tracks Drinking Again and Dream Of A New Day, which by contrast with the rest are just depressing.

My opinion is probably symptomatic of having the lyrics to read through this time though. Conversely the Excellent Adventure album offered no such insight into the bands' intentions, allowing me to just tune into the music regardless of whatever the words may have been. On this album Primus' Tommy The Cat is indecipherable, while Dave Mustaine & Megadeth's intended title-track Go To Hell is, as the name suggests, really a celebration of Hell! Perhaps that proves they did get the film's joke...

My favourite one though, unsurprisingly, was Kiss' God Gave Rock And Roll To You II. This is the anthem that the movie powers into the closing credits on, and if you've seen the film then you'll know that it implies not so much a grand finale as a grand new beginning. (the dudes really do need to make a third film now) Every time I watch this film, I crank up the sound for the final act accordingly.

Here, far from being about Hell, the lyrics seem to really worship rock'n'roll itself as a religion...

you don't have money
or a fancy car
and you're tired of wishin'
on a fallin' star
you gotta put your faith in a loud guitar

The final final track of the film (the one that closes the closing credits, if that makes it any clearer) is also the final one on this album – Steve Vai's The Reaper Rap. I have to say that, back in '92, I didn't go much on this either in the cinema or on the radio, being as it is just a background to snatches of dialogue from the film. Here however it's welcome, reminding me of just why Herschel gave me the album in the first place, and allowing me to relive some of a movie that the middle of this CD seemed to have quietly forgotten.

Quite good! Quite good!