Grindhouse: Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)

iTunes Review

In crafting their ready-made double-feature Grindhouse, directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez forged a unique Hollywood conceit: a $53 million valentine to the vintage, hundred-thousand-dollar exploitation fare that inspired their own filmmaking excesses. Tarantino's half of the bargain features another of his eclectic source music buffets, a feast that serves up tasty nuggets of '60s catalog from Jack Nitzsche and British invasion contenders DDDBM&T, some '70s chart fodder from T-Rex and Smith and a couple of expected obscure Italian film cues from Morricone and Dinaggio for atmospheric seasoning. But he also works in a mid-lineup run of R&B that spans familiar fare from the Coasters, Eddie Floyd and Joe Tex to PG&E's almost sunny take on the murderous "Stagger Lee," selections that help give both plot and soundtrack a welcome sense of emotional resonance. Tarantino finishes up with a couple of those quirky choices that have made his musical reputation, the low-budget bluster of Eddie Beram's "Riot In Thunder Alley" and April March's chirping cover of Serge Gainsbourg's delightfully untethered "Chick Habit."