Speed 2: Cruise Control Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Encyclopedia
The Speed 2: Cruise Control Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album
to the 1997 action
thriller film Speed 2: Cruise Control
. The album was released in May 1997, almost one month prior to the release of the film. Because of the film's Caribbean
setting, the soundtrack features a variety of reggae
music from artists including Common Sense
, Jimmy Cliff
, Maxi Priest
, and Shaggy
. UB40
and Carlinhos Brown
also have songs on the soundtrack, and appear in the film as entertainers on the cruise ship.
In addition to reggae, the soundtrack features music including a dance-rage
remix of the film score
by Tetsuya "TK" Komuro
, and an R&B
song by Tamia
, which is sung by her character in the film. Many songs on the compilation got their first release on the soundtrack, and five of the compilation's songs were released as singles
. Upon its release, the soundtrack received mixed reviews from critics, although it was praised for having reggae music as a consistent genre in the compilation.
, Jason Patric
, and Willem Dafoe
. The film is set on a cruise ship
in the Caribbean
, and to complement the film's setting, its soundtrack features mostly reggae
music. Speed 2 director/producer Jan de Bont
wanted musicians to appear in the film as the ship's live entertainment. British reggae band UB40
appear in the film performing "Can't Help Falling in Love
" and "Tell Me Is It True". "Can't Help Falling in Love
" is a cover of an Elvis Presley
song, which was recorded by UB40 for the soundtrack to the film Sliver
(1993) and released on their album Promises and Lies
(1993). "Tell Me Is It True" got its first release on the Speed 2 soundtrack album, and was later featured on UB40's next studio album, Guns in the Ghetto
, released ten days after the soundtrack album. The band was featured in the film after the filmmakers heard a demo
of "Tell Me Is It True" and were so pleased with it that they wrote a cameo appearance
for the band into the script.
Brazilian singer Carlinhos Brown
was also featured in the film, performing "A Namorada" from his album Alfagamabetizado (1997). De Bont chose Brown because he wanted music that was "lively" and felt that Brown's music was "very physical" and "full of energy".
De Bont also wanted to featured a musician among the cast as one of the characters who gets trapped aboard the ship. He chose Canadian rhythm and blues (R&B)
singer Tamia
because he wanted someone who could both sing and act. Tamia did not plan on doing any film acting that early in her career, but said the part was "too perfect for [her] to resist". She worked with de Bont and musician Quincy Jones
to chose a song for the film, and they collectively decided on "Make Tonight Beautiful", which was written by Diane Warren
.
Jamaican musician Shaggy
wanted to include his cover of the Erma Franklin
song "Piece of My Heart
", but could not use the song as it was to be used in the soundtrack for an upcoming biographical film
about Janis Joplin
. He instead included his original song "My Dream"; both tracks were later featured on Shaggy's next album Midnite Lover
, released in August 1997.
American reggae band Common Sense
featured their song "Never Give Up" from their debut album Psychedelic Surf Groove (1996). At the time they appeared on the soundtrack, Common Sense did not have a recording contract
with a major record label and lead singer Jai Vatuk said in June 1997 that the band began negotiations with the soundtrack's label Virgin Records
; the label re-released Psychedelic Surf Groove later that year and signed a deal with the band in 1998.
Jamaican reggae musician Jimmy Cliff
contributed to the soundtrack with a re-recording of "You Can Get It If You Really Want" from The Harder They Come
(1972), and Barbadian reggae singer Rayvon
featured his song "Some People", prior to its release on his album Hear Me Cry, released in June 1997.
British reggae singer Maxi Priest
was assigned be featured on the soundtrack after his work recording "It Starts in the Heart" for the soundtrack to Jungle 2 Jungle
(1997). For the Speed 2 soundtrack, he was asked cover a song in his style, and recorded a cover of "The Tide Is High
". Preist said that his work for Jungle 2 Jungle was "more satisfying" than for Speed 2 because "It Starts in the Heart" was an original song.
The soundtrack also includes a reggae cover of The Police
's "Every Breath You Take
" by Betty Wright
, which was later released on the Police reggae tribute album Reggatta Mondatta in July 1997. According to San Jose Mercury News
, Jamaican singer Diana King
was supposed to have a song on the soundtrack, but her music was "judged too plodding" for the film.
In addition to "Make Tonight Beautiful", other non-reggae songs on the soundtrack include a modern rock
cover of Carole King
's "I Feel the Earth Move" by Leah Andreone
, and the R&B song "Crazy" by British singer Mark Morrison
. The version of "Crazy" selected for the soundtrack was a remix by the song's producer Phil Chill, taken from the 12-inch single
released in 1995.
Composer Mark Mancina
, who wrote the film score
for Speed 2, also wrote a dance-rage
instrumental for the soundtrack that was based on the score. The track was titled "Speed TK Re-mix" and was performed by Japanese musician Tetsuya "TK" Komuro
, with non-lexical vocals
by Lynn Mabry
. The instrumental was TK's debut in the United States, and was originally titled "Speed 2 Theme".
, almost one month before the film's June 13 release date. Virgin Music Group executive vice president Nancy Berry said that when compiling the album, a decision was made not only to match the music in the film, but to also "create an album of summer music" and "a reggae compilation that would stand on its own". Two songs from the film are not featured on the album—"Can't Help Falling in Love" and "O mio babbino caro
" by Victoria de los Ángeles
. The album charted
in Austria
in August 1997, peaking at number 40.
To promote the soundtrack album, clips of each song were streamed
on the film's official website, and five tracks were sent to radio stations. The first single
was "Tell Me Is True", which was released in late April 1997 and commercially available on June 3; the song was also the first single from Guns in the Ghetto. "My Dream" was the second single released, followed by "Make Tonight Beautiful" in May, and "Never Give Up" and "Speed TK Re-mix" in July. De Bont's production company, Blue Tulip Productions, made a deal with Virgin that Mancina's score could not be released until six months after the soundtrack album to avoid sales competition. The score was not released as an album until 13 years later, when it was released as a limited edition album by La-La Land Records
in June 2010.
of The Baltimore Sun
said the film's Caribbean setting was a "perfect excuse" for the reggae tracks, and that the album's "most surprising moments come with its cover versions". Jonathan Takiff of Philadelphia Daily News
awarded the album three-and-a-half out of five stars for its reggae genre, which he described as a "rare [...] display of soundtrack consistency". Chuck Campbell from Scripps Howard News Service
gave the album three out of five stars, and commended the "continuity" of reggae tracks, but said that it should have featured artists more popular than UB40 and that it lacked the "commercial appeal" of other soundtracks released at the time. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
of Allmusic said that none of the soundtrack's songs are "standouts", but it has a "fairly enjoyable collection of pop-reggae Latin-dance" music.
Mansha Daswani of South China Morning Post
was more critical of the release and called the soundtrack "surprisingly bland", saying "tracks that should be catchy [...] are surprisingly weak", although she praised TK's remix and Maxi Priest's cover of "The Tide Is High". David Browne
of Entertainment Weekly
gave the album a "D" grade, criticizing the "waterlogged" selection of artists as well as TK's remix, but said that the collection of reggae was a "[g]ood idea" based on the film's setting. CMJ New Music Monthly
said the soundtrack's cover versions were unnecessary and contributed to "one of the scariest trends in soundtracks over the last few years". At the 18th Golden Raspberry Awards in 1998, "My Dream" was nominated for Worst Song, but lost the award to the film score for The Postman
(1997). "Speed TK Re-mix" gained popularity in Japan as it was used as entrance music for wrestler Kazushi Sakuraba
, and was re-released as a single in 2001 at the request of fans.
Soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
to the 1997 action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
thriller film Speed 2: Cruise Control
Speed 2: Cruise Control
Speed 2: Cruise Control is a 1997 action–thriller film, and a sequel to Speed . The film was produced and directed by Jan de Bont, and written by Randall McCormick and Jeff Nathanson, based on a story by de Bont and McCormick. Sandra Bullock stars in the film, reprising her role from Speed,...
. The album was released in May 1997, almost one month prior to the release of the film. Because of the film's Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
setting, the soundtrack features a variety of reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
music from artists including Common Sense
Common Sense (band)
Common Sense is an American reggae and alternative rock band from Orange County, California. They are known for playing in the Mercury Mariner commercial. Since their formation in 1987, they have released five albums under their own label, Common Sense Records...
, Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff, OM is a Jamaican musician, singer and actor. He is the only currently living musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievement in the arts and sciences...
, Maxi Priest
Maxi Priest
Max Alfred "Maxi" Priest is a British reggae vocalist of Jamaican descent. He is best known for singing reggae music with a R&B influence, otherwise known as reggae fusion, and became one of the first international successes who regularly dabbled in the genre as well as being one of the most...
, and Shaggy
Shaggy (musician)
Orville Richard Burrell , better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican-American reggae singer and rapper. He is perhaps best known for his 1995 single "Boombastic" and 2000 single "It Wasn't Me"...
. UB40
UB40
UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...
and Carlinhos Brown
Carlinhos Brown
Carlinhos Brown is a Brazilian musician from Salvador, Bahia. He was born in Candeal Pequeno, a small neighbourhood in the Brotas area of Salvador de Bahia...
also have songs on the soundtrack, and appear in the film as entertainers on the cruise ship.
In addition to reggae, the soundtrack features music including a dance-rage
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
remix of the film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
by Tetsuya "TK" Komuro
Tetsuya Komuro
, also known as TK, is a Japanese keyboardist, guitarist, singer, songwriter and music producer born on November 27, 1958 in Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan. He is recognized as being the most successful producer in Japanese music history and introduced dance music to the Japanese mainstream...
, and an R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
song by Tamia
Tamia
Tamia Hill , and known professionally as Tamia, is a four-time Grammy-nominated Canadian R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, composer, model, entrepreneur and philanthropist, as well as an occasional actress.She is best known for her 2000 hit "Stranger In My House" and Fabolous' 2003...
, which is sung by her character in the film. Many songs on the compilation got their first release on the soundtrack, and five of the compilation's songs were released as singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. Upon its release, the soundtrack received mixed reviews from critics, although it was praised for having reggae music as a consistent genre in the compilation.
Music
Speed 2: Cruise Control, the sequel to the 1994 film Speed, was released in 1997 and stars Sandra BullockSandra Bullock
Sandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...
, Jason Patric
Jason Patric
Jason Patric is an American film, television and stage actor. He may be best-known for his roles in the films The Lost Boys, Sleepers, Your Friends & Neighbors, Narc, The Losers and Speed 2: Cruise Control. His father was actor/playwright Jason Miller...
, and Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
. The film is set on a cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, and to complement the film's setting, its soundtrack features mostly reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
music. Speed 2 director/producer Jan de Bont
Jan de Bont
Jan de Bont is a Dutch cinematographer, producer, and film director.-Early life and career:De Bont was born, one of 17 children, to a Roman Catholic family in Eindhoven, Netherlands. His earliest work after studying at the Amsterdam Film Academy was with the Dutch avant garde director Adriaan...
wanted musicians to appear in the film as the ship's live entertainment. British reggae band UB40
UB40
UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...
appear in the film performing "Can't Help Falling in Love
Can't Help Falling in Love
"Can't Help Falling in Love" is a pop song originally recorded by American singer Elvis Presley and published by Gladys Music, Elvis Presley's publishing company. It was written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss. The melody was based on "Plaisir d'Amour" but with a different...
" and "Tell Me Is It True". "Can't Help Falling in Love
Can't Help Falling in Love
"Can't Help Falling in Love" is a pop song originally recorded by American singer Elvis Presley and published by Gladys Music, Elvis Presley's publishing company. It was written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss. The melody was based on "Plaisir d'Amour" but with a different...
" is a cover of an Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
song, which was recorded by UB40 for the soundtrack to the film Sliver
Sliver (film)
Sliver is a 1993 film based on the Ira Levin novel of the same name about the mysterious occurrences in a privately owned New York highrise apartment building. Phillip Noyce directed the film, from a screenplay by Joe Eszterhas...
(1993) and released on their album Promises and Lies
Promises and Lies
Promises and Lies is an album by the British reggae band UB40, released in 1993. It includes the hit from the soundtrack of the 1993 movie Sliver, "Can't Help Falling in Love", originally sung by Elvis Presley. The album reached #1 in the UK and #4 in the United States...
(1993). "Tell Me Is It True" got its first release on the Speed 2 soundtrack album, and was later featured on UB40's next studio album, Guns in the Ghetto
Guns in the Ghetto
- Track listing :All tracks composed by UB40#"Always There"#"Hurry Come Up"#"I Love It When You Smile"#"I've Been Missing You"#"Oracabessa Moonshine"#"Guns in the Ghetto"#"Tell Me Is It True"#"Friendly Fire"#"I Really Can't Say"#"Lisa"...
, released ten days after the soundtrack album. The band was featured in the film after the filmmakers heard a demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
of "Tell Me Is It True" and were so pleased with it that they wrote a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
for the band into the script.
Brazilian singer Carlinhos Brown
Carlinhos Brown
Carlinhos Brown is a Brazilian musician from Salvador, Bahia. He was born in Candeal Pequeno, a small neighbourhood in the Brotas area of Salvador de Bahia...
was also featured in the film, performing "A Namorada" from his album Alfagamabetizado (1997). De Bont chose Brown because he wanted music that was "lively" and felt that Brown's music was "very physical" and "full of energy".
De Bont also wanted to featured a musician among the cast as one of the characters who gets trapped aboard the ship. He chose Canadian rhythm and blues (R&B)
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
singer Tamia
Tamia
Tamia Hill , and known professionally as Tamia, is a four-time Grammy-nominated Canadian R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, composer, model, entrepreneur and philanthropist, as well as an occasional actress.She is best known for her 2000 hit "Stranger In My House" and Fabolous' 2003...
because he wanted someone who could both sing and act. Tamia did not plan on doing any film acting that early in her career, but said the part was "too perfect for [her] to resist". She worked with de Bont and musician Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
to chose a song for the film, and they collectively decided on "Make Tonight Beautiful", which was written by Diane Warren
Diane Warren
Diane Eve Warren , is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, including one win and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001...
.
Jamaican musician Shaggy
Shaggy (musician)
Orville Richard Burrell , better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican-American reggae singer and rapper. He is perhaps best known for his 1995 single "Boombastic" and 2000 single "It Wasn't Me"...
wanted to include his cover of the Erma Franklin
Erma Franklin
Erma Franklin was an American gospel and R&B singer. She was the oldest daughter of Barbara and the Reverend C. L. Franklin and the elder sister of Aretha Franklin...
song "Piece of My Heart
Piece of My Heart
"Piece of My Heart" is a song written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns and originally recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967. The song came to greater mainstream attention when Big Brother and the Holding Company covered the song in 1968 and had a hit with it...
", but could not use the song as it was to be used in the soundtrack for an upcoming biographical film
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
about Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
. He instead included his original song "My Dream"; both tracks were later featured on Shaggy's next album Midnite Lover
Midnite Lover
Midnite Lover is the fourth studio album released by Jamacian rapper Shaggy. The album became the follow-up to Shaggy's career-making album Boombastic, however, it did not fare as well. The album features covers of Erma Franklin's "Piece of My Heart", and Bob Marley's "Thank You Lord", which...
, released in August 1997.
American reggae band Common Sense
Common Sense (band)
Common Sense is an American reggae and alternative rock band from Orange County, California. They are known for playing in the Mercury Mariner commercial. Since their formation in 1987, they have released five albums under their own label, Common Sense Records...
featured their song "Never Give Up" from their debut album Psychedelic Surf Groove (1996). At the time they appeared on the soundtrack, Common Sense did not have a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with a major record label and lead singer Jai Vatuk said in June 1997 that the band began negotiations with the soundtrack's label Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
; the label re-released Psychedelic Surf Groove later that year and signed a deal with the band in 1998.
Jamaican reggae musician Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff, OM is a Jamaican musician, singer and actor. He is the only currently living musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievement in the arts and sciences...
contributed to the soundtrack with a re-recording of "You Can Get It If You Really Want" from The Harder They Come
The Harder They Come (soundtrack)
The Harder They Come is the soundtrack album to the iconic film of the same name, released in 1972 in the United Kingdom as Island Records ILPS 9202. It was issued in February 1973 in North America as Mango Records SMAS-7400. It peaked at #140 on the Billboard 200.-Content:The heart of the...
(1972), and Barbadian reggae singer Rayvon
Rayvon
Rayvon is a Barbadian reggae singer, known for his work with Shaggy.-Singles:*1992 "Big Up" *1994 "No Guns, No Murder" Hi.*1995 "In The Summertime" #5 UK...
featured his song "Some People", prior to its release on his album Hear Me Cry, released in June 1997.
British reggae singer Maxi Priest
Maxi Priest
Max Alfred "Maxi" Priest is a British reggae vocalist of Jamaican descent. He is best known for singing reggae music with a R&B influence, otherwise known as reggae fusion, and became one of the first international successes who regularly dabbled in the genre as well as being one of the most...
was assigned be featured on the soundtrack after his work recording "It Starts in the Heart" for the soundtrack to Jungle 2 Jungle
Jungle 2 Jungle
Jungle 2 Jungle is a 1997 comedy feature film starring Tim Allen, Martin Short and Sam Huntington. It is an American remake of the 1994 French film Un indien dans la ville . Jungle 2 Jungles plot follows the original film fairly closely...
(1997). For the Speed 2 soundtrack, he was asked cover a song in his style, and recorded a cover of "The Tide Is High
The Tide Is High
"The Tide Is High" is a 1967 song written by John Holt and originally performed by The Paragons with John Holt as lead singer. The song went mainly unnoticed in the rest of the world until it was rediscovered in 1980 when it became a US/UK number 1 hit for the band Blondie...
". Preist said that his work for Jungle 2 Jungle was "more satisfying" than for Speed 2 because "It Starts in the Heart" was an original song.
The soundtrack also includes a reggae cover of The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
's "Every Breath You Take
Every Breath You Take
"Every Breath You Take" is a song by The Police on the band's 1983 album Synchronicity, written by Sting and Andy Summers . The single was one of the biggest hits of 1983, topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for eight weeks and the UK Singles Chart for four weeks. It also topped the...
" by Betty Wright
Betty Wright
Bessie Regina Norris, better known by her stage name, Betty Wright , is a Grammy winning Miami-based soul and R&B singer-songwriter, who won fame in the 1970s with hits such as "Clean Up Woman" and "Tonight Is the Night"...
, which was later released on the Police reggae tribute album Reggatta Mondatta in July 1997. According to San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
, Jamaican singer Diana King
Diana King
Diana King is a reggae fusion singer-songwriter who specifically performed a mixture and fusion of R&B, reggae, pop and dancehall...
was supposed to have a song on the soundtrack, but her music was "judged too plodding" for the film.
In addition to "Make Tonight Beautiful", other non-reggae songs on the soundtrack include a modern rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
cover of Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
's "I Feel the Earth Move" by Leah Andreone
Leah Andreone
Leah Andreone is an American musician.-Early life and career:Andreone was born and raised in San Diego and attended Helix High School in La Mesa. She became interested in music early in life, finding it an easy way to express emotion...
, and the R&B song "Crazy" by British singer Mark Morrison
Mark Morrison
Mark Morrison is a British R&B singer. He was the most successful UK R&B singer of the mid-90s and the first black male solo artist to reach number one in the 90s. His single "Return of the Mack" became a #1 or Top 10 hit in several European countries in 1996...
. The version of "Crazy" selected for the soundtrack was a remix by the song's producer Phil Chill, taken from the 12-inch single
12-inch single
The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...
released in 1995.
Composer Mark Mancina
Mark Mancina
Mark Alan Mancina is a U.S. composer, primarily for Hollywood soundtracks, such as his collaboration with Trevor Rabin on the soundtrack for Con Air. He arranged many of the songs behind Disney's The Lion King including the Broadway musical...
, who wrote the film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
for Speed 2, also wrote a dance-rage
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
instrumental for the soundtrack that was based on the score. The track was titled "Speed TK Re-mix" and was performed by Japanese musician Tetsuya "TK" Komuro
Tetsuya Komuro
, also known as TK, is a Japanese keyboardist, guitarist, singer, songwriter and music producer born on November 27, 1958 in Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan. He is recognized as being the most successful producer in Japanese music history and introduced dance music to the Japanese mainstream...
, with non-lexical vocals
Non-lexical vocables in music
Non-lexical vocables, which may be mixed with meaningful text, are a form of nonsense syllable used in a wide variety of music. A common English example would be "la la la".-Traditional music:...
by Lynn Mabry
Lynn Mabry
Lynn Mabry is an American vocalist. She got her start in Sly and the Family Stone, along with Dawn Silva. In 1977 she joined P-Funk . The following year Mabry and Silva became the original Brides Of Funkenstein, releasing their first album Funk Or Walk. Lynn became pregnant and left the band in 1979...
. The instrumental was TK's debut in the United States, and was originally titled "Speed 2 Theme".
Release
The Speed 2: Cruise Control Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was produced by Budd Carr, and released on May 20, 1997 by Virgin RecordsVirgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
, almost one month before the film's June 13 release date. Virgin Music Group executive vice president Nancy Berry said that when compiling the album, a decision was made not only to match the music in the film, but to also "create an album of summer music" and "a reggae compilation that would stand on its own". Two songs from the film are not featured on the album—"Can't Help Falling in Love" and "O mio babbino caro
O mio babbino caro
"O mio babbino caro" is a soprano aria from the opera Gianni Schicchi , by Giacomo Puccini, to a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is sung by Lauretta after tensions between her father Schicchi and the family of Rinuccio, the boy she loves, have reached a breaking point that threatens to...
" by Victoria de los Ángeles
Victoria de los Ángeles
Victoria de los Ángeles was a Spanish Catalan operatic soprano and recitalist whose career began in the early 1940s and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. Her obituary in The Times noted that she must be counted “among the finest singers of the second half...
. The album charted
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
in August 1997, peaking at number 40.
To promote the soundtrack album, clips of each song were streamed
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
on the film's official website, and five tracks were sent to radio stations. The first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
was "Tell Me Is True", which was released in late April 1997 and commercially available on June 3; the song was also the first single from Guns in the Ghetto. "My Dream" was the second single released, followed by "Make Tonight Beautiful" in May, and "Never Give Up" and "Speed TK Re-mix" in July. De Bont's production company, Blue Tulip Productions, made a deal with Virgin that Mancina's score could not be released until six months after the soundtrack album to avoid sales competition. The score was not released as an album until 13 years later, when it was released as a limited edition album by La-La Land Records
La-La Land Records
La-La Land Records is an American record company based in Burbank, California . The company specializes in film and television soundtracks. The label is run by Michael V...
in June 2010.
Reception
The reception of the soundtrack was mixed. J. D. ConsidineJ. D. Considine
J. D. Considine is an established music critic who has been writing about music professionally since 1977. His work has been published in numerous newspapers and music magazines, and he has contributed to several books. Over the years, he has claimed to have put over three million words into...
of The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
said the film's Caribbean setting was a "perfect excuse" for the reggae tracks, and that the album's "most surprising moments come with its cover versions". Jonathan Takiff of Philadelphia Daily News
Philadelphia Daily News
The Philadelphia Daily News is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The newspaper is owned by Philadelphia Media Holdings which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Daily News began publishing on March 31, 1925, under...
awarded the album three-and-a-half out of five stars for its reggae genre, which he described as a "rare [...] display of soundtrack consistency". Chuck Campbell from Scripps Howard News Service
E. W. Scripps Company
The E. W. Scripps Company is an American media conglomerate founded by Edward W. Scripps on November 2, 1878. The company is headquartered inside the Scripps Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its corporate motto is "Give light and the people will find their own way."On October 16, 2007, the company...
gave the album three out of five stars, and commended the "continuity" of reggae tracks, but said that it should have featured artists more popular than UB40 and that it lacked the "commercial appeal" of other soundtracks released at the time. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
of Allmusic said that none of the soundtrack's songs are "standouts", but it has a "fairly enjoyable collection of pop-reggae Latin-dance" music.
Mansha Daswani of South China Morning Post
South China Morning Post
The South China Morning Post , together with its Sunday edition, the Sunday Morning Post, is an English-language Hong Kong newspaper, published by the SCMP Group with a circulation of 104,000....
was more critical of the release and called the soundtrack "surprisingly bland", saying "tracks that should be catchy [...] are surprisingly weak", although she praised TK's remix and Maxi Priest's cover of "The Tide Is High". David Browne
David Browne
David Browne is an American journalist and author. He was the resident music critic at Entertainment Weekly between 1990 and 2006. He was an editor at Music & Sound Output magazine and a music critic at the New York Daily News before EW...
of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the album a "D" grade, criticizing the "waterlogged" selection of artists as well as TK's remix, but said that the collection of reggae was a "[g]ood idea" based on the film's setting. CMJ New Music Monthly
CMJ New Music Monthly
CMJ New Music Monthly was a monthly music magazine with interviews, reviews, and special features. Each issue included a compact disc with 15 to 24 songs by well established bands, unsigned bands, and everything in between...
said the soundtrack's cover versions were unnecessary and contributed to "one of the scariest trends in soundtracks over the last few years". At the 18th Golden Raspberry Awards in 1998, "My Dream" was nominated for Worst Song, but lost the award to the film score for The Postman
The Postman (film)
The Postman is an American post-apocalyptic epic film based on the 1985 novel of the same name by David Brin. It was filmed in northeastern Washington , Fidalgo Island, Washington, central Oregon and Tucson, Arizona, and was directed by Kevin Costner, who also stars in the film...
(1997). "Speed TK Re-mix" gained popularity in Japan as it was used as entrance music for wrestler Kazushi Sakuraba
Kazushi Sakuraba
is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler. He has competed in pro-wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling, UWFi and Kingdom Pro Wrestling. He has fought in MMA competition in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1 Hero's and Dream...
, and was re-released as a single in 2001 at the request of fans.