Though the soundtrack for Death Wish 2 may not sound like an interesting record on the surface, it is actually a significant release for any number of reasons. For one thing, it was the first album that Jimmy Page recorded and released after the breakup of Led Zeppelin, and the album serves as a fascinating transition from Zeppelin's final studio release, In Through the out Door, to the work Page would do with his ill-fated supergroup the Firm. In addition to containing Page's work with a full orchestra, there are several pieces that showcase his well-established ability to create eerie, unnerving guitar and synthesizer lines, mainly to serve as accompaniment to the film. Page also delivers three fully composed rock songs, "Who's to Blame," "Hypnotizing Ways," and "City Sirens." The songs are appropriately creepy and foreboding, and his playing is just as impressive as it was in the Zeppelin era, but they also showcase the one weakness of the album, which is that Page has chosen fairly uninspired collaborators here. Drummer Dave Mattacks and bassist Dave Paton are competent enough, but neither one threatens to overshadow or even push Page (as John Paul Jones and John Bonham would have), and he turns in sometimes lackluster performances because of it. The real clincher, though, is singer Chris Farlowe, who delivers what has to be the most embarrassing ham-fisted blues singing ever heard on record, and his deep-voiced histrionics destroy whatever mood Page hoped to create with the music. (Thankfully, he ruins only two songs.) Still, though this is hardly the place for Page neophytes to begin, listeners interested in discovering a new, interesting side of him should seek this out.
[Ofrecido] Jimmy Page - Death Wish 2 (1982/99) (OST)
