Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me was the surprise blockbuster of the summer 1999 movie season -- well, at least until
The Sixth Sense came out of nowhere in August and enraptured audiences with its spooky mysteries. Prior to that,
The Spy Who Shagged Me pretty much ruled June, stealing thunder from the
Star Wars prequel,
The Phantom Menace, and spawning a litany of catch phrases. There was also a
soundtrack, highlighted by
Lenny Kravitz's plodding cover of
the Guess Who's
"American Woman" and by
Madonna's
"Beautiful Stranger," a psychedelicized
dance number that was her best single in years.
"Beautiful Stranger" helped make the record a hit, which increased the demand for a second
Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack -- which appeared a couple of weeks before the video release of the film in November 1999. Curious thing --
The Spy Who Shagged Me already felt like a pop culture artifact by the time this second
soundtrack and the video were released. That didn't detract from the quality of the
soundtrack, but it did make it seem a little unnecessary. However,
They Might Be Giants' brilliant
"Goldfinger" parody,
"Dr. Evil," is as good as anything on the first record, as is
the Bangles' unexpected reunion track
"Get the Girl," a fine piece of retro-
psychedelia that sounds like it hails from the band's prime. These two tracks certainly deserved to be on the first record, as did
Marvin Gaye's
"Let's Get It On" and
Fantastic Plastic Machine's
"Bachelor Pad." But at least they served as an excuse for this second
soundtrack, which improbably turns out to be more entertaining than the first. That's largely due to the fact that it has the original versions of
"American Woman" and
"Time of the Season" (which were covered very poorly on the first disc), along with a few oldies (
"I'm a Believer," "Magic Carpet Ride") that add some swinging-'60s context. There is some filler here -- most notably, a superfluous remix of
"Beautiful Stranger" and
Lords of Acid's
"Am I Sexy?" -- but the record is actually more consistent than its predecessor, and just as entertaining -- even if it isn't exactly necessary and sort of feels like an afterthought. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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