Various
ArtistsPowerpuff Girls: Heroes and Villains
(Rhino)*****
Various
Artists
Powerpuff Girls: Heroes and Villains
(Rhino)*****
It's becoming increasingly rare for kid-oriented phenomena, especially animated TV, to have secret adult appeal--you ask me, it’s been mostly downhill since Tex Avery. And then a curiosity like The Powerpuff Girls comes along. Creator Craig McCracken has enough grasp of the delicate line between homage and satire to rise above the kid-appeal merchandising that's plastered the girls' anime-a-go-go faces everywhere you turn. Gen X irony is one thing, but entertainment value quickly dwindles if that's all you have. McCracken's "targets" are the things he clearly, undoubtedly loves--Japanese design sense, Batman (the TV one), and Krofft Superstars.
So who is Heroes & Villains, a selection of PPG-related songs by an eclectic handful of not-quite-underground, not-quite-mainstream pop artists, designed for? In McCracken's introduction, he simply states, "I love these bands, and listening to their music inspires my own work." Fair enough--since it’s people like Shonen Knife (well, duh), Cornelius, and PPG end-theme authors Bis, all of whom marry Hello Kitty cuteness with a genuinely inventive take on Western influences. The remaining tracks are mostly by bands who would probably be chased down Japanese streets a la A Hard Day’s Night (this actually did happen to the Apples in Stereo, whose "Signal In the Sky (Let’s Go)" is a particular highlight). Of obvious note is the first new Devo material in a gajillion years; Dressy Bessy (who include at least one moonlighter from the aforementioned Apples) take home the gold for their snazzy reinterpretation of "Bubbles," by '60s wacko swingers the Free Design; and ex-Pixie Frank Black, XTC-might-as-well-bes the Sugarplastic, and Sweden's Komeda all weigh in handsomely. Especially cool is the storyline that weaves the songs together--each main character has his or her own shot at the spotlight, and the artwork reinforces this: stuffed-shirt Dr. Utonium doing the robot is worth the price of admission alone. Not just for kids? Shoot, not hardly for kids at all.
--David W. Jackson
Powerpuff Girls: Heroes and Villains (Rhino) is subtitled “Music inspired by The Powerpuff Girls,” but in this case there is actually truth in advertising. The eleven songs sandwiched between the main theme and end theme are all new compositions, and they way they complement one another suggests serious coordination between the songwriters and the producers. As Craig McCracken, the series’ creator, states in the CD booklet, “Each song on the album focuses on a different aspect of The Powerpuff Girls, and together they tell a story.” The selection of artists on the disc is also far from random; McCracken writes: “I love these bands, and listening to their music inspires my own work.” It’s tough to argue with that, and I certainly won’t. In fact, my own top three choices for “Band Most Suitable for a Powerpuff Girls Album” are all here.
Interspersed among the songs are a number of snippets of dialogue, and with the help of these snippets, the songs’ lyrics, and the pictures in the booklet, you can easily follow the album’s story, even if you have never seen the show. “The Powerpuff Girls (Main Theme)” sets the stage, telling how Professor Utonium created Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, three kindergarteners who use their super powers to fight the forces of evil. Devo introduces the girls’ nemesis, a turban-wearing, super-intelligent chimp named Mojo Jojo, with “Go Monkey Go,” a song that is appropriately both quirky and ominous (and very Devo). Ex-Pixie Frank Black follows this with “Pray for the Girls,” which continues the ominous vibe and leads to the Mayor of Townsville calling the Powerpuff Girls for help. “Signal in the Sky (Let’s Go)” is something of a misnomer, since the Mayor always calls the girls on a hot line (the phone is similar to those Fisher-Price toy phones with faces on them) rather than with some Batsignal sort of device, but the Apples in Stereo fill this song with such exuberance and joy that this is easily excused. “Walk & Chew Gum” by Optiganally Yours is a super-cool musical portrait of the ancient and absent-minded Mayor of Townsville, with a backing track of lo-fi 1940s-style swing music.
I would have been disappointed if my favorite trio of female musicians hadn’t been included on this album, but apparently Craig McCracken was of the same mind. Michie Nakatani parted company with the Yamano sisters last year, so Shonen Knife is now a duo, but they’re nevertheless here, and they in fact kick off the trio of songs about the individual girls. As the punkiest of the groups featured in this triptych, it’s only fitting that they perform “Buttercup (I’m a Super Girl),” since Buttercup is the most action-oriented and “hardcore” of the girls. It also doesn’t hurt that my favorite of the groups on the album does the song about my favorite Powerpuff Girl! I should note that E. G. Daily, who does the voice of Buttercup, has not only done voices on numerous other cartoons (including Rugrats) and acted in several films (most notably Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure), but has also lent her singing voice to a huge number of records, including her own LP, Wild Child (A&M, 1985). The songs about the Powerpuff Girls continue with Komeda, putting their weird Swedish new wave style to good use singing about “B.L.O.S.S.O.M.,” the most intellectual of the girls. The airy and bouncy “Bubbles” by Dressy Bessy (a wonderful band also featured in the soundtrack to “But I’m A Cheerleader”) completes this very satisfying threesome.
We return to the villainous side with “Fight the Power” by Bis, the Scottish trio that deservedly gets to occupy two tracks on this disc. Here it seems that Mojo Jojo has defeated the Powerpuff Girls, and “Don’t Look Down,” a very XTC-esque song by the Sugarplastic looks at Professor Utonium’s desire to be able to help his girls. But no need! The girls are okay, and to the tune of “The Fight,” a collage of dialogue samples and synthesizer-heavy instrumental by Cornelius, they defeat Mojo Jojo. Their victory is celebrated in the cheerful “Friends Win” by the Bill Doss.
Track 13 is “The Powerpuff Girls (End Theme),” the album’s second song by Bis. I was overjoyed when I first learned that Bis did the theme for this show. With such high-energy, super-catchy youth anthems as “Sweet Shop Avengers,” “Tell It To The Kids,” and “Teen-C Power” under their belts, they were the perfect choice. (Collectors take note: Rhino has also released a pink vinyl seven inch single with “The Powerpuff Girls (End Theme)” as the B-side to “Signal in the Sky (Let’s Go).”) But wait! That’s not all! After the theme, track 13 continues as the Mayor relaxes to an uncredited recording of “Love Makes The World Go ‘Round,” the song with which the girls saved the day in the “Mime for a Change” episode.
8/16/00 - THE POWERPUFF GIRLS "HEROES & VILLAINS" - a CD
review: I should have been tipped off that this was going
better than a kiddy record, when I noticed that this was on the RHINO label but not
a Kid Rhino release. I have just spent the last week groovin' to the
sounds on THE POWERPUFF GIRLS new CD. This is certainly my cup of tea, an
eclectic compilation of new tracks from some of the coolest musicians around. If
you like the end theme (by Bis) you'll really enjoy this CD.
I'm most impressed with a track called WALK & CHEW GUM by a group called
Optiganally Yours. I've never heard of them , but the track here is a delightful
retro song apparently using 1940s swing music lifted off old records to create a
new tune (about the Mayor). If this isn't old music, I'd like to know how they
captured that sound quality. It's very cool.
My fave Shonen Knife do my second favorite track BUTTERCUP (I'M A SUPER GIRL) in their patented not-quite-right English spoken phonetically style. 13 other great tracks by such names as Devo, Frank Black, The Sugarplastic and some folks new to me such as The Bill Doss, Dressy Bessy, Komeda and The Apples In Stereo. All the songs are new, written for this album, and each is about some aspect of the Powerpuff Girls universe.
The whole thing is cleverly bridged with new dialogue
featuring the voice cast from the series, particularly the brilliant narration
by Tom Kenny (who get's to shine in a sample track called THE FIGHT by
Cornelius). Oh, and there is a secret bonus track that comes on about 20 seconds
after the END THEME that's a hoot!
If you are into fun pop music (like me) you'll love this new release. HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED -Jerry Beck - Cartoon Research