VA - Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (Original Soundtrack) (2004)

One of the great pleasures of a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack is knowing that it won't be a standard modern-day soundtrack, filled with filler and acts that the label is trying to break. Instead, it will consist of music that even hardcore record collectors will find unusual or at least ripe for revival. The soundtrack to the first volume of his revenge epic Kill Bill blended those two inclinations, but the soundtrack to the second film is almost nothing but unusual music. Some names are familiar, but the music isn't -- there are three selections from Ennio Morricone, rockabilly cult hero Charlie Feathers makes his second Kill Bill appearance, Johnny Cash's latter-day "A Satisfied Man" is here, and Malcolm McLaren's "About Her" is a clever trip-hop spin on the Zombies' "She's Not There." The rest is devoted to music that sounds like the soundtrack to a Mexican spaghetti Western, which really isn't all that far off from what large parts of Kill Bill, Vol. 2 actually is. This makes for a unified soundtrack album, but one that lacks the immediate impact of Kill Bill, Vol. 1, since nothing is as gripping upon the first listen as the haunting "Twisted Nerve," the mesmerizing funk of "Battle Without Honor or Humility," or the crazed intensity of the 5.6.7.8's' version of "Woo Hoo." That said, it is cinematic, unpredictable, and absorbing, gaining resonance after a viewing of the film, as all good soundtracks do; it only pales in comparison to its predecessor, which was good not just as a soundtrack, but as an album of its own account.