VA - Bean - The Album - Motion Picture Soundtrack (1997)

The soundtrack to the motion picture debut of Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean character is a carefully constructed mixture of dance-pop, MOR pop and oldies, designed to get massive airplay, which, in turn, would help the publicize the movie. Unfortunately, the execution isn't as flawless as the idea itself. There are some gems here -- Boyzone's smooth "Picture of You," Katrina & the Waves' timeless "Walking on Sunshine," Susanna Hoffs' "Stuck in the Middle With You," the Beach Boys' immortal "I Get Around" -- but there's also a lot of dreck, particularly in pointless covers of classic songs by contemporary artists, like OMC's "I Love L.A." The result is a muddled affair that will appeal to diehard fans of the film, but few else.~Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine