Various Artists - Scooby-Doo Soundtrack

It's an integral part of our generations childhood and who can forget the classic line "if it wasn't for those pesky kids we'd have got away with it" which ended each episode. Maybe its just nostalgia but kids TV was so much better in the old days with Scooby Doo, Banana Man and Inspector Gadget literally in a different league to the forgettable trash that clutters up CITV these days. Like Inspector Gadget last year, Scooby-Doo has been transformed to the big screen for the Hollywood make over and if reports are to be believed it looks set to be one of the highlights of the year.

It wouldn't have been a Scooby Doo soundtrack had they not brought the one and only Shaggy to sing the theme tune and for the first time in his 10 year career you don't feel like taking him out and ruffing him up. And in true pop eating itself fashion the Baha Men mix up Lil Bow Wow's "Where My Dog At?" with the Scooby Doo theme tune and then there's MXPX's punk pop version of the very same song. Its taking the idea of a soundtrack to its logical extreme where rather than having a score which delivers variants on the same melody, you get a host of major-league stars delivering their own take on the very same tune.

While Outkast's "Land Of  A Million Drums" is the lead single off the album, there's plenty of exclusives tucked away. Solange, younger sister of Destiny's Child's Beyonce, essentially releases an out take from the DC Christmas album and while not the best introduction she's got the potential to be a major player in the future. Unkle Kracker teams up with Busta Rhymes for the "Freaks Come Out At Night" and is about as far removed as "Follow Me" you can get. Also featured our cuts from Kylie, the Allstars, Lil' Romeo and The Atomic Fireballs which sound like a cross between Gold Blade and Ricky Martin.

With recent soundtracks out for the Spiderman and Austin Powers movie's, this can look pale in comparison when you consider that the former had Sum 41 and Slipknot leading the pack and Austin Powers unleashes Beyonce and Britney as its ambassadors. Maybe when you see the film it will all make sense, but you get the feeling that this soundtrack is strictly one for the Scooby Doo completists amongst us!!!

Alex McCann

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