The musical soundtrack to director Alex Cox's Sid & Nancy works as much magic as an album as it does accompanying the movie's tragic-comic imagery. The album exists as a compelling compilation of three elements: original songs by punk and post punk artists; Pray for Rain's somber, fragile score; and actor
Gary Oldman's interesting turn as
Sid Vicious on two tracks.
Joe Strummer appears twice, first on "Love Kills" and then on "Dum Dum Club"; both songs are built on dynamic, powerful melodies and both see Strummer in fine form.
The Pogues also appear twice, but neither track features
Shane MacGowan on vocals. "Haunted" features vocals by
Cait O'Riordan (the song would later appear via Shane MacGowan and the Popes as a duet between MacGowan and Sinead O'Connor) and "Junk" is an instrumental which actually sounds remarkably similar to Pray for Rain's score. That score, a minimalist, moody, and organic beast, is represented by four tracks which sound a great deal like
Tangerine Dream on a good day. Circle Jerks' stab at the movie's "love kills" theme is the second song here to take the name "Love Kills." It's a punk gem with attitude to spare, made great by snarling, effective vocals.
John Cale's "She Never Took No for an Answer" is an entire world of atmosphere and ambivalent, sad romance. "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "My Way" see
Gary Oldman doing his best impersonation of
Sid Vicious and that title character's musical inability; the two covers are as interesting and worthwhile as the originals. All 13 tracks somehow work perfectly together, except perhaps Sex Pistol Steve Jones' lightweight "Pleasure and Pain."
Sid & Nancy is a must-listen for fans of the film, and it's one of the best movie soundtracks of the 1980s. It's stylish, brash, and wholly entertaining. ~ Tim DiGravina