Summer Soundtracks: Batman Forever

Just when you thought it was safe to stop saving your money for new soundtrack LP reissues on vinyl, Rhino has teamed with Urban Outfitters for an exclusive offering that contains 14 tracks of prime 1990s pop, rock, punk, and R&B. Better yet, it’s for a superhero movie, and you know how popular those things are.

Originally released in 1995, BATMAN FOREVER is one of those films that only features a handful of songs that are included on the soundtrack, but that doesn’t make the other tunes any less great. In advance of itself release, there was no doubt as to which song was considered to be the MVP of the bunch, and that’s U2’s “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me.”

Somewhere along the line, however, it became evident that Seal’s “Kiss from a Rose” was going to become the bigger hit, and – lo and behold – it climbed all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. But with additional contributions by PJ Harvey, Brandy, Massive Attack and Tracey Thorn, Eddi Reader, Mazzy Star, The Offspring, Nick Cave, Michael Hutchence, The Devlins, Sunny Day Real Estate, and The Flaming Lips, the album ultimately went on to sell almost as many copies as the soundtrack Prince composed for 1989’s Batman, and that ain’t bad.

Tracklisting
1. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me - U2
2. One Time Too Many - PJ Harvey
3. Where Are You Now? - Brandy
4. Kiss from a Rose - Seal
5. The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game - Massive Attack and Tracey Thorn
6. Nobody Lives Without Love - Eddi Reader
7. Tell Me Now - Mazzy Star
8. Smash It Up - The Offspring
9. There Is a Light - Nick Cave
10. The Riddler - Method Man
11. The Passenger - Michael Hutchence
12. Crossing the River - The Devlins
13. 8 - Sunny Day Real Estate
14. Bad Days - The Flaming Lips