WWF THE MUSIC, VOL. 3

WWF— The Music, Volume 3

by Don Allred
March 24 - 30, 1999 Issue 12

WWF— The Music, Volume 3
Koch International

Somebody kept slipping this thing into the carousel at work before I found
out what it was. I'd assumed wrasslin' music was sweathogs on skateboards,
remedial at best. But each instrumental kept stepping right up to speak its piece
and vamoose. Succinct album tracks! Rare for any kind of music these days.
Although, when I first watched WWF's RAW, "entrance themes" spun their wheels
while Superstars keg-walked into the ring. But once in, blurry hulks were branded
with sonic distinction. Dee-tails, hard-foraged from cliché— fairly often,
composer James Johnston has gnawed 'em on out, like we all gotta do.
On Full Metal (1995), the Undertaker's coppin' Chopin's "Funeral March" as
his theme, but by 1997's The Music, Volume 2, he's droppin' science like Mary
Shelley, and by Volume 3 he's beyond words. His ex-Valkyries veer into new
catacombs of Holy Purpose, retrieving lost souls of tired characters for
Johnston's, er, the Undertaker's overhauling ministrations. Sable's another success
story— on Vol. 2, she's a seether, playing call-and- response with the whip. On 3,
Shee is now cat and cat-o'-nine, hear her roar! With sleigh bells to boot.

Johnston's really learned how to uncover his tracks. The Undertaker's
Frankenspeak gets blunderbussed by Stonecold Steve Austin, but later on Vol. 2,
tarpit reject Mankind's "Ode to Sigmund Freud" spills into an abyss of bliss under
Dude Love's disco heaven. Even better, Vol. 3's Undervals surge into Edge's
techno-hummingbird taunts, bouncing off X-Pac's banshee teens. Then finally Dude
Love unabashedly marches Falsettos down the Great White Polyester Way once
more (followed by many manly-rockin' tracks, natch). Even Austin gets to solo on
(well-timed!) broken glass. I love the sound.

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