This January, ForeFront Records will release the first in a three-part CD soundtrack series accompanied by seven comic books called Mammoth City Messengers. The MCM's are a unique bunch of five tweens (8 to 12 year olds) who team to fight evil. The idea for the project is unique, but it doesn't play out as well as I'm sure the producers have hoped. The 20 tracks alternate between "scenes" and songs that don't quite gel. The scenes are obscure and the songs don't really seem to fit. The power pop sound is very much along the lines of Jump 5, so fans of that quintet will indeed enjoy the songs on Mammoth's Volume 1.

Another problem with the record are the voices chosen for the characters. Several of the voices are way too mature to even be dreamt as representing an 8 to 12 year old. Some of the male voices are way too deep and just don't work with the age group the character is meant to represent. The CD also feels rather incomplete. The "scenes" don't aid in the story and only make you feel like you're listening to select portions of the MCM's adventure and not actually experiencing the whole thing. They sound more like exerpts from a trailer for a film of the project. Last year we saw the release of the 30-track rock opera !Hero which played out very nicely on CD. The story was easy to follow with the songs playing out as a musical and without the aid of spoken scenes to help the listener follow the story. Perhaps the album just truly needs to be accompanied by the comic book (the comic book as the CD jacket would be a really cool idea), but as a stand-alone soundtrack, it just doesn't seem to work.

- Review date: 1/25/04, written by John DiBiase