Fast And The Furious: The Tokyo Drift

The driving intensity of the music compiled for the soundtrack of The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift is fitting. This is a film about driving, after all. But it's also fitting because if its inclusion of a couple Japanese-language songs, which are in line with the film's Tokyo setting. Teriyaki Boyz are a Japanese rap group of such ability that even those with no grasp whatsoever of the language can easily enjoy their music. There are two tracks from the group here, "Tokyo Drift (Fast & Furious)" and "Cho Large," both of which are produced by the Neptunes; the latter song even includes a rap by Pharrell Williams, who is the face of that production duo. These Teriyaki Boyz inclusions are the most entertaining aspect of Tokyo Drift. There are plenty of other good songs here, all of them characterized by driving intensity: most notable are "Six Days (Remix)," a DJ Shadow song featuring Mos Def; "The Barracuda," a fun garage rock-style song by 5.6.7.8's, a group of Japanese women who sing in English; "Restless," a straightforward slab of electronica by Evil Nine; "She Wants to Move," a great dance-rock song by N.E.R.D., who is the Neptunes in another guise; "Speed," a 1995 song by Atari Teenage Riot, a super-noisy band tagged as "digital hardcore" in their day; and a pair of Don Omar songs, which as reggaeton do seem out of place here, yet are good songs and give this already diverse album still more diversity. As a whole, Tokyo Drift isn't a particularly outstanding soundtrack. It's enjoyable, for sure, and some of the tracks are mighty interesting, particularly the Teriyaki Boyz ones. But Tokyo Drift will primarily be of interest to those who like the film and would like to take home some of the featured songs. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide