No matter how bad a case of arachnophobia you got after all that’s been said about Broadway’s “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” the cast album, featuring 14 songs written by U2 principals Bono and The Edge, is a fan-friendly collection rife with the band’s trademark sound.
Right from the opening instrumental, “NY Debut,” The Edge’s singular telegraph-style guitar rhythms establish this record as a U2 project — with signature sounds and anthemic bombast in the orchestral rock arrangements.
Those elements are easiest to hear in the singing of the musical’s lead, Reeve Carney — who, on the tune “Boy Falls From the Sky,” vocally duels with Bono.
VIDEO: ‘SPIDER-MAN’ OPENS ON B’WAY
PHOTOS: CELEBS ARRIVE FOR OPENING
A-LISTERS TURN OUT FOR OPENING
The pair — one young, one old — sound as if they’re brothers. In addition, “Boy Falls” has familiar U2 optimism. You hear the gospel according to Bono when Carney sings to his mentor: “Lead us back to dignity in this junkyard of humanity,” and again at the close, when Bono repeats, “I believe, I believe.” It doesn’t quite give you the goosebumps of the U2 classic “One,” but it has similar power.
Many songs could easily join the U2 songbook. Fans will love “Picture This,” “Rise Above” and “Sinistereo.” But several songs seem written more to drive the musical’s plot than stand on their own. The ensemble piece “DIY World” plays like a “Threepenny Opera” reject. Not much better are rap ’n’ roll number “Pull the Trigger,” generic rocker “Bouncing Off the Walls” and the mopey title track.
These tunes wouldn’t do on a U2 album. But since it’s not a band record, you have to cut Bono and The Edge — as well as the cast — a little slack.
_