Game reviews have been generally positive, but the soundtrack itself is worthy of note. It was written and produced by veteran video-game composers Rod Abernethy and Jason Graves. The game's eclectic score blends cinematic orchestrations with elements of jazz, southwestern guitar, ambient and rock fusion. That's a lot of influences, and they don't always fit together as well as they might, but the score is different and nicely produced. At its best it has a dark, swampy appeal. The problem is that there isn't quite enough of its best.

"Dead Head Fred Theme" opens the disk. One of the better cuts on the CD, this is a rambling noir groove tricked out with a lazy, sinuous sax sample (and some live sax further along). It evokes smoky nightclubs and half-drunk glasses of scotch.

Cue 2, "Steiner Castle," fits in with the mood of the game but isn't really distinctive. Your basic gameplay background music. The third track is "Fred's Revenge," which is, like the previous cut, walking-down-streets music. About halfway through it goes into double-time and becomes running-down-streets music.

Head games, but in a good way

"Pitt Incorporated," Track 4, is one of the better cuts, with some nice sampling and a funky, grungy electric piano helping things along, plus a lugubrious trumpet. It has a bit more of a point to it than the preceding couple of cues.

"The Bongo Club," Track 5, is different again, with some nice percussion (as might be expected with that title). There's some nice neo-surf guitar, too, that gives it a '50s feel. Next up is "Freak Farms," which has a country music thing going on, with good slide guitar work and a cool banjo. All the CD's guitar, by the way, is courtesy of co-composer Rod Abernathy, and he does the job well.

What follows is a mélange of industrial, some decent rock, and a bit of jazz. The problem is that the stuff doesn't really go anywhere interesting. Abernathy and Graves set up some nice soundscapes, but there isn't that much heavy riffing going on. It would distract from the gameplay, no doubt, but the whole show here might be a bit too laid-back and rambling for some tastes. Each cue has a little something nice about it, like the drums on "Nukular Fishin'," so that helps sustain interest. In the end, though, it's not clear that this soundtrack works all that well separated from its game. None of the performers ever gets worked up about much of anything in this music. There are no gut-busting solos; everything is so cooooollllll. Which isn't bad, but if there were some hot stuff to spice it up, that would be good.

I listened to this disc four or five times before essaying this review, and at first I was rather taken with it. After repeated listenings, however, although I enjoy the production very much (and some of the guitar and percussion work), there really isn't enough meat here to keep me wanting to come back. Your mileage, of course, may vary. A lot of stuff that crosses my desk is like that.