I would like to congratulate Frank Turner on doing the very difficult at the outset of the Olympics 2012 Opening Ceremony: overstating the case for rock and roll. Does he really, really think, as he states on "I Still Believe" that "rock and roll will save us all". That's not a tautology. It is a lie.
And a place setter for the fair to lousy music from the show.
Arctic Monkeys and Underworld are getting you to McCartney??? It cost you 42M bucks, and that's the best you can manage. The last time I saw Arctic Monkeys they were OPENING FOR BLACK KEYS! Where's Cliff? Hey, where's Vera Lynn. OK, you want hard rock, bring in Primal Scream and really put a spanner in the works. Get Oasis back together for the night. Get the Stones to do two songs. Arctic Fucking Monkeys??? As Helen noted, their "Come Together" should be stoned to death.
As for Underworld? A talented duop who have been doing it for decades, but very Kraftwerk (a German band, the last time I looked) and a bit of a drag. I don't get it. It is not that I dislike Underworld (I dislike Artic Monkeys), it is that it is the wrong place and the wrong time.
And what's with Bowie's "Heroes" -it is so Nu-Kraut it stands as a lodestone. Plus, any one who wants it has had it for around a thousand years.
The rest of the album are plastic souvenirs from the show of the show. The world went to the Olympic Games and all I got was this lousy soundtrack and none of it is off the McCartney set.
Another wasted opportunity.
I mean, Arctic Monkeys? Really?
Grade: C