Queen's "We Will Rock You," Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll, Pt. 2," LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out," Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"—these all are jock jams. Most of the tunes on the soundtrack to Varsity Blues—a film about the tribulations of a high school football team in Texas—seem to be aiming for the same goal. But while much of this disc jukes its way among classic rock, power pop, and heavy alternative, not enough of the cuts manage to keep it simple (…stupid), catchy, and compelling. With Van Halen's slippery, frantic "Hot for Teacher" and Foo Fighters' dependable "My Hero," we get two sure bets right from the kickoff. And the first single, Collective Soul's "Run" advances nicely into a strangely automated, post-Beatles territory. Elsewhere, though, either the personality just isn't there (Simon Says' "Ship Jumper") or a promising song gets fumbled along the way (e.g., the title track by Caroline's Spine, whose drummer sacks the singer with his overplaying).
Loudmouth's "Fly" opens the album with a crunchy groove and Monster Magnet's cover of the MC5's "Kick Out the Jams" offers some punch, but it's too little too late. In a close one, the home team goes down to defeat.
— Bob Remstein (Wall Of Sound)
ock jams. Although ESPN has only recently started producing and selling musical albums by that name, everyone pretty much knows what jock jams are. In a sense, the style of music doesn't matter—whether classic rock, alternative rock, punk, funk, or grunge, the tracks must be strong, simple, and rousing. Kind of like a winning football team.