In 1983, Jonathan Demme made one of the greatest concert films of all time, Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense. I never saw the film until I'd listened to the soundtrack almost 100 times and, when I finally did see the film, I was quite confused. The songs were the same, the crowd sounded similar, but the performances were different. Turns out the soundtrack was re-recorded and overdubbed eight ways until Sunday before finally being released. While an enjoyable album, I felt cheated. What's a concert album without a live performance?

Moreover, what's an album of original music from 1970s Indian gangster films without some outside manipulation? I wouldn't know, because I've been listening to Bombay the Hard Way. The music here, originally penned and performed by India film score composers Kalyanji, Anandji, isn't too shabby in and of itself, even though you can sense the kitsch factor rising with every indigenous note and film soundbite. Remove the sitars and doumbeks to reveal the truth: It's ripping off America's then- prevalent blaxploitation scores. Shit, "Fear of a Brown Planet" (not the real track title-- somebody decided to get cute, which is why I sat through tracks called "Fists of Curry" and "The Good, The Bad, and The Chutney") rips off the "Mission: Impossible" theme and offers little variation on it.

...that is, until the hand of Dan makes a move and cops a feel on the mixing board. Dan the Automator, a noted DJ outta Frisco, juices the tracks here and there with some synth and drum loops. Can I ask you a question, Dan? Why? Here's some crazy Indian take on blaxploitation, and now you have to lob it back like a tennis game. Did "The Good..." originally sound like a Beasties jam circa Check Your Head? Probably, but I bet at least half of the song didn't make onto this record.

"Hey, Jason! Is it any good?"

Overall, it's fun to stick a spoon into this stew and take a taste of slick grooves and go-go curve balls, but the manipulation, no matter how slight, stopped making sense awhile ago.

-Jason Josephes