Initially, Smash Mouth's producer Eric Valentine approached the musicians to see if they would put together a cover of The Monkees' "I'm a Believer." DeLisle recalls they "quickly worked up a treatment. What are you gonna do? You can't fight it. "That's how we're identified: kids are like, 'look, it's the 'Shrek' guys,' " DeLisle says of the group, originally formed in 1994. Twenty years later, many of the franchise's handpicked tracks, including Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and David Bowie's "Changes," are known to fans as "Shrek songs." The groundbreaking animated film about the titular ogre (Mike Myers) who goes on a quest with a donkey (Eddie Murphy) to rescue Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) first hit U.S. Though rumors have persisted through the years that Smash Mouth, the band behind the 1999 hit "All Star," is unhappy with being associated with the film, co-founder and bassist Paul DeLisle tells USA TODAY he's "very proud" to be a part of "Shrek."
SHREK SOUNDTRACK MOVIE
The years really do start coming and they don't stop coming – Tuesday marks 20 years since "Shrek" hit movie theaters across the US. But Counting Crows' "Accidentally in Love" - which sounds like a cross between one of their old hits and the BoDeans' "Closer to Free" - and Joseph Arthur's "You're So True" are aimed at those kids' older siblings and parents, making Shrek 2 a lukewarm compromise that isn't likely to satisfy either audience.Watch Video: Remember these shows? 5 shows turning 20 in 2021 However, most of Shrek 2 features mopey love songs like Dashboard Confessional's "As Lovers Go ," the Eels' "I Need Some Sleep," and Rich Price's "I'm on My Way" they reflect the film's romantic misadventures between Shrek and Princess Fiona, but these songs don't make the soundtrack an especially fun listen, particularly considering that the movie is, ostensibly, first and foremost aimed at kids. Jennifer Saunders' "Fairy Godmother Song" - which sounds like her Absolutely Fabulous character making up words to the Cinderella classic "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" - and "Believe"-esque version of "Holding Out for a Hero" also liven up the soundtrack a bit. And while Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas' version of "Livin' la Vida Loca" isn't as thorough a deconstruction of a Ricky Martin song as William Hung's infamous "She Bangs" (or as funny - albeit unintentionally so - as his own single "Party All the Time"), it is a dose of silly fun on a soundtrack that is sorely lacking that quality. Butterfly Boucher's "Changes" and Pete Yorn's "Ever Fallen in Love," meanwhile, have the dubious distinction of being average renditions of great songs not even David Bowie's cameo on "Changes" can elevate it (although his duet with Mick Jagger on "Dancin' in the Streets" remains his worst collaboration).
On the other hand, Shrek 2 doesn't include anything as obnoxious or omnipresent as Smash Mouth's "All Star" or "I'm a Believer," although it does feature of plenty of covers, including Frou Frou's odd techo-pop revision of Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero," which turns the song from a fun if overblown AOR anthem into a chilly yet slick lament. Unfortunately, though, the album doesn't have as many surprises as its predecessor none of the songs here have the same left-field feel as Rufus Wainwright's version of "Hallelujah" (or the John Cale version that actually appeared in the film), although Tom Waits' mischievous, middle-of-the-night "Little Drop of Poison" and Nick Cave's dignified ballad "People Ain't No Good" come close. Following in the footsteps of the original Shrek soundtrack, Shrek 2 emphasizes the crossover potential of the movie and its music.