Camp Rock - Soundtrack

Tracks: 12
Length: 38 minutes
Release Date: June 17, 2008
Rating: 3 1/2 out of 4 stars

1. We Rock - Cast of Camp Rock
2. Play My Music - Jonas Brothers
3. Gotta Find You - Joe Jonas
4. Start The Party - Jordan Francis
5. Who Will I Be - Demi Lovato
6. This Is Me - Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas
7. Hasta La Vista - Jordan Francis and Roshon Bernard Fegan
8. Here I Am - Renee Sandstrom
9. Too Cool - Meaghan Martin
10. Our Time Is Here - Demi Lovato, Meaghan Martin and Aaryn Doyle
11. 2 Stars - Meaghan Martin
12. What It Takes - Aaryn Doyle

It's time for the most anticipated soundtrack of 2008, Camp Rock! Of course, you can look for stand out tracks featuring Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato as well as a few great tracks, and some adequate filler.

The anthem We Rock opens with a pulse raising drum rhythm that might have some rockers wonder if AJ Pero was pounding on the track. It's got the hook you love and lyrics that raise the roof although at times the final mix seems a bit overdone with blends and overdubs, not to mention missing Joe Jonas' vocals? On the other hand, this song is played best loud and sung along with and that'll solve that problem.

Of course the most anticipated track is the surprise performance by Connect 3, better known as the Jonas Brothers. Play My Music is definitely a track that is bound to please fans, although it's missing a little bit of the edge found on their platinum selling, self-titled release. This song also suffers from some odd mixing that places the shaker up front in the mix.

And of course the dream of any sixteen-year-old girl is Gotta Find You, by Joe Jonas. It is a great acoustic number, although the film version minus the piano and drums seems to fit the song better. It's a classic love song, that 20 years earlier could've been sung by Prince Eric to Ariel in The Little Mermaid.

One thing that this soundtrack serves as, is the starting point for Demi Lovato. Her opening number is Who Will I Be, which is a fun rock track that provides some foreshadowing to the tough choices she'll have to make in the movie. Then there's This Is Me which by all means is the Breakin' Free moment of the film and her duet with Joe Jonas captures all the emotion of their moment. One can only wonder if fans attending The Burning Up Tour will be treated to this duet as Demi shares the stage with the Jonas Brothers?

Another stand out track is Here I Am comes from seasoned vocalist Renee Sandstrom formerly of Wild Orchid. It's a really basic tune with great lyrics that nail home the main theme of the movie matched up with the right voice. It just happens to be with someone who's not in the movie, so when you see Jasmine Richards singing it in Camp Rock... it's really not her.

Aside from the previous tracks the others fall into two categories - dance segments and performance segments. The dance segments include Start the Party which provides enough rhythm to learn some new dance steps to and What It Takes which is another song to showcase your moves to. The remaining numbers are performance tracks such as Hasta La Vista that will have you bouncing. And finally two bland tracks by Meghan Martin, Too Cool and 2 Stars.

More than anything the shuffling of tracks from their original order in the movie tends to take a toll on the CD which seems to lose its momentum towards the end. However, the songs that rock definitely make up for the mediocre tunes making the music the strongest asset of Camp Rock. Great tunes, great message - the soundtrack for your summer.

-T2