Album Reviews : ‘Batman’ Album More of a Sampler Than a Soundtrack

** 1/2, VARIOUS ARTISTS, “Batman Forever--Original Music From the Motion Picture” Atlantic Speaking of dual-identity crises, Bono has more than just a little Batman in him. “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me,” U2’s leadoff track here, has the Fly in question singing mockingly about the lure of fame--to himself, through a megaphone, apparently. The track itself (co-produced by Nellee Hooper) alternates cheap-sounding, Moog-like pulsation with full, simmering orchestration, a great mix of cheese and class. The “Live and Let Die” of the ‘90s?

Best of the rest is a surprising silky-funk confab between Brandy and producer Lenny Kravitz that’s far groovier than the sum of its parts. The bulk of the album, though, is a semi-superstars-of-alternative-rock roundup, with an impressive phalanx of hip names (PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Flaming Lips) donating tracks that mostly sound like refugees from the B-side bin. Of 14 cuts, only five are actually in the movie, making it an impressive Time Warner sampler, if not necessarily a soundtrack.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).