As befits the saga of a ghost seeking revenge, a shiver-me-timbers spookiness haunts the 14 songs featured on The Crow soundtrack. But unified only by theme, the album offers more of a twist of the radio dial (on the alternative side) than any coherent enjoyment. All cuts previously unreleased, there's blitzkrieg new metal (Rollins Band, Pantera), swoon fare (the Cure, Jesus and Mary Chain), twisted techno (Nine Inch Nails, Machines of Loving Grace) and big guitars (Stone Temple Pilots, Helmet). The standouts, though, are the less Gothic numbers: Rage Against the Machine's propulsive "Darkness," "Time Baby III," by Medicine, and Jane Siberry's strange, lovely "It Can't Rain All the Time." (RS 686/687)

PAUL EVANS