As fans of his movies will know, Michael Mann treats music as a fundamental tool in his movies to enhance and (at times) subvert the atmosphere of each scene. As such, those who liked the movie (and I count myself as one) will like this album. Smooth electronica mingles at times with heavily distorted power chords and at others soulful vocals. Taken together with the gentle but insistent beats of the soundtrack comprising the last four tracks, it is like listening to an audiobook of some of the more memorable scenes.
Stand outs are the mesmeric "One of These Mornings", "Anthem" and "Sinnerman", the evocative "Pennies in my Pocket" and (for me the highlight) "A-500", the slick groove that accompanied the flight to the Domenican Republic - the chord progression sounds like a homage to "Crockett's Theme".
Those of you who like electronica and ambient music generally will also find things to like about the album, though perhaps the less said about the nu-metal cover of "In the Air Tonight" the better...
One warning - the two Audioslave tracks that stand out in the movie do not appear on this soundtrack, on account of the band's impending new album. Nor does "Numb/Encore"...but to be honest if you can't find a copy of that somewhere, you're not trying hard enough.