Colin McRae Rally 2.0
Colin McRae Rally 2.0
Menu music as a time machine
If Colin McRae Rally was primarily a deterrent for me, then Colin McRae Rally 2.0 is the point at which I at least understand why this series has had such a lasting impact on so many people. Not because I suddenly took a liking to rallying, but because the music here reaches an emotional level for the first time that goes beyond mere functional background music.
While the first part leaves hardly any musical traces, 2.0 with a whopping 14 tracks, is the most heavily represented entry in Jonathan Colling's later compilation. And you can tell. The pieces are not only more numerous, but also more varied: alternative versions, FMV-tracks, longer arrangements. It seems that someone here sensed that they were on more fertile ground musically.
The style remains electronic, clearly anchored in the UK and Euro house of the turn of the millennium, but seems much livelier than in its predecessor. The beats are faster, more direct, and in places even really driving. The Colin McRae Rallye 2 Theme [Original] and the alternative FMV-version in particular have an energy that, at least for a moment, pulls me out of my fundamental indifference to the game concept. This is music that promises movement.
And yet, there remains a certain distance here too. To me, much of it sounds like menu music in the best sense of the word: inviting, atmospheric, but not necessarily motivating. It's easy to imagine why people write that they start CMR 2.0 today less for the driving than for the music. These tracks act like an acoustic time machine, transporting you straight back to children's bedrooms, tube televisions, and long afternoons.
I lack this personal connection. Without my own memories, the score remains for me a stylistically solid, in places very successful product of its time – but nothing more. I can only view the nostalgia that holds everything together for many from the outside. What is emotional overload for others remains analytical nodding for me.
Colin McRae Rallye 2.0 thus marks the musical high point of the early series, at least in terms of scope and recognition value. It is the first part where I understand why the music is still so vehemently defended today. I still won't love it – but I recognize that there is more going on here than just background noise.
