''WWE Originals'' is a

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

. Released on January 13, 2004 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, it features original songs recorded by various WWE wrestlers. The album was a commercial success, reaching number 12 on the US ''Billboard'' 200.

Reception

Music website

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

categorised ''WWE Originals'' as "contemporary

pop/rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

" and

rap rock Rap rock is a fusion genre that fuses vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock's most popular subgenres include rap metal and rapcore, which include heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented influences, resp ...

, with writer Johnny Loftus identifying styles such as "soft-focus piano pop",

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

and hip hop on the album.

Slam! Wrestling Canoe.com is an English-language Canadian portal site and website network, and is a subsidiary of Postmedia Network. The phrase Canadian Online Explorer appears in the header; the name is also evidently a play on words on canoe (or ''canoë'' in ...

's John Powell also identified the genres of

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

and

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

on the collection, while ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine noted a dominance of "in-your-face rap".

Release

''WWE Originals'' was released by Columbia Records on January 13, 2004. Initial pressings of the album also featured a bonus

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

, which featured behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the album and more.

Reception

Commercial

In the United States, ''WWE Originals'' reached number 12 on the ''Billboard'' 200.

Critical

Music website AllMusic awarded ''WWE Originals'' three out of five stars. Reviewer Johnny Loftus criticised tracks such as

Stacy Keibler Stacy Ann-Marie Keibler (born October 14, 1979) is an American retired professional wrestler and actress, former cheerleader, dancer, and model. She is specifically known for her work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling E ...

's "Why Can't We Just Dance?" and

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former Collegiate wrestling, ...

's "I Don't Suck (Really)", identifying them as proof of some performers' musical inability. However, Loftus praised the "amusing" skits performed by

Stone Cold Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...

, as well as a number of tracks including "I Just Want You" by

Trish Stratus Patricia Anne Stratigeas (; born December 18, 1975) better known by the ring name Trish Stratus is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and yoga instructor. She is currently signed to WWE. Often regarded as one of the greatest Women's Per ...

and "Put a Little A** on It" by

Rikishi A , or, more colloquially, , is a professional sumo wrestler. follow and live by the centuries-old rules of the sumo profession, with most coming from Japan, the only country where sumo is practiced professionally. Participation in official t ...

. John Powell of Slam! Wrestling was more critical, describing the compositions on the album as "generic, cookie-cutter productions without any soul, character or style" and criticising the performances in general. In particular, Powell criticised songs such as

The Dudley Boyz The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team that consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley (Mark LoMonaco) and D-Von Dudley (Devon Hughes). The team was also joined by various Dudley family me ...

' "We've Had Enough",

' "I Just Want You", Lita's "When I Get You Alone" and Stacy Keibler's "Why Can't We Just Dance?"; however, he did praise the performances of

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied w ...

and

Lilian Garcia Lilián Annette Garcia (born August 19, 1966) is a Spanish-American ring announcer, singer and podcaster best known for her time with WWE. She is currently announcing for the Professional Fighters League (PFL).Doyle, Dave"Former WWE ring announce ...

. Michael Paoletta of ''Billboard'' magazine described ''WWE Originals'' as "mixed, very mixed". Paoletta noted a dominance of hip hop music on the album, claiming that the pop and rock songs were of higher quality, particularly those performed by divas Keibler, Stratus and Lita.

Track listing

Samples * "Basic Thugonomics" contains a sample of "Two,Three, Break" by The B-Boys.

References

{{Authority control Originals

WWE Originals ''WWE Originals'' is a soundtrack album by WWE. Released on January 13, 2004 by Columbia Records, it features original songs recorded by various WWE wrestlers. The album was a commercial success, reaching number 12 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. R ...

Albums produced by Mike Post

Reception

Release

Reception

Commercial

Critical

Track listing

See also

References