This tie-in album to TV's
South Park
gang of potty-mouthed cartoon cutups comes from an episode chronicling a benefit concert for resident school cook
Chef
(voiced by
Isaac Hayes
). Calling in such pals as
Ozzy Osbourne
,
Wyclef Jean
, and
Elton John
Chef Aid: The South Park Album
is little more than a
soundtrack
featuring chart-toppers du jour. But most of the guest artists are peripheral to the surroundings (although
Master P
's
"Kenny's Dead"
is a clever goof incorporating both a running gag of the series and
Curtis Mayfield
"Freddie's Dead"
). The real treats come from the animated characters themselves:
gets all funky paying tribute to his
"Chocolate Salty Balls,"
and several of his lascivious tunes -- which originated on the show and are naturally soaked in double entendres -- are spread throughout the album. The highlight, however, is resident fatty
Eric Cartman
's skewering cover of
Styx
"Come Sail Away."
It not only inflates the original's bloated pretensions, it also mocks an entire faceless, and creatively infertile, period in music in the process. [
was also released in a "clean" edition, with all the profanities and vulgarities removed or censored.] ~ Michael Gallucci