Rescue Me

If it had no connection to the television show, the soundtrack to Rescue Me would be an above average collection of alternative rock & roll. Taking the show into consideration, and how every track here is purposefully put to use on it, the collection is a much richer experience. Add producer, actor, and song selector Denis Leary's insightful liner notes and the set is a delight for fans. Leary explains his fascination with the emotive hard rock he's glued to on satellite radio and how he always listens with the show in mind. He explains how Rubyhorse's pensive "Fell on Bad Days" is a "personal favorite" and how it was applied to Leary's own character on the show, Tommy Gavin. Elsewhere in the notes, the personal and the fictional life blur, but they're stories best left for Leary to more eloquently tell, preferably while this CD is on the stereo. From the opening rave-up of the Von Bondies' "C'mon C'mon" -- which also serves as the show's theme song -- to the soft and yearning "Just a Dream" from Griffin House, the Rescue Me soundtrack satisfies anyone looking for an energetic mix of machismo and introspection. Regular viewers get not only this, but a chance to live in Leary's and his show's head while away from their television.