Editorial Reviews

When NBC's Las Vegas premiered in fall 2003, it was a refreshing return to the episodic hourlong drama, a format that was getting killed by family-man sitcoms on one side and reality TV on the other. Of course the critics hated it -- the rehashed stand-alone plot lines and cartoonish characters, its implicit shill for the real Vegas. But the show survived, and likely did so precisely because of that broadness. While the CSI franchise was busy with cadaver gross-outs and confusing medical terms, Las Vegas was chugging along in the form of 1980s classics like Hotel or Fantasy Island, providing viewers with fun, unchallenging entertainment amplified with wit, technology, and eye candy from the 21st century. Cantakerous old James Caan scowled like Fred Dryer used to on Hunter, and the fictional Montecito Resort and Casino were staffed by impossibly gorgeous women. What wasn't there to love? The soundtrack to Las Vegas was released in fall 2005, just in time for the show's third season. It contains the JXL remix of Elvis' "A Little Less Conversation," which besides being the show's theme might as well be the real city's official song, too. Fatboy Slim ("Wonderful Night") and Bodyrockers ("I Like the Way") fulfill the bright plastic electronica requirement, Michael Bublé ("Sway") and perennial Las Vegan Wayne Newton ("Suspicious Minds") appeared on the show, and the slick, mildly salacious tone of Vanessa Brown's "Whipped" and "Wicked Lil' Grrrls" from Esthero fits the program ably. The original version of Presley's theme song is another Las Vegas highlight, as is the cover of "Mama Told Me Not to Come" from Stereophonics and Tom Jones, a man familiar with both Vegas and broad entertainment. Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide

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