“Friends with Benefit”

Music from “One Tree Hill Volume 2” (Maverick Records)

REVIEW: 3 / 5

In short: Although blurring the lines of reality, fans of “One Tree Hill” will enjoy the soundtrack filled with exaggerated drama.

Separating fantasy from reality has gotten a little bit harder for die-hard “One Tree Hill” fans with the second soundtrack from the show.

“Friends with Benefit” was introduced on an recent episode of “One Tree Hill” as a benefit album to raise money for breast cancer. The producers of the second volume of the hit show’s soundtrack kept that theme going through the name and album art, as well as giving portions of the proceeds to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Although the idea of a crossover album between the script and its fans has obvious profit potential, it missed the mark.

The music on the album captures the feeling of the show – a little too dramatic for its own good – but it’s the guilty pleasure that no one really has to know you watch or listen to on a regular basis. Gavin Degraw, Tyler Hilton and Jack’s Mannequin provide songs that match the flavor of the show. For a benefit album, however, it seems too full of teen angst and melodrama to actually be trying to raise money for a cause that affects millions of women in the United States alone.

The album also has inconsistencies when using character versus real musician names and is confusing, therefore creating a more blurred line between television and real life.

The crossover idea just complicated the CD in a way that wasn’t necessary to promote the show and its soundtrack.

– Diane Petitti