Normally you might feel a bit short-changed by an album that's only just over 20 minutes long. In the case of Collision Course, however, it's probably best to regard it as a blessed relief. This is a spin-off of MTV's Ultimate Mash-Up series - matching a heavy metal band with an urban rapper - that some record company executive obviously thought would be a good idea. Well, it isn't. Jay-Z and Linkin Park both have their merits, but their styles are like oil and water, and they mix together just about as well. And despite hard work all round, collaborations of old songs such as 'Big Pimpin-Papercut' and 'Numb-Encore' have all the grace of a particularly clumsy pantomime cow. The result is an exceptionally ugly blast of noise, with Jay-Z's boastful rapping struggling to make itself heard over the Park's adolescent hand-wringing. Let's hope it's just a one-night stand.
