1301. Original Soundtrack / The Blues Brothers. 1980. 4/5.

Living in Australia and not being exposed to the show Saturday Night Live like those on the American continent were, most of us had little idea of the Blues Brothers before the movie hit our shores. And for those of us who were reasonably young when that happened, we didn’t see it until it came on television or on video. But as to the history of how the band came into being, and became something beyond the two-dimensional cell of the TV and movie screens, I knew none of that at the time.
The inspiration for the band came from an early sketch on Saturday Night Live, and the love of blues music of two castmates, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. Aykroyd had grown up in Ottowa, Canada, and had been exposed to many of the greats of the blues genre during his youth. One night he even got up and played drums for Muddy Waters when his regular drummer decided to take a break. He also performed on occasions with the Toronto-based Downchild Blues Band, co-founded in 1969 by two brothers, Donnie and Richard "Hock" Walsh, who served as an inspiration for the two Blues Brothers characters. Aykroyd modelled Elwood Blues in part on Donnie Walsh, a harmonica player and guitarist, while Belushi's Jake Blues character was modelled after Hock Walsh, Downchild's lead singer.
During the Saturday Night Live years, Aykroyd rented a blues bar where the cast would go after recordings. Aykroyd filled a jukebox with songs, and Belushi bought an amplifier and they kept some musical instruments there for anyone who wanted to jam. It was at the bar that Aykroyd and Ron Gwynne wrote and developed the story which Aykroyd turned into the draft screenplay for the Blues Brothers movie. It was also at the bar that Aykroyd introduced Belushi to the blues, which became a fascination, and it was not long before the two began singing with local blues bands. Jokingly, SNL band leader Howard Shore suggested that they call themselves "The Blues Brothers".
Eventually both Aykroyd and Belushi started to get serious about the band idea, and with the help of Paul Shaffer who was the leader of the SNL band, they began to look for the right people SNL band members saxophonist "Blue" Lou Marini and trombonist-saxophonist Tom Malone, who had previously played in Blood, Sweat & Tears, were the first. Shaffer's suggested guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, who had played with Booker T. & the M.G.'s, and who both agreed to come on board. To fulfill Belushi’s desire for a trumpet player and guitarist, they found Alan Rubin and Matt "Guitar" Murphy, who had performed with many blues legends. With the band together, the final touch came for the two leads themselves, who donned hats and sunglasses in the tradition of John Lee Hooker to complete their look. And this was born the Blues Brothers Band – and not too long after, the movie that carried their name, “The Blues Brothers”.

The soundtracks album has a couple of things that are left off that are a very slight disappointment, but not earth shatteringly so. It doesn’t have the version of “Stand by Your Man” that the band does at Bob’s Country Bunker, that brings the crowd there to tears. It is one of the many great moments in the film, and although it is not included on the soundtrack it is perhaps best viewed in the film anyway. There are also some great songs that appear in the background in several scenes, a couple by Sam & Dave when the boys are driving around in the Bluesmobile, and another couple by John Lee Hooker, one of which he appears in the film performing, in the Maxwell Street scene outside the cafe owned by Aretha Franklin’s character. These songs would have rounded out the soundtrack album but in the end, they don’t make it any less of an album.
The other thing is that these versions of the songs were all recorded in the studio, and that means that the ones that were performed live for the movie have less of a feel and energy as those versions in the movie has. For example, the two songs played at the Palace Hotel Ballroom, “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” and “Sweet Home Chicago”, sound less energetic and less in the moment than the versions in the film. The same goes for “Gimme Some Lovin’”, the song halted at Bob’s Country Bunker when they realise that it isn’t either of the two types of music, ‘country OR western’, or even the “Theme from Rawhide”. These versions are fine, believe me, and if you are listening to this soundtrack you probably won’t care in the slightest about what I’m explaining here, it's just that as a hard core fan of this film, I notice the slight changes here from the versions I know so well from the movie.
Beyond that, there are the other musical moments that made this such a terrific film. “She Caught the Katy”, the song played when Jake is being released from prison and being picked up by Elwood is great, and the Peter Gunn Theme that follows them around from most of the film fits perfectly as well. Ray Charles’s version with the band of “Shake a Tail Feather” was played over Australian radio for some time after the release of the soundtrack and I got to know it well before I’d even seen the film itself. “The Old Landmark” as performed in the church scene with James Brown has its charm, as does Aretha Franklin and her own great hit “Think”, but again it is not as energetic and fabulous as it is in the film itself. On the other hand, Cab Calloway singing his own terrific song “Minnie the Moocher” comes across fabulously here, and the final ensemble of “Jailhouse Rock” finishes off the soundtrack in the same way as the film itself, in a flurry of energy and dance.

What is there to say about this film that hasn’t already been said somewhere else? As with everything in life, there will be those of you out there that either do not like this film at all, or find it is only average. And no doubt will feel the same way about the music that makes this movie so entertaining. As those of you who follow this podcast will know, the blues is not one of the genres of music that I follow. But from the first time I saw this movie, the music that is such a major part of the movie also grabbed me. But what I enjoy most about the soundtrack is the mix of artists. The terrific music that the actual Blues Brothers band produces here for a start. I mean, the bringing together of these wonderful artists to become that band itself. There is only one song on this soundtrack that they are not the backing band to, and that is the James Brown gospel song in the church scene. Every other song has the Blues Brothers Band as the mainstay, and they sound terrific. It is remarkable that such a talented bunch of musicians were brought together to be the backing to two comedians who thought it would be a fun idea to start their own band to play the music they loved. That it would never have happened without their shared love of blues music is a somewhat amazing thing.
So this soundtrack showcases their abilities, along with the very special guests they talked into not only contributing to the soundtrack but also appearing in the movie. Dan Aykroyd apparently demanded that they be able to appear in the film to support the songs that were built around them. The studio wanted more current artists who had had hits around that time in order to help the profile of the movie, but Aykroyd and director John Landis would not budge, and the movie is all the better for it.
And of course, the amazing talents of Aykroyd himself alongside John Belushi. Comedically they were proven performers, but musically could they actually hold this film together? The answer of course is yes, and this soundtrack proves it.
I’ve had the soundtrack going around now for a week, and whenever I do listen to it, all it makes me think about is watching the film all over again. The performances here are terrific, and it covers the very best pieces of the movie. But you can’t see any car chases and pile up listening to a soundtrack.
If I could only choose ten movies to watch for the rest of my life, The Blues Brothers would be one of them. The music is a huge part of that. It is well worth your time checking it out.

1293. Various Artists / Music from and Inspired by M: I-2. 2000. 3/5

When the first Mission: Impossible film was released in 1996, it was a smash hit. The remake of the original TV series from the 1960’s and 1970’s was a rollicking film full of amazing action sequences and the required surprise ending. And as always, it also left the door ajar for a sequel to be made. So when it was announced that Mission Impossible 2 was going to be made it was big news. For Australians, the fact that it was to be filmed in Sydney also gave it an extra bit of enticement. The film itself? Well many people think it is terrific. I was always underwhelmed by it.
What the producers did decide on that had some merit was to load up a soundtrack album with some of the heavy hitter bands of the time, and give them the chance to create a song that could be featured in the movie itself. When compiled, some of those songs were featured in the movie, while the rest were put together on this album, which was stamped as “Music FROM and INSPIRED BY Mission Impossible 2”, so as to cover their backsides when it was finally revealed that not all of the tracks appeared in the film itself. All of the songs were recorded and produced by the bands themselves.
And it is an eclectic selection of bands and artists, which is very much a snapshot of heavy music at the time. Because it is dominated by nu-metal bands and alternative metal and rock bands. And if you are fans of that era in music then this album is most probably already in your collection. But if you are not fans of the standard of the turn of the century, then there are probably a lot of reasons not to go near this album. As a study of the era though it acts as an interesting collection to listen to and remember just where certain parts of the world were at when it came to the evolution of heavy music. It isn’t really necessary to tie this to the movie, but then again perhaps the enjoyment of the movie or the music comes from how you view the other.

The Australian version of this album has an overloaded 19 tracks on it, and the running time in total is an hour and 20 minutes. It’s almost as long as some films, though not as long as this one was. There are three bonus songs tacked onto the end of the regular 16 songs, one is “Iko Iko” by Zap Mama, an electronica reggae version of this well covered song, while the other two are by Australian artists, “Sucker” by 28 Days is a solid hard rock track from this very good Aussie group, ne that keeps the intensity high, while the “Theme from Mission Impossible” by Josh Abrahams is a nice way to exit the album.
Back to the top of the track list and this is where the heavy hitters of the album reside, to drag you in from the outset. Leading us off is Limp Bizkit with “Take a Look Around”, which utilises the main riff of the Mission Impossible theme tune as its basis and works onwards from there. I can’t say that I know a lot of Limp Bizkit and most of what I hear is not really my cup of tea, but I do like this song, the way it moves from moody to heavy to clear to raging. The song is a little long at over five minutes but it's a good listen. Metallica’s “I Disappear” follows, and interesting bridge between what they had written for “Reload” and would then write for “St Anger”. It is more or less their nu-metal anthem, one they made a film clip for that was probably better than the film itself, and which would go on to be the catalyst for their legal action over the peer-to-peer networking application Napster when a demo of this song appeared on that network well before the release of this album, or the song as a single. It is sometimes overlooked as it doesn’t actually appear on a Metallica album. Rob Zombie’s “Scum of the Earth” is typical Rob Zombie and blasts through the album as a result. The Butthole Surfers’ “They Came In” is an interestingly recorded track, full of differing instrumental effects that showcase a side of the band that isn’t always obvious. Then “Rocket Science” by The Pimps mirrors the Limp Bizkit style of rap and metal grooves. The cover version of Pink Floyd’s “Have a Cigar” is performed by the Foo Fighters with two differing performers. Firstly, the song is sung by drummer Taylor Hawkins, who gives the vocals a whole new sound. He is obviously a fan of the band, and his performance is passionate as a result. This also has Brian May guesting on guitar which gives the solo through the track lovely sound that only May can provide, as a counter to David Gilmour’s original. It’s an interesting interpretation of the track. Chris Cornell’s “Mission 2000” has moments that sound great, when his vocals hit those tones that we all know and love, but the track itself does fall a little flat. On the other hand, Godsmack’s “Going Down” was recorded during sessions for their debut album but not used, and was recycled here and then on their sophomore album.
Into the second half of the album, the lesser known acts get their chance to showcase their wares, and the range of genres of music here extends as a result. “What U Lookin’ At?” by Uncle Kraker, who had worked with Kid Rock up to this point in time, has a similar vibe to his music here. “Backwards” by Apartment 26 sits in an alt-metal phase, and given the relative newness of the band is an interesting choice for this soundtrack. The song is solid but is very rigid in composition. Diffuser’s “Karma” is very alternative rock of the late 1990’s but is an enjoyable trip down typical movie soundtrack songs from teenage coming-of-age movies of the day. It could easily have been in the movie “Empire Records” for instance. Buckcherry’s “Alone” is a standard hard rock offering from the band here.
Powderfinger’s “Not my Kinda Scene” is the standout from the back half of the album, the professional and excellence of their music immediately noticeable around the other tracks here. Tori Amos’s “Carnival” will please her fans but is not instantly brilliant, while the Hans Zimmer track “Nyah” seems like something that could easily have been omitted at the final hurdle.

I remember buying this after the movie had been released at the cinemas. I’d been to see the movie, and as I mentioned earlier, I had been underwhelmed with it. It isn’t a patch on the first movie, the story and the stunts. But some of the music from the movie I thought had been pretty good, and having sat through the credits in order to see who contributed to the songs I decided I may as well go out and buy the CD of the soundtrack. And, overall, it was good. I wouldn’t say that I’m a fan of all of the bands on the album, but I enjoyed about half of the album from the first couple of listens.
I have quite a number of soundtracks in my collection, and they all get bought after I’ve seen a movie and like the music, and then they get an occasional listen and then go back on the shelves. This album is no different. I listened to it when I first bought it, and then it has been residing in amongst my other CDs forever. I don’t remember when the last time was that I listened to this album. When I go to listen to music at home, I go for an album by a band, not really a compilation or soundtrack album. Sometimes I’m in the mood for that but mostly I swing the other way. So while I have these soundtrack albums that I have bought over the years, they don’t get much of a run. Which is one of the reasons I do this podcast. To pull these albums off my shelves and give them a chance to listened to once again. Just like Andy and his toys in Toy Story.
I guess I feel about the same way listening to this album today as I did all those years ago. It’s okay. It has some good songs here, and some that are very dated to the era. There are bands and artists here that I have never really listened to much that sound better than I would expect. There are bands here that I generally enjoy that have offered a reasonable track to the album. And as with all soundtrack albums there are bands and artists here that I just don’t know at all, and don’t really feel any desire to change that.
I could have skipped doing an episode on this album and it would probably not have bothered anyone in the world. All it would have done was annoy me because I knew it had an anniversary, and it was in my collection, and I passed over it. So now it is done. Everything is in order. And we can all move onto the next episode.

944. Various Artists / Last Action Hero: Music From the Original Motion Picture. 1993. 3.5/5

The lead up to this movie being released was one of contained exuberance. I mean, Arnie had just come off Terminator 2: Judgement Day, so surely this movie that combined action and comedy had to be a hit, right? No. Sadly the answer to that question was a big fat no. It was very very average.
Anyway, I only bring this up because when I first heard about the soundtrack that was being put together for the album, I was actually more excited about this than the film. I mean, when you look at the bands that contributed songs to the soundtrack album, it had to be a hit... right?...

Well...

The list of the bands on here is impressive, and commensurate with what was happening in the music world at the time. Old faithful and rock solid AC/DC lead of the set with what can only be described as a typical AC/DC song. "Big Gun" is as catchy as any of their material had been in that past decade, and while it may not be outstanding it is everything you can expect from the band. The grunge extremities of Alice in Chains are favoured with two songs on this compilation, with "What the Hell Have I" being recorded on the sessions for their album DIRT, and followed up by "A Little Bitter" which comes towards the end of the album. Unlike their best material, this doesn't have the same edge and grind that those songs contain. The sitar-like sound of the first song, along with what sounds like an off-colour harmony on the vocals between Layne and Jerry, just doesn't work for me.
The star attraction is Megadeth's "Angry Again", which doesn't beat around the bush, jumping straight into that dual riff and great vocals from Dave Mustaine. Once again the band has produced a song on a soundtrack, that while it doesn't appear on any of their own albums, is still a memorable inclusion to their back catalogue of great songs. "Real World" by Queensryche, with some additional help from producer Michael Kamen, is endemic of where the band was at this stage of their career. The addition of orchestral pieces within the song, and the walk down the path of progressive rock without the kind of power that they had infused into their music in previous albums means this song doesn't really hold the attention as one would have hoped that it would. This is followed by "Two Steps Behind" by Def Leppard, again another atypical song of the band from this period, which again, as with all but AC/DC and Megadeth's contributions above, are mostly disappointing. This is somewhat rectified by a seven minute long piece of Anthrax magic, "Poison My Eyes", energised by the recent addition of John Bush on vocals.
Aerosmith's "Dream On" is actually a good song when done well, but this version is a live version, done at the ceremony celebrating the 10th anniversary of MTV, and it is a pretty limp, lame version which doesn't cause any great joy in the listening stakes. I have no love of bands such as Cypress Hill, whose well known "Cock the Hammer" is here, and Fishbone, whose "Swim" to me is just a time filler. Tesla contribute the title track to the movie "Last Action Hero" which is a reasonable enough song, before the track "Jack and the Ripper" closes out the album.

In almost every way, the soundtrack here mirrors the movie, in that the excitement beforehand is almost completely shattered by the actual product when it arrives. On the face of it, with the bands contributing to this album, it should be an absolute ripper. In the long run, it takes up room on your shelf as a dust collector.

Rating:   "Angry again, angry again, angry again..."   3.5/5.

771. Various Artists / Shocker - The Music. 1989. 4/5

Movie soundtracks can be amazingly hit and miss, and this is often more the case for fans of heavy metal and hard rock. For a start it is often hard to find movies that utilise ’that kind of music’, and then it is difficult to find movies where the music is something that you want to listen to after the event. However, in the late 1980's and early 1990's there was stream of movies that, as a young male is his teenage years and early 20's, were so bad they were good, and also had good artists doing the music, which in turn encouraged you to go out and buy the soundtrack, as well as the film on VHS.
“Shocker” was one of those movies and soundtracks. The concept and story of the film is fairly typical of the B-grade horror films that were coming out around this era. Released in 1989, the story centres on serial killer Horace Pinker, played by future X-Files alumni Mitch Pileggi who would play Assistant Director Walter Skinner. In this film, Pinker has killed over thirty people, including most of the foster family and the girlfriend of the main protagonist Johnathan Parker, who we eventually learn in Pinker’s biological son. Parker has formed a psychic connection with Pinker, and he is able to help his police detective father in capturing Pinker who is sentenced to death. Pinker has however made a deal with the devil, which allows to him be converted to pure energy on his execution, and thus be able to possess other people to escape where he is and also continue his murder spree. And now not only do the good guys have to work out that Pinker can do this, but how to stop him.
Back in the day I saw this at the cinemas when it was released, travelling to Sydney with my usual circle of friends to laugh and make inappropriate comments through the film, and enjoying the songs that were a part of the movie. The main one that had been released as a single prior to the movie's opening was the cover of Alice Cooper’s “No More Mr Nice Guy” performed by Megadeth, which was one of the reasons we decided to go forth and watch it. And then when the movie was released on VHS, I hired it and made my own copy for further viewings over the years. And I won’t lie to you, I loved it. It was so corny, so laughable, that it was fun.
Watch the movie now, and you would wonder what we saw in it. Even as a cult film now, whenever I watch it now (yep, I still do) I have to cringe through some parts of it.
Of course, the soundtrack came out at the same time, and I did eventually get around to buying it, although it was a couple of years later, most probably when I had copied the movie to watch again. And if you want 80's hard rock, which is heavily influenced by one Desmond Child, who was the hit-maker at the time, helping to make Bon Jovi stars, and revitalising Alice Cooper, Aerosmith and Kiss for the 'modern' age, then you get that in spades here.

The album opens with the song that comes over the credits and is the movie’s title track, “Shocker”. It is performed by the 'superstar band' who came together for this project called The Dudes of Wrath, comprising Paul Stanley and Desmond Child on duelling vocals, Vivian Campbell and Guy Mann-Dude on guitars, Rudy Sarzo on bass guitar, and Tommy Lee on drums, with backing vocals by Michael Anthony and Kane Roberts. "Shocker" is the high energy anthemic theme to proclaim the heroes at the end of the film once they have vanquished the villain. I love this song despite its cheesiness, you can barely stop yourself from singing along in the car. And it is truly stuck in that era and drips with Desmond Child’s influence. This is followed by Iggy Pop (with some help from Alice Cooper) singing "Love Transfusion", another with obvious influence from Desmond Child and co-written by him and Alice. It has the same melodies and chorus lines as the opening track in some ways, and fits in nicely as a result. I’ve always enjoyed this song, and Iggy isn’t quite as hectic as he often is. Terrific. Tagging along after this is Megadeth's cover of Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy", a great rocking version of the song. This was such a great version of the original, it actually inspired the band I was in at the time with my mates to play it live. And the first time we did our vocalist had run out of puff so I did double duty on drums and vocals. Anyway. Mustaine does a great job in this song. I actually bought the cassingle to this when it was released, which also had two songs on the B-side that I eventually found were also on this soundtrack album. That cassingle got a hammering in the car at the time.
"Sword and Stone" is the next song performed by the band Bonfire, and as soon as you hear it you will believe you are listening to a Kiss song. And you wouldn’t be wrong, as the track is actually written by Stanley and Child, along with Bruce Kulick who was Kiss’s guitarist at the time and was demoed for their “Crazy Nights” album. Instead, it was offered to Bonfire who recorded it for their own album “Point Blank” and also for this compilation. It’s a fun song. Eventually though we had to come to the power ballad, the song utilised in the movie to signify lost love through the murderous rampage of a serial killer. And that song is “Timeless Love”, the Desmond Child penned abomination performed by Saraya. Child uses all of the power ballad tricks in this song to draw out the emotion he is looking for. For me however, that emotion is severe nausea. It’s a tragic song, but not in the way the writer and performer were looking for.
The Dudes of Wrath return to clean up the mess with "Shockdance", co-written by Child, Guy Mann Dude, Vivian Campbell and Kane Roberts, and this time featuring Alice Cooper on vocals, rapping along with Horace Pinker himself, Mitch Pileggi. It is so 80’s that it is somewhat painful, but in the long run it is fun, and Alice Cooper is always great to listen to. His back and forth with Pileggi’s character is overcomes and perceived weaknesses. This is followed by "Demon Bell (The Ballad of Horace Pinker)" which is performed by Dangerous Toys with some writing input from Child. This is also a beauty, and was one of the B-side tracks on the “No More Mr Nice Guy” single. It has a great upvibe tempo and fits in with the mood of the album nicely. "The Awakening" by Voodoo X starts a little slowly but builds to a satisfying conclusion. They released this song on their only album “Vol 1: The Awakening”, and the song is actually quite good, channelling several bands of the era in the hard rock scene. It’s interesting that they didn’t amount to more. One song that really caught my attention initially was "Different Breed" by Dead On, perhaps because it was the other B side track to the "No More Mr. Nice Guy" single I bought before I bought this soundtrack. I don't know what happened to them, but they sound like an early version of Scatterbrain, who I loved when they arrived around this time. I've always loved this song, and was disappointed I could never find any more of their music. The album then concludes with a reprise of "Shocker", fading out leaving you feeling like the hero.
THE awakening

I’ve pretty much covered my history with both this film and its soundtrack. The producers of the film were cluey in having Desmond Child oversee the songs for the soundtrack and how they fit into the film, because he has done a great job here, not only with the composition of his supergroup and their input, but the other bands and musicians attached. Because I really believe there is only one weak song on this album, the afore mentioned atrocity that is “Timeless Love”. Everything else here is very enjoyable, even if you have to imagine you are back in 1989 to get the most from it. Because there is little doubt most of the songs here have dated, which is what made them so good at the time because that was what the era of music was throwing at us.
On many soundtrack albums, there will be bands that no one knows, who have songs that are mildly forgettable. I don’t think that is the case here. Bonfire, Dangerous Toys, Voodoo X and Dead On all give us some above average songs to enjoy after the big hitters have lit up the front end of the album. And while the hard rock anthems provided here by Desmond Child and his collaborators might still be very cheesy today, as a reminder of that time, they are excellent value.
That said, there would be a narrow field of people who will love this album and/or the film, and I don't pretend it to be otherwise. Kids watching to and listening to this today would for the most part likely be horrified not at the violence on the screen but the style of music the soundtrack contains. Having seen the film on the big screen all those years ago, and having owned a VHS copy since it was released (now sadly gone through the deterioration of the tape), and having both the Megadeth single and the album soundtrack more or less since their release, my opinion is certainly be biased towards the positive for nostalgic reasons as well as perceived quality.
I have listened to this soundtrack album a dozen times over the past couple of weeks, and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. It is one of the best soundtrack albums I own, and I have more than gotten my money’s worth for it. Some of you out there, of course, may well believe that that is a Shocker!

483. Various Artists / Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth [Original Soundtrack]. 1992. 1.5/5

Soundtrack albums are always on a hiding to nothing. It’s very difficult to find the right balance of songs to please everyone in order to get the public to buy the album. As it is, I doubt I would have purchased this if I hadn’t received it as a birthday gift all those years ago.

Quite simply, this is full of average songs from unknown bands – apart from the two star attractions. Motorhead’s version of “Hellraiser” is here (as written with Ozzy Osbourne), along with Bruce Dickinson’s version of Alice Cooper’s “Elected”. Both songs are brilliant. The rest is just not inspiring at all, even when heard in the background throughout the movie.

Rating: Take out the two songs mentioned, and it would rate a 1. But you can’t live off two songs. 1.5/5.

443. Original Cast Recording / Go Simpsonic With The Simpsons. 1999. 4/5

A collection of various musical pieces that have appeared on The Simpsons over the years.

Some of the musical numbers are brilliant – the songs from their eponymous record-breaking episode (where they passed the number of episode made of The Flintstones) which are brilliant take-offs from the songs from Mary Poppins are not only funny, but so very clever.

My kids love listening to it, so we do it often…

Rating: Well worth a review. 4/5.

127. Various Artists / Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey : Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. 1991. 3.5/5.

When it comes to putting together a soundtrack of original songs for a film, it must be a difficult task to get the artists together, have them understand what the movie is about, and have them produce something that can not only be used in the movie, but will be used to sell the soundtrack of the movie.

This is one of the better movie soundtrack albums. Almost all of the songs are original, and can only be found on this album, which must help with the sales no end. The bands are not nobodies either, which is why I eventually bought this.
I loved the movie (still do!), and there were a number of songs that grabbed my attention – Winger's 'Battle Stations', Steve Vai's 'The Reaper', Faith No More's 'The Perfect Crime' and Megadeth's sensational 'Go To Hell'. These songs, woven into the movie, made me want to go out and buy the soundtrack. On this level, they have succeeded.

Memories : First going to see the film when it was released at Wollongong with Kearo, Bono and Joel. Just a great day.

Rating : Very high for a film soundtrack. You can't do much better than this, than perhaps a slightly better mix of good bands. 3.5/5

45. Various Artists / Airheads : Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. 1994. 2.5/5.

One of the things that I loved as a teenager and then into my 20’s was going to the cinema with my mates, and watching either a hysterically gory horror film, or a hilariously funny comedy film. On many occasions of course what you ended up experiencing was a B-grade horror that was more a comedy because of the story and lack of great special effects, or a film that was funny only because of the comments made between your friend group watching than the actual movie and dialogue up on the screen.
Even better for most of us was when we got the opportunity to see a film that combined one of those two genres with music, especially heavy music. And over the years leading up to 1994 we had seen a good selection of them. “This is Spinal Tap” was one of the first of course, but then we had films such as “Trick or Treat”, “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and then “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey”, and of course “Wayne’s World”. Some were better than others, and some have definitely not aged well over the years, but at the time they were fun.
In 1994 came the film “Airheads”, starring Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi and Adam Sandler, along with other terrific actors and some musical cameos as well. It tells the tale of a band who are trying to get signed for a record contract but can’t seem to crack the system, and so in trying to get their latest single some airplay they accidently find they have taken over the radio station hostage, and as they say in the classics, ‘hilarity ensues’. I still love the film, I still laugh in all the right places, and the fact that the lead actor is now an Academy Award winner is even more fitting.
With movies like this, the soundtrack is important in setting the scene and the mood throughout, and having watched the film and enjoyed the music, I decided to go out and buy the soundtrack to the album, based mainly on the song that plays over the opening titles, and the song that acts as the single that the band in question are trying to get airplay for in the movie. And as with all soundtracks to movies like this, you should expect to get some cream and some crud.

As with most soundtrack albums, what you get here on the “Airheads” soundtrack is a mix of bands that almost everyone will know, along with a side order of bands you have never heard of, or are likely to hear of again. And often that doesn’t matter of course, as long as you enjoy the song they do.
Also according to most soundtracks, all of the songs you hear snatches of in the movie won’t necessarily appear on the soundtrack, due to artist or record company contractual obligations. So buying a soundtrack can sometimes be a tricky thing. Mostly, in my own experience, buying a soundtrack comes down to it having songs that appear nowhere else, not on an artist's own album or as a single. At least, back in the days prior to streaming and downloading.
White Zombie’s song here, for instance, was written for the movie. “Feed the Gods” is played in the movie in the bar scene where Chris Farley’s character is trying to track down the girlfriend of Brendan Fraser’s character. Indeed, the band in the bar playing the song IS White Zombie, and it sounds great in the movie. Also written for this album was “Bastardizing Jellikit” by Primus, so already you are in front if you buy the album. Then you have songs by two veterans of their craft, “Inheritance” by Prong which is very enjoyable, and “We Want the Airwaves” by Ramones, which is still a great song as well.
Other artists, mostly not well known, have tracks on this album, such as “No Way Out” by DGeneration, “Can’t Give In” by Candlebox, “Curious George Blues” by Dig, “I’ll Talk My Way Out of It” by Stuttering John, and “Fuel” by Stick.
There are two cover songs also on this album, and one that is a sort-of cover song. 4 Non-Blondes do a cracking cover of the Van Halen song “I’m the One” which plays during one of the important scenes in the movie. One can only assume that Van Halen weren’t going to allow their actual version to be used, which seems a shame. On top of this, Anthrax do a crushing cover of The Smiths song “London” which does defeat the original easily. And finally we have the opening track to the album, and the film as it turns out, the Motorhead track “Born to Raise Hell”, here re-recorded and including both Ice-T and Whitfield Crane from Ugly Kid Joe as guest vocalists. Is it something that they needed to have? A re-recorded version that would earn more money with these two artists attached? I don’t know, and while I enjoy this version, the original Motorhead version is still by far the better one.

I saw this movie in Sydney with my wife and her brother, as we were living there at the time, in mid-1994. I thought it was great, and laughed all the way through it, as did Peter. Helen... weeeelll she was a little less enthused about it all. Sometimes there is no accounting for taste. One of my man memories of watching the movie that first time was when the brothers took Chazz back to their flat, and the walls being adorned by posters of lots of bands that I knew and liked listening to – and there was one of a band I didn’t know, a band called Therapy? For their first album “Nurse” And at the time I thought ‘wow, Therapy?, I should probably check them out!’ And that set me down the road to seeing them live about nine months later, and buying their album “Troublegum”, and an obsession was born.
While watching the movie for the first time, there were a few songs through the movie that attracted me. The song over the opening titles that was obviously Motorhead. The song the band was playing in the bar. The song that I guessed from the closing titles was by Anthrax (not that I was aware that it was a cover song at the time), and the song that acted as The Lone Rangers (yes that was the name of the band in the movie) single release. And so I thought I should go out and get this soundtrack, and see if these songs are on it, and hopefully the rest of the album will be just as good! And so I did, heading down to the Virgin Megastore in Pitt Street and buying the soundtrack. And guess what?! These were the best four songs on the album! AND!!!... the rest was pretty average. Well, I tell a lie I guess. The Prong and Primus songs are good, as well as the Ramones song, and the cover of the Van Halen song is adequate if not as good as the original. So that covers about two-thirds of the album.
I have rarely pulled this album out since those days, generally only if I have watched the movie again, or want to hear The Lone Rangers playing “Degenerated” once again. And I have had it out again this week, and found that after one listen I didn’t really need to hear anymore. But that’s not how I operate, and after another five listens I decided I had enough to compose this review. And that is this – you don’t really need this, you don’t really need to buy it. The movie on the other hand, I still think is a classic, one I can rewatch any time. That would be a much better way to spend 90 minutes than listening to this soundtrack album again.