 Original Soundtrack Here is an album that puts any serious reviewer in a quandary. Do you like it because it is so loathed? Or hate it because it is so loved? Take the middle road and dismiss it as fluff? Can something this gargantuanly popular end up being hip after all? Yes! But not because it was hip to begin with. The album on its face is a pretty mainstream selection of primo 1983 radio pop. The surprising thing is, the well-known hits off the album are actually bolstered by strong filler material. I mean, between bookends like "Flashdance" and "Maniac" you'd expect a lot of overproduced nonsense (i.e. Body Rock or Two of a Kind), but track after track delivers: Shandi's "He's a Dream," Laura Branigan's "Imagination," and my favorite track, "Romeo" by Donna Summer. These are songs the label probably thought were crap. "Dump 'em on a soundtrack!" They are great songs. Who has not lip- synched along to Cycle V's "Seduce Me Tonight" while dancing semi-naked in front of the mirror in the bedroom their dead grandmother haunts? I know I have, many times. This one's got it all. I wish everyone would just admit it, it's a great album. Remember, if you like it, then it's good. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to dress up in Victorian dandy wear and go on a "Manhunt."
Review by Richard R. Pratchett |