Search - Rachel Sweet, The Ray Bryant Combo :: Hairspray: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

At last, oldies but goodies you're not sick of the second ti

Matthew G. Sherwin | last seen screaming at Amazon customer service | 01/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The movie Hairspray by John Waters boasts a score so good it's almost criminal! This CD contains twelve great songs that deserve much more attention than they ever received; and just one listen proves it.



The great songs on this CD include Toussaint McCall's heartrending ballad "Nothing Takes The Place Of You." Toussaint McCall sings this beautifully and the musical arrangement enhances the beauty of this number. Jan Bradley performs "Mama Didn't Lie" which is another excellent song. Jan sings about protecting her heart from boys who don't want to give her true love. "Foot Stompin'" boasts an infectious beat by The Flares as they sing about dancing to what was once known as "race" music. Excellent!



"You'll Lose A Good Thing" is a very romantic ballad by Barbara Lynn. In this song Barbara reminds her man to treat her well.



One of very favorite numbers on this album is Gene Pitney's "Town Without Pity." Gene delivers this song very well; his voice is strong and energetic. The musical arrangement will stun you, too. Another excellent song is "The Madison Time" by The Ray Bryant Combo. "The Madison Time" is essentially a great instrumental number with a man telling dancers on the dance floor which steps to take. The arrangement is slick, $exy and very catchy, too.



Despite the fact that this CD boasts a fine collection of obscure oldies, the song "Hairspray" was written for the 1988 movie. "Hairspray" represents camp at its best and you will enjoy this number even if it isn't an oldie.



Other great songs on this CD include "I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song);" "Shake A Tail Feather" and "The Roach (Dance)."



Some reviewers write that they wish that this CD included more music from the motion picture soundtrack. They are right. I considered making this a four star review for that reason but I concluded that the strength of this CD as it stands merits a five star review. The songs here are just so good I said "Aw, heck" to myself and so I gave it five stars anyway.



The liner notes give the songs credits and John Waters adds a brief essay about the songs on this CD. The graphics are excellent.



Overall, this CD offers a rare opportunity to hear many obscure but wonderful oldies that deserve more play time than they ever will receive. The quality of the sound is excellent even on my portable CD player. Fans of the oldies or movie soundtracks will love this album. May you enjoy this album as much as I have!

"

It's MADISON time, hit it!

B. Janssen | HEERLEN, Limburg Netherlands | 09/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A great soundtrack! I like all songs, and I get really happy when I listen to them.

Fantastic!

B U T.......where are all the other songs????

Only 12 songs on a CD, which can contain 20 songs or so!

There are a lot of songs I would like to own very much, but they're left out on the CD. You don't own me, mashed potatoes, waddle waddle, do the new continental. And especially the last 2 I mentioned I would like to have oh so bad, but I can't find them anywhere! Releasing them on this soundtrack was my only chance, I searched everywhere for those songs, and on search engines they aren't even reckognized! Why not release a second part to the soundtracks, it could contain many songs from the movie, since so much has been left out.

a bit of a bummer!"

Best Song Missing

Raven | Baltimore | 10/12/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The reason this only gets 4*'s is because it's without the Bunker Hill tune, "Hide And Go Seek (Part 1)".



When the LP was first released, I picked up a copy and was also disappointed not to find the remaining songs from the movie.

For years I had been collecting the songs that brought my best memories

of my youth. Here was a chance to add a few of the rarer ones.



Since then, I've been able to complete my own collection of the tunes of Hairspray. And yes, "Hide And Go Seek" was my number one priority.



I found it on 2 different CD's. "The Golden Age Of American Rock 'n' Roll Vol. 6" on Ace and the ultra-rare, "Do You Remember? 30 Original Golden Oldies" on Mr. Maestro.



Luckily, though, "The Roach", "Footstompin'", "Mama Didn't Lie" and "Nothing Takes The Place Of You" are included in the Hairspray LP/CD, which are very much repsonsible for its 4* rating.



The only so-called weak tunes on this recording are the title track, "Hairspray" and "I Wish I Were A Princess"."