Search - Various Artists :: Strictly Ballroom

Strictly danceable for the most part

Daniel J. Hamlow | Narita, Japan | 12/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Many songs comprise either all vocal songs or are instrumental scores that don't transcend beyond the movie it was supposed to represent. Strictly Ballroom is somewhat of an anomaly. Given the subject, there wasn't much need for pop songs to enhance the movie. The dancing and the dance music did that, but the latter is present on the soundtrack. Even if one hasn't seen the movie, the instrumental dance tunes done by David Hirschfelder and the Bogo Pogo Orchestra (yeah, amusing, but competent) featuring tango, waltzes, and even an old classical tune transcends the movie experience into an audio delight. Well, there is one instrumental that may be lost on those who never saw the movie, but it's still great.A danceable ballroom mix is given to John Paul Young's late 70's quasi-disco hit "Love Is In The Air" which is the song played at the movie's celebratory finale. Jones's other hit, "Standing In The Rain" is likewise done, strung together with another instrumental by Hirschfelder number. Doris Day's rendition of "Quizas Quizas Quizas" should be a familiar chestnut for those growing up in the 1950's. This is the song done while Scott and Fran are practicing backstage...and are caught-nobody knows they are partners yet.A brisk tango-type number is what "La Cumparsita/Tango Please" is, done by Hirschfelder and orchestra, and it's brief, clocking in at little over three minutes. Also by the same is the famed instrumental "Tequila" segued into a medley with "Sinful Samba," which is one of Scott's numbers early in the movie."Rhumba de Burros" is a light-hearted Latin-flavoured number featuring Ignatius Jones sporting a Mexican-type balladeer voice. He also does the snappy "Yesterday's Hero," the song used to describe Scott's father, done in a rockabilly-type Jerry Lee Lewis-like voice. Another standout cut."Doug's Tearful Waltz/First Kiss" is a mournful laden number reflecting the sadness Scott's father feels dwelling in memories past, which segues into the instrumental done when Scott and Fran have their first kiss.Mark Williams and Tara Morice, the latter who played the female lead Fran in Strictly Ballroom, make Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" into a duet. Morice is actually a good singer and the instrumentation features more lush keyboards and synths different from that of She's So Unusual. As for tying with the original... hmmm, it comes pretty darn close. My favourite song here.Hirschfelder does a brief snippet from Johann Strauss's "The Blue Danube" waltz before the climactic and energetic Latin paso doble number Scott and Fran do at the end of the movie. Spanish guitar included in a ballroom number...not bad.All in all, an energetic soundtrack for the most part, good for whether one is doing the cha-cha or not."

I LOVED IT

06/02/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This has to be one of my alltime favorite CDs. I listen to this when I need to lift my spirits. I absolutely loved the movie and can't wait for it to come out on DVD."