Making soundtracks

Press, 25 August 1983, Page 18

Making soundtracks

SOUNDTRACKS: “Local Hero” (Vertigo 811 038-1). “Flashdance” (Casablanca 811492-1). “Party Party” (A and M L 37935). The film, “Local Hero,” owed at least part of its appeal to the music of Mark Knopfler. The guitarist from Dire Straits has helped create the best film soundtrack so far this year, and by doing so has also proved his versatility as an artist.

The music of “Local Hero” is as magical as the film. It not only draws on themes from the north of Scotland, where the film is based, but also takes in pop, jazz, and folk music — probably as diverse as the people in the film. The highlight of the soundtrack is the “Wild Theme,” which becomes more powerful in the extended “Going Home: Theme of Local Hero,” with its Gaelic flavour. However there are also little gems including “The Way It Al-

ways Starts”, with Gerry Rafferty on vocals. Perhaps the nearest to a Straits track is “Smooching,” but only at the start. An excellent album for those quiet moments. In contrast “Flashdance” is brash and brazen, with four tracks based on the music of Giorgio Moroder, the man who helped bring disco to popularity through Donna Summer. Moroder wrote the music for the hit “Flashdance ... What A Feeling,” but he shows he is also adept at slowing it down with the “Love Theme From Flashdance,” incorporating a keyboard style similar to classical pieces using a clavinet. However, like the film the “Flashdance” soundtrack lacks a certain credibility. Except for “Seduce Me Tonight,” performed by Cycle V, a song which Rod Stewart would have loved, and the hit single, there is really nothing here which grips the

listener. Of the three soundtracks reviewed, “Party Party” is the only film I have not seen yet, and for that reason it is difficult to judge purely on the music alone. Nevertheless there are some golden moments here, notably the title song by Elvis Costello and the attractions, plus “Driving In My Car” by Madness. But there are also some dull tracks. Covers of “Run Rudolph Run” by Dave Edmunds and Sting singing “Tutti Frutti” are forgettable, plus Chas and Dave on “Auld Lang Syne.” Pauline Black’s version of “No Woman, No Cry” is credible,

but “Band Of Gold” by Modern Romance isn’t.

“Party Party” doesn’t have a whole lot of shakin’ going on. The reggae-based songs by Bad Manners and Madness get the blood pumping, but others make you want to sit them out.

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