Dirty Dancing (soundtrack)

2 Ratings: 4.0

An album by Original Soundtrack/Various Artists

Contains both DIRTY DANCING and MORE DIRTY DANCING. Digitally remastered by Michael Fuller (1999, Fullersound, Miami, Florida). ULTIMATE DIRTY DANCING contains every song from the DIRTY DANCING movie, sequenced in the order that they appeared in the … see full wiki

Tags: Music, Oldies, Soundtracks, Movie Soundtracks

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Need a CD to dance dirty to?

Oct 6, 2006

by ssjakira1
posted in Music Matters

Rating:

Pros: Some good stuff

Cons: Some songs don't know where they came from/missing some others

The Bottom Line: Dang! Someone already took my title...so I had to come up with a new one...

Way back when (ok, so I don’t really remember) I was watching Dirty Dancing and thought, “I want some of the songs from that movie.” Of course, this was before my skills were developed enough to figure out how to find out who was behind the magic. Doy. Anyway, I managed to scrounge together a select few from the internet and have been enjoying them for some time.

Hallelujah for the library. I spotted this my first time pawing through the musicals/soundtracks, but limited myself to two at a time just so I wouldn’t over burden myself (and also give me time to enjoy what I did pick out in the case that it happened to be super-awesome). There’s no composer for this soundtrack as it’s all a compilation of goodies for the characters to dance to (and occasionally act to, heh). I was going to apply my patented Nicole’s Yay/Nay system to this, but after just a once through with this CD, I realized there were no “Nay” songs, thus rendering the system unusable. So read below to see what makes each song “Yay” material.

1.) (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life (performed by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes) – 4:47 If you’ve never heard this song, even on the radio, do yourself a favor and listen to it. It’s upbeat, happy but not overly happy, makes you want to tap your foot, and just a great song to listen to. I love this song. The little duet between Bill and Jennifer is lovely – they can really sing out those tunes. I especially like the little synth-sparkly sounds. The saxophone makes a great addition too. Good stuff.

2.) Be My Baby (performed by The Ronettes) – 2:37 This barely makes “Yay” status. I’m not sure how old this song is, but it sort of has that 50s feel to it. It’s not a bad song, but I’m not too fond of the lead singer. It can also get a little repetitive There’s not much for it to do in the 2 ½ minute span it’s got. It’s good for what it is, but easily skippable. In fact, I don’t even know where this song was in the movie…

3.) She’s Like the Wind (performed by Patrick Swayze) – 3:51 Ohmigosh, yay. I love this song. I loved it before I could even get all skeptical by knowing it was Mr. Swayze himself doing the singing. He’s got a really great voice kids. Very clear, soft and yet strong. I love the melody this song has as well. It’s sort of a sad feeling, but hopeful at the same time. It makes me think of a hopeful rainy day, if that makes sense to you. There isn’t all that much instrumentation, but we do get a little sax, something akin to a piano, and a few others. It does pick up a few more around 2:30 (guitar mostly), but this is another I say you should absolutely hear.

4.) Hungry Eyes (performed by Eric Carmen) – 4:06 Another song I’m very fond of. It’s got sort of the same instrument style as track 1, and Eric Carmen is a good singer, backed up by some ladies of course. It’s a slow song overall, though it does have a semi-fast beat. It’s pretty simple and nice to listen to; in the movie this is where Johnny teaches Baby some more dance moves (like the down the arm move that always made her laugh).

5.) Stay (performed by Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs) – 1:34 Another oldie many people should be familiar with. ”Stay just a little bit longer…” Very short though. There’s not much to this song, basically the same lyrics over and over, but it doesn’t do it long enough to feel repetitive, so no worries. Good n’simple.

6.) Yes (performed by Merry Clayton) – 3:15 Merry’s got a voice on her. Sing it girl! This is another that should be familiar, but if not, no big deal. It’s fast, fun, and the kind that makes you feel like learning the lyrics and then belting them out when you’re driving on down the highway rocking out under the sun. That kind of feeling. Yes!

7.) You Don’t Own Me (performed by The Blow Monkeys) – 3:00 Though the lead singer kind of weirds me out. I think there’s another version of this song out there that I like better, but I can’t be sure. This is slow, but not exactly romantic. The lyrics are pretty easy to hear, so this doesn’t sound like a good relationship. Not sure if this is something I could slow dance to. It’s interesting, I’ll give it that. Another song that I have no idea where it is in the movie.

8.) Hey Baby (performed by Bruce Channel) – 2:21 Ok, so this is a song that if you haven’t heard I could say shame on you, but at the same time, I’d never heard of it until high school when the band always played it and that’s where I learned the lyrics. Your college band probably played this too – I know mine did. ”Heeeeeeyyy, hey baby! I wanna know if you’ll be my girl! I like the little harmonica thing they got goin on here. If you don’t sing to it, you’ll probably end up humming it because it really is a catchy tune. It may last just over 2 minutes, but there’s the possibility it will remain in your head the rest of the day.

9.) Overload (performed by Zappacosta) – 3:39 It sort of reminds me of Blues Brothers with the horns, but then with all the synthesized stuff, Phil Collins. But whatever the case is, this is definitely an interesting song. It’s got a heavier feel than any of the others, but that’s just in style. It’s actually rather upbeat and will make you bob around in your chair (like I am right now). Good times.

10.) Love Is Strange (performed by Mickey and Sylvia) – 2:52 I have no clue how old this song is or where they found it, but it’s a really great song. Remember this: “Sylvia!” – “Yes Mickey?” – “How do you call your loverboy?” – “Come here loverboy!” I do so love the guitar – and I think that’s a cowbell in there too. I gotta have more cowbell! Another highly recommended tune.

11.) Where Are You Tonight (performed by Tom Johnston) – 3:59 Clap along with me! *clap clap* Hooray for trumpets. It’s got a nice, steady, even pace, the drums beating that out nice and strong. I think bass has taken over for the guitar in several of these songs, this one included. Or at least for a while. Haha. Cue the guitar solo. A good foot tapper and possible lip synching may occur. *clap clap*

12.) In the Still of the Night (performed by The Five Satins) – 3:03 Another song many should be familiar with. A true slow song in every sense of the word. I’m leaning towards 50s or 60s with this one. I could be totally off base, but I know it’s pretty old. With the backup singers singing stuff like, ”Dooby doo” and the lead guy stringing his lyrics together on a pillow of notes, and some midnight saxophone taking on a bit of the song, this is one you can end the CD on by drifting off to sleep or turning out the lights.

All these songs were pretty enjoyable and as I’m sure you could tell, I love some songs more than others. I was familiar with most of the songs on here so it was basically a just another chance to listen to some goodies.

I’m giving this CD four stars for a specific reason. I enjoyed the CD overall, had fun rocking out to some songs, others just ear candy, so it isn’t the music I’m marking down. Rather, it’s the product itself. What are you talking about Nicole? Ok, I’m not sure if there’s another Dirty Dancing soundtrack out there with more songs on it, but even if there is, I hate when they do that. There are a lot of songs on this CD that were indeed in the movie, but then there were others that for the life of me, I could not place. Songs tagged onto movies without being in them isn’t a new concept. But it drives me nuts when they have music that was in the movie and music that wasn’t on the same CD and then make another CD with more music that was all included in the movie. Can’t they just make one that has movie stuff and one that doesn’t?

My point is that there are songs in the movie that I wanted to listen to on this CD. Two examples: Baby’s initial training and then later on when Baby and Johnny are onstage performing. I was really looking forward to the latter, but to no avail, and that’s not something I can just waltz out and find, I’m sure. So the product wasn’t all that I was hoping it would be. Thus, four stars.

But don’t let that discourage you in taking a look at this CD! *dances off*

NT

Recommended:
Yes

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