Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Good Times, Bad Times



Anybody who has visited the cinema over the past month or seen the trailer for 'American Hustle' on tv couldn't help but notice the distinctive opening of Led Zeppelin's 'Good Times Bad Times'. One of the great lead tracks off any debut album it also contains one of my favourite lyrics as well, "When my woman left home with a b-blind man I still don't seem to care'. Looking at the soundtrack album though there is a distinct lack of 'Zep'. That's not say it isn't a good soundtrack, although to be honest it contains two too many tracks by ELO for my own personal taste

1. Jeep's Blues - Duke Ellington
2. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
3. White Rabbit - Mayssa Karaa
4. 10538 Overture - Electric Light Orchestra
5. Live and Let Die - Wings
6. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart - Bee Gees
7. I Feel Love - Donna Summer
8. Don't Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
9. Delilah - Tom Jones
10. I've Got Your Number - Jack Jones
11. Long Black Road - Electric Light Orchestra
12. A Horse with No Name - America
13. Stream of Stars - Jeff Lynne
14. Live to Live - Chris Stills
15. Irving Montage - Danny Elfman
 
So why no Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham? Well the answer lies within this interview with the person responsible for matching tracks with pictures - Susan Jacobs.  It's good to see one of the great underrated tracks of American music: Dirty Work by Steely Dan featured in the film, but unfortunately not on the soundtrack.

From watching British TV It would appear sometimes that the choice of music is often a game of one upmanship, something we are all guilty of sometimes, between producers so it's good to see that some thought does go into choosing the tracks that can often make a film a little more rounded. And who among us wouldn't love to have the words' Film Music Supervisor' on our business card?

6 comments:

  1. looking forward to seeing this, not sure if the Arabic translated White Rabbit would have the same lyrics??? except maybe the 'off with her head' bit (arf arf)

    Two ELO AND Jeff Lynne within 15 tracks? Come on!

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  2. Very good!

    I'm going to see it on Valentines Day with my daughter - wife doesn't fancy it.

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