Sountrack confusion - there are 2 of them
Dan Dan Leimone | da club | 07/21/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"As a music retailer, I find online listings like this to be sad, as they're misleading to those who arn't completely familiar with the product. There are two soundtrack albums for the 1991 movie Switch. One, which appears to be the one listed here, is the "Original Motion Picture Score Album". It's the short one with the less than memorable Henry Mancini instrumentals. Pretty boring to put it mildly. One star is being generous. Hard to believe it's from the same great composer who gave us the themes from Pink Panther and Peter Gunn. The other one, which _could_ be the one listed here, (after all, there is no track list) is the "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album" It's not the greatest either, but it does have it's gems, as soundtracks often do. It's certainly more desirable than Mancini's score! This is the album I'm giving 4 stars. The first song is "You Can't Resist It" by Lyle Lovett. This is a fairly cool song, very pop sounding for Lyle. Next is "Old Habits Are Hard To Break" by Ronnie Milsap. Again, a rock sounding song by a country artist. It's very bluesy, has a nice horn section, and was written by John Hiatt. It's one of the little gems that makes this worth owning. Next up is Bruce Hornsby & The Range's "Barren Ground". No surprises here, it sounds like Bruce Hornsby. Next is the song that made this a must-have soundtrack for me: Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now", performed by Paul Young & Clannad! I bought this soundtrack because I knew my life wound be incomplete if I never got to hear that. As expected, it's absolutely beautiful. Clannad sounds like they're singing from within a dream, and Paul Young's vocals and harmonies give me chills. With much respect for Joni Mitchell, I have to say this is my favorite version of the song. Her original lacks the two part vocal harmony that makes this so stunning. Next is "So Quiet So Still" by Natalie Archangel. It's a decent song, although not spectacular. Pop with a hint of country. I'm not familiar with her music, so I can't compare it to any of her other work. Side 2 (I have this on cassette) starts out on a pretty sad note. A Pretty Boy Floyd sad note, to be more specific. Remember that awful hair band? If not, consider yourself lucky. They scream thier way through "Slam Dunk", which is typical late '80s hair metal. That should've been outlawed by 1991. It interrupts the flow of the album, to put it mildly. Next up is another rock song. Real rock, this time. Joe Ely's "Are You Listenin' Lucky?", which was recorded live in Austin, Texas. It's scorching bluesy southern rock. I've never heard anything else by Joe Ely, but I certainly want to. Next up is what sounds like late '80s synth-pop: "Dream After Dream" by Indecent Obsession. I once owned an Indecent Obsession CD. It was awful. That said, this song isn't too bad. It sounds like it could've been a big hit in 1988. Next is "Sendin' Out A Message" by The Jets. It sounds like most everything else by The Jets. As someone who doesn't much like The Jets, I'll just leave the song alone. I'm sure to a Jets fan, this song is the reason to own the soundtrack. Me, well, I reach for the skip button. The soundtrak ends with it's second finest moment, and unlike "Both Sides Now", I didn't have high expectations for "It's All There" by Jody Watley. It's not her typical pop R&B sound at all. In fact, it's about as far from that as you can get. Written by Henry Mancini (nice to see something he wrote for Switch was inspired), "It's All There" sounds like a lost standard from years gone by. Very sultry and romantic. Who would've thought Jody Watley was even capable of something like this?I'm not a movie buff, and don't even remember ever hearing about "Switch". I watch very few movies, it's just not my thing. I do, however, own a huge collection of soundtrack albums. There are so many great songs by known and even more by unknown artists that can only be found on these albums. I bought the Switch soundtrack album (not to be confused with the score album) for the Clannad & Paul Young song, but found myself liking a lot more on it. If you like any of the artists on here, this is one worth picking up. Don't expect to like the whole thing, though, as it musically just goes in too many directions to please everyone.--Dan Dan"
