Soundtrack - Rock ´N´ Roll High School (1981)

The Ramones' cult-classic movie was perfectly complemented by its soundtrack. Of course, there are Ramones songs: "I Want You Around," "Come On Let's Go" (with the Paley Brothers), "Rock 'n' Roll High School," and a medley that featured "Blitzkrieg Bop," "Teenage Lobotomy," "California Sun," "Pinhead," and "She's the One", but the soundtrack also includes songs by Nick Lowe ("So It Goes"), Devo ("Come Back Jonee"), Chuck Berry ("School Days"), and Eddie & the Hot Rods ("Teenage Depression"). A blissfully teenage album, the only dud is actress P.J. Soles' rendition of "Rock 'n' Roll High School".
The rest of the album consists of tracks licensed from other record companies. Most of them are very good, although I don't care much for the weird instrumental by Brian Eno. Several of the songs have a "school" theme, appropriately enough. I should mention that "School Days" by Chuck Berry is not the original version, it's a rerecording that sounds almost identical to the original (it's even in mono). In short, this is a terrific soundtrack.

Tracklist:

01.  The Ramones - Rock 'n' Roll High School  (Phil Spector remix)  - 2:20
02.  The Ramones - I Want You Around  (Phil Spector remix)  - 3:04
03.  Ritchie Valens The Paley Brothers and Ramones - Come On Let's Go  (Cover of Ritchie Valens, 1959)  - 2:14
04.  Ramones - Ramones Medley: Blitzkrieg Bop / Teenage Lobotomy / California Sun / Pinhead / She's the One  (recorded live at The Roxy, Los Angeles)  (Ramones, Henry Glover, Morris Levy )  - 11:04
05.  Nick Lowe - So It Goes  (Lowe)  - 2:31
06.  Brian Eno - Energy Fools the Magician  (Eno)  - 2:05
07.  P.J. Soles - Rock 'n' Roll High School  (Ramones)  - 2:12
08.  Devo - Come Back Jonee  (Gerald V. Casale, Mark Mothersbaugh)  - 3:47
09.  Eddie and the Hot Rods - Teenage Depression  (Dave Higgs)  - 2:57
10.  Brownsville Station - Smokin' In the Boys Room  (Cub Koda, Michael Lutz Brownsville Station)  - 2:57
11.  Chuck Berry - School Days" (single, 1957)  (Berry)  - 2:44
12.  Todd Rundgren - A Dream Goes on Foreve r (Rundgren)  - 3:26
13.  Alice Cooper - School's Out  (Alice Cooper, Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith)  - 2:24

Released:  1981
Genre:  Pop, Rock, Punk
Label:  Sire
Length:  43:08
Producer, Engineer:  Ed Stasium
Written-By:  Ramones

Artists
The Ramones
Ritchie Valens
The Paley Brothers
Nick Lowe
Brian Eno
P.J. Soles
Devo
Eddie And The Hot Rods
Brownsville Station
Chuck Berry
Todd Rundgren
Alice Cooper

T-Bone Burnett - The Talking Animals (1987)

Following a brief brush with country music, T-Bone Burnett's seventh solo release, "The Talking Animals", continues the studio rock he began in 1983 with Proof Through the Night. Burnett once again starts with basic rock, pop, and folk roots, which he wastes no time in subverting, adding assorted twists along the way. Along with co-producer and guitarist David Rhodes, he colors a foundation of steady rhythms driven by drummer Mickey Curry and bassist Tony Levin with affected and atmospheric guitars, as well as Mitchell Froom's various keyboards. One exception is the Van Dyke Parks-arranged "Image," with its swirling strings and one verse repeated in four different languages by Burnett and three guest vocalists (Cait O'Riordan, Rubén Blades, and Ludmilla). Here he sheds the bounds of the standard pop song format to create a piece that seems to have sprung from a Weill-Brecht musical. Lyrically, The Talking Animals, like his best work, can be scathing, searching, and surreal. Burnett explores uncertainty, longing, fear, lust, fantasy, greed, and eventually justice and mercy in his quest for "The Wild Truth" (the title of one of the album's best tracks). Often criticized for preaching, Burnett seems to ask as much of himself as he does of the cast of characters here, even allowing one of them to denounce him in the wonderful final cut, "The Strange Case of Frank Cash and the Morning Paper" (although it's T-Bone Burnett who gets the last word). Even with a few less than stellar songs, "The Talking Animals" is a strong, inspired record. Bono, Peter Case, and Tonio K. each co-write with Burnett, as well as lending support on vocals.

Track listing

01.  "The Wild Truth"  - 3:38
02.  "Monkey Dance"  - 4:43
03.  "Image"  - 4:02
04.  "Dance, Dance, Dance"  - 2:45
05.  "The Killer Moon"  (Burnett, M. Burnett, Peter Case)  - 5:00
06.  "Relentless"  - 3:24
07.  "Euromad"  - 4:21
08.  "Purple Heart"  (Bono, Burnett)   - 4:36
09.  "You Could Look It Up"  -  2:41
10.  "The Strange Case of Frank Cash and the Morning Paper"  (Burnett, Tonio K)  - 5:25

Released:  1987
Recorded by:  Tchad Blake at Sunset Sound and Sunset Sound Factory with Mike Kloster
Genre:  Rock and Roll
Length:  40:31
Label:  Acadia
Producer:  David Rhodes, T-Bone Burnett

Personnel
T-Bone Burnett – guitar
David Rhodes – guitar
Mickey Curry – drums
Tony Levin – bass
Jerry Scheff – bass
Tom "T-Bone" Wolk – bass
Mitchell Froom – harmonium, electric piano, clavinet
Tom Canning – piano
Sexteto Mayor
Singers - T-Bone Burnett, Cait O'Riordan, Ruben Blades, Ludmilla, Peter Case, Bono. Tonio K, David Rhodes