Monday, August 22, 2016

Wang Chung - To Live & Die In LA - 1985

Obviously, Wang Chung was more successful once New Wave started to die down.  I love how they took New Romantic sensebilities and crafted them into mainstream Pop Rock that was radio friendly.  They took something bland and gave it an attractive edge.  Couple this with their extensive musical background and education, and it's probably why they got the shot to do this soundtrack.

As a whole, the album isn't that bad.  It's a "pleasant" listen that is executed well, with a couple memorable melodies intertwined.  I remember when this movie came out, and being just a kid, it never really interested me to go see it.  I was more into the Goonies, and Ghost Busters and James Bond of the time.  You know, Spies Like Us.  But, the song was played on the radio a lot, and this is how I was first introduced to the band.

Too young to know any better, all I had was the 45rpm single of the song until I picked up the Soundtrack on CD in the late 90s.  Glad I did.

I added Fire In the Twilight, another soundtrack song, as it came out at the same time, and doesn't really fit anywhere else.  It sounds alright here.  Also added the mixes, of course.

I couldn't find the right font to match the Wang Chung logo, so I used the next best one similar.  It's not quite the same, but close enough.  Also, used the original movie poster for the cover, to dress it up a bit.

4 comments:

  1. I saw this movie in the theater back then. Of course I already was a WC fan! The following year, in '86 when 'Mosaic' was released, I was able to score 6th row center seats for their show in MKE. Eight Seconds (Canadian) was the opener. There is a lot more to the story, but, that's another time. Thanks for the post and extras. I didn't have the Ext. Mix of the title track.

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  2. I actually would have liked to see them back then. There are some groups, in their moment of glory, would have put on a good show. This would be one of them...

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  3. This is one of those cases where I really quite dislike the film itself, but it's hard not to like the soundtrack. Excellent job on the cover of this one, too!

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