Top Gun Soundtrack
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Free Music Notes for Top Gun Soundtrack
Free Music Review: Without any doubt, the best rock soundtrack of the 80's
Hit: 5 Stars
Top Gun the Motion Picture Soundtrack (1986). Remastered in 1999 with bonus tracks. For the most part, movie soundtracks have always had their high spots, but oftentimes fail to be consistent from front to back. That is, until the movie Top Gun came out. Featuring a score by Harold Faltermeyer, Tom Whitlock, Giorgio Moroder, and several famous rock/pop artists, the Top Gun soundtrack became the first truly phenomenal rock movie compilation, and a definitive 80's music staple. It conjurs up the best parts of the mid-80's music scene while throwing away any real cheeziness that many people often associate with the period, making this a great introduction to a better time in rock music history. This was how I was introduced, so let's take a look at each of this disc's fifteen tracks:
1) Danger Zone (Kenny Loggins)- An awesome melodic, fast, hard rock number, and one of the two tracks off of here which became popular. Loggins has always crafted some great rockers in the past for other movies (Footloose, Caddyshack), and this one is no exception. 10/10
2) Mighty Wings (Cheap Trick)- Another melodic fast hard rocker, yet much different from anything Cheap Trick has been known to do. This one is one of my favorites, yet strangely it was never popular. Excellent guitar solo. 10/10
3) Playing With The Boys (Kenny Loggins)- Loggins has another fast one, though this track is more of a happy party pop number. Good, but not great. 8/10
4) Lead Me On (Teena Marie)- An upbeat, driving, mid-tempo track which proves to be very strong, coming from a somewhat popular artist at the time. Great passionate vocals. 9/10
5) Take My Breath Away (Berlin)- Top Gun's slow, melodic, and powerful love theme, this track became one of the most famous ballads of the 80's, and with good reason. 10/10
6) Hot Summer Nights (Miami Sound Machine)- A bouncy party pop song. This shows MSM's sound before Gloria Estephan joined and brought them fame. Not as good as the others, but definitely worthwhile. 8/10
7) Heaven In Your Eyes (Loverboy)- Another great ballad, this time done by Loverboy, who were normally known for their party rock songs. Therefore this song might seem a bit different than what their fans may be used to. Still, it proves to be excellent. 9/10
8) Through The Fire (Larry Greene)- This track is more like Danger Zone and Mighty Wings in its sheer power and speed. Apparently, Larry Greene wasn't a very popular artist and his works can only be found on here and on the Over The Top soundtrack. Such a shame his career never took off like the others. 10/10
9) Destination Unknown (Marietta)- Very melodic, yet upbeat number which stands out moreso than some of the other tracks. Like Larry Greene, Marietta is also a very little known artist, and her song here is the only song of hers that I know of. 10/10
10) Top Gun Anthem (Harold Faltermeyer/Steve Stevens)- Here's the movie's main theme played in the beginning, though the version on here is accompanied by the guitarist Steve Stevens of Billy Idol fame. A very catchy instrumental. 9/10
And the bonus tracks:
11) Dock Of The Bay (Otis Redding)- These new bonus tracks introduce the slower, oldies songs which came from various parts of the movie. This song is quite mellow and memorable. 8/10
12) Memories (Harold Faltermeyer)- Another instrumental, this one is very sad and melodic, reflecting a rather mournful scene in the movie. 9/10
13) Great Balls Of Fire (Jerry Lee Lewis)- A real oldies classic, though the actual song wasn't in the film. Instead, it was sung by several characters. 9/10
14) You've Lost That Loving Feeling (The Righteous Brothers)- An oldies love ballad, which although fairly popular when it first came out, was made more famous by its inclusion in the movie. Very good. 9/10
15) Playing With The Boys Dance Remix (Kenny Loggins)- Basically an enhanced version of the original song. It becomes longer, and therefore benefits the track. 9/10
To this day, the Top Gun soundtrack stands tall as one of the best compilations to ever be put out, especially with a songwriting team of Faltermeyer, Whitlock, and Moroder. I give this soundtrack my highest recommendation to anyone who even remotely likes rock music. Even if you've never heard of any of the artists featured on here, you still won't go wrong with this disc. Add to that a linear notes interview with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and you have a near-perfect package.
Free Music Review: The definitive 80's soundtrack
Hit: 5 Stars
One of the definitive and best-selling soundtracks of the 1980's was the Top Gun soundtrack. It yielded two Top Five singles, one in the Top Twenty, and two in the bottom half of the charts. With the success of the first two singles, the soundtrack took off without needing any help from the other three.The racing rocker "Danger Zone" evokes an image of F-14s soaring through the air and cements Kenny Loggins' reputation as that guy who did soundtrack songs (Caddyshack, Footloose, Over The Top). This is definitely his best soundtrack song. The searing guitar solo he does after the bridge is just hot.
Cheap Trick's "Mighty Wings" is a thematic rocker in keeping pace with the movie when Robin Zander and company implores: "Take me on your mighty wings and fly." This shouldn't have flopped in the bottom 50 of the Hot 100. Both this song and "Danger Zone" is refreshing for long car trips.
It's the song afterwards, a mild rocker titled "Playing With The Boys", by Mr. Loggins, that is good, but none one of his best.
With 80's synthesizers blaring, Teena Marie performs the 80's dance pop of "Lead Me On." A similar sound and voice is present in "Destination Unknown" by Marietta. No, this isn't the Missing Persons number. Teena Marie had enough songs to have a greatest hits CD, but whatever happened to Marietta?
Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" was one of those immortal love themes for movies, highlighted by Terri Nunn's vocals. Since I first heard it on radio and MTV, I never got sick of it.
Compared to the material on their first two albums, "Hot Summer Nights" by Miami Sound Machine is totally a throwaway dance song, but at least it's better than when Gloria Estefan overshadowed the machine and turned her back on Cuban dance pop to disco.
"Heaven In Your Eyes" by the Vancouver-based group Loverboy is a prime and splendid example of a power ballad, which should've done better than the #12 peak on the Billboard singles chart. Mike Reno really lets it rip in the last line of the bridge: "Oh this feeling inside, in your eyes" before that wailing guitar kicks in.
"Through The Fire" by Larry Greene, another artist who I'm not sure made any other songs, has a rock guitar nearly as crunchy as "Danger Zone" but overlaced with synthesizers to produce that 80's rock-synthesizer sound. His voice kind of reminds me of a restrained version of Jimi Jameson of Survivor.
Harold Faltermeyer ("Axel F") and Steve Steven (Billy Idol's shaggy-haired guitarist) do the instrumental "Top Gun Anthem," a splendid power-ballad type marriage of keyboard synthesizer and piercing electric guitar. "Memories", the sad elegiac instrumental, which I assume was played when Maverick mourns his best friend's death.
As for the five additional songs, the three 60's classics work to the point that it's more of a complete soundtrack, although it's kind of jarring for those used to having the album end with "Top Gun Anthem." The 6:41 dance mix of "Playing With The Boys" is a welcome addition, but that's because it was remixed by Jellybean Benitez, Madonna's pre-Sean Penn boyfriend?
The CD sleeves includes an interview with Top Gun's producer Jerry Bruckheimer and his fond recollections. According to him, it's difficult doing a soundtrack with certain artists in mind because they might have other obligations. The key is getting the songwriters to do the songs, then approaching the artists whenever they're free. Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock were real assets here, considering they wrote the songs done by Berlin, Teena Marie, Larry Greene, and Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone." Still, the perfect example of a packaged soundtrack that's actually good.
Free Music Review: Top knotch soundtrack with hits galore
Hit: 5 Stars
In the summer on 1986, a plucky little movie titled Top Gun soared into the movies theaters and into our hearts. By today's standards the movie's pretty tame, but back then you and your friends were calling each other Maverick and Goose and dreaming of going to Top Gun school to fly an F-14 fighter jet. My memories a little hazy about the specifics of the film, but who could forget its hit cast of Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Anthony Edwards, and that short guy there. You know the one that lip-synched in his underwear in Risky Business. What the hell was his name? Just as impressive as the cast, was the movies soundtrack. It seems that back in the eighties movie soundtracks were always packed with hits. Maybe it was because when an artist did a song for a movie, they didn't release it on their own album too.
Okay, looking back a "Danger Zone" I do have to admit that it's really cheesy. Back then though, Kenny Loggins was the man. He was the coolest, bearded, middle-aged man with a leather bomber jacket in rock music. The pulsing synth intro sucks you in while the arena rock guitars illicit images of the jets taking off from an air craft carrier. The piercing guitar riff with have you mimicking along on air guitar. I didn't even realize that it was Cheap trick that sis the power-pop anthem "Mighty Wings". I think this one played during the closing credits. The high-energy, synth heavy, melodic track just sends you on an emotional high. The lost Kenny Loggins hit "Playing with the Boys" appeared during the volleyball scene I believe. This track is driven by percussion and Loggins powerful voice.
"Take My Breath Away", which was recently butchered by Jessica Simpson, was the quintessential love song of the mid-eighties. Sadly it turned a rather racy rock group into sappy balladeers; and alas, one-hit-wonders. Miami Sound Machine was just starting to break when the contributed "Hot Summer Nights". The sing is loaded with their trademark Latin rhythms and Gloria's smooth vocals. There's more than one sappy ballad on this soundtrack. Loverboy's "Heaven In Your Eyes" starts with a synth/vocal verse that concludes with a power chorus. An ominous church bell signals the beginning of the "Top Gun Anthem". Fuzzy guitars and an edgy guitar lick is laid down over pre-programmed drum tracks. A few years back they released a Special Extended Edition of the soundtrack that included five more songs from the movie; to include "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling.
The Verdict
Top knotch soundtrack with hits galore. Now where's my flight jacket?
Free Music Review: Does it get better
Hit: 5 Stars
It is tough to review this album because it is an absolute masterpiece. It's hard to describe the greatness of this. I will start by saying Teena Marie has never been better. I think many thought she peaked when she recorded "Sugar Walls", but nope, she is even more top shelf on this. I could go song by song on this, but I save a little genius for some other reviews. How did this soundtrack change my life and the lives of those around me? That's a great question that I'm going to answer.
One of my favorite things to do as a teenager was to play football. As with most other things, I was awesome at it. When people wanted me to grace their football game with my presence, I only asked one thing: That a boombox was present with the soundtrack to top gun playing during the entire game. Which song was playing would determine what route I ran as a receiver (my best position). If it was danger zone, I would tell the guy covering me that he was in the danger zone and then tell Goose to talk to me. I would then run a fly pattern with my arms out like a plane. I would make jet noises as I blew by my guy. I would always score a touchdown (as long as the kid playing qb could throw it that far) and I would tell the guy covering me that he got caught in my jetwash. Whenever "Playing with the boys" came on, I'd take off my shirt and pose while running hook patterns. It was a show for everyone. Needless to say there were always girls there. They started calling me Wyatt since we were playing the top gun soundtrack. I would always pick the hottest girl there (sometimes 2, hey now!) and we would walk home. I can't go into what happened next because things got kinda awesome.
You really need to buy this soundtrack because it will remind you of these stories. If you are reminded of these stories, maybe you will develop that confidence you've lacked to ask out that girl at the office. She's cute and she thinks you are alright, but until you run around with your arms out making jet noises, you are going to be spending Friday nights on your couch with average.
Free Music Review: Top Gun (THE SCORE) by Harold Faltermeyer
Hit: 5 Stars
Hello everyone. If you are interested in the music written for Top Gun by Harold Faltermeyer you may be able to find a copy of the Top Gun score.......notice I said "MAY BE ABLE TO FIND". As far as I know the original score was never officially released except as an EXTREMELY limited promotional CD (I know because I own a copy). The music is superb (non of that re-recorded junk) and features 11 unreleased tracks by Harold as well as 5 other songs from the film by various artists. Oh, and if you do manage to find a copy for sale, be prepared for a steep price tag! Here is a track listing from the CD:
TOP GUN (THE SCORE) Running Time: (49:40) *=Previously Unreleased
1. Top Gun Anthem (Film Version) (3:41)*
2. Opening Theme (2:39)*
3. Danger Zone - Kenny Loggins (3:36)
4. Mig-28s (1:42)*
5. Negative G Pushover/Cougar's Landing (3:22)*
6. Still Awake/Can't Sleep (2:05)*
7. Playing with the Boys - Kenny Loggins (3:59)
8. Take My Breath Away (Instrumental) (1:30)*
9. Whose Side Are You On/Never Again (3:32)*
10. Flat Spin (4:26)*
11. Goose's Death/Goodbye Goose (1:49)*
12. New Mission (2:27)*
13. Top Gun Anthem (4:13)
14. Mighty Wings - Cheap Trick (3:51)
15. Take My Breath Away - Berlin (4:15)
BONUS TRACK:
16. Great Balls of Fire Demo (2:29)*
I have added a couple photos of the CD (see above).I hope this list helps you out! Good luck!