Recently Heard: Streets of Fire

[ellyssian]

Streets Of Fire: A Rock & Roll Fable (1984 Film Soundtrack)

You know, there's just something about Jim Steinman's music. It doesn't matter if his name's only in fine print under the name of the guy who sings lead, sort of like this: "Songs by Jim Steinman" appearing like a bat out hell under the immense and weighty name of a dinner meat. Mix. Thing. It's more than that - his style is identifiable even if all you have to go off of is "Fire, Inc." Slow the credits down, though, once DVDs are invented, and you can clearly read the fine print and see where the song came from.

Of course, it's often easier to just listen to the tune. That didn't help me when I first watched Streets of Fire: A Rock & Roll Fable, as I hadn't been overly interested in my first exposure to Jim's tunes, although that other album grew on me over time. The songs in Streets of Fire caught me right off the bat: the whole attitude, most extremely 80's, but with huge doses of a fantasy 50's or 60's blended in, and the two Steinman songs were the biggest draw. I can recall back in the day, my brother and I trying to figure out who this Fire, Inc. be, knowing it was likely just a band name cobbled together for the film. Certainly, we knew Diane Lane most likely didn't take the lead vocals. Actually, I'm not even sure if we could discern the credits on HBO - that might have waited until the fuzzy pause on the VCR came into being. And then, unfortunately recently, I began to put 2 and 2 together, and suddenly I was picking Jim Steinman songs in non-Loafy places.

The soundtrack has some other great tunes on it. Although I recognized the Dan Hartman tune and Countdown to Love for what they represented in the film, I often resented the fact that MTV spent all its cycles on Dream About You instead of the Steinman tunes. I appreciate them a lot more now, ditto for the Ry Cooder tune and the two Blasters tunes. Always kind of liked the Fixx tune, which stands as a shining example of 80's (over?)production, even as it remains a strong tune to this day.

As with another Michael Paré film of the era - Eddie and the Cruisers - and several others, such as The Lost Boys, Streets of Fire is a movie that is intertwined deeply with its soundtrack, yet the soundtrack stands on its own as an excellent album to listen to. Often a song used in a film is only strong through its association with the imagery, and, perhaps more often, a scene in a film is only held aloft because of the music behind it, but these three - and, from the 90's, The Crow comes to mind - exert their power of association in both directions, each medium capable of wooing and winning its own fan base.

Comments

[jenk]

I love that album too, and not just because of the killer Roy Bittan/Max Weinberg work on the Steinman tunes. (Though who doesn't love Roy's piano?) I also like Stevie Nicks' song Sorcerer.

[pecosdave.livejournal.com]

I'll be honest with you, I hadn't done the research to find out what else Jim Steinman has done. I knew he was the writer behind Meatloaf, but I knew nothing for his work otherwise. I am BTW a Meatloaf fan.

[tewok.livejournal.com]

I'm also a big fan of that album and Steinman. I've gotten a few of his albums ("Bad for Good", "Original Sin") and it's interesting to hear how some of the sons have mutated over the years.

[ellyssian.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I thought about mentioning Stevie's tune - I love her stuff, but for some reason that's one of the weakest songs on the disc. That says more for what I think of the other material, because it's a great song by any other standards.

[ellyssian.livejournal.com]

You might want to give some of his other stuff a look-see (or, maybe, a listen might be a better idea). You can always check out the ever-accurate Wikipedia! =)

[ellyssian.livejournal.com]

When you had mentioned "Bad for Good" over on TH, I meant to put it on my wishlist over at Amazon.com, and I finally got around to doing so. Tossed "Original Sin" on there as well.

Speaking of good stuff to listen to and reviews thereof, I still have to get something written about a certain foolish album... (I was going to say "something posted", but, while I'm a bit behind on posting ones I've written, I'm further behind on writing them... the "Recently Heard" in the title currently refers to December or January... =)

[phantom_wolfboy]

Great set of soundtracks, there. Streets of Fire, Lost Boys, Eddie and the Cruisers, and none of them are bad movies, either.

[ellyssian.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Watched 'em on HBO, got 'em on VCR tape, and I've got them all on DVD. I posted that top 100 movie list recently; those are three that would be on my own top 100 list. So much extra meaning packed into those films, just based on when I first saw them.

[patrixa.livejournal.com]

Your Dad and I saw all 3 in the theater as well as on TV. Who'd have thunk we'd do that, given the kind of music your Dad generally went for.

Never got the SoF sound track, but had both the others...then they got "lost"! Wonder where? OK, Lost Boys was returned. But I've not seen Eddie and the Cruisers since it "walked" away. I don't recall if it was you or your brother who borrowed it.

[ellyssian.livejournal.com]

Not me, because I picked up my own copy.

Actually, come to think of it, I've bought two copies of the Lost Boys soundtrack on CD over the years, although I've only got one now. And I think, maybe, I had one on tape.

I know I used to have Eddie and the Cruisers on cassette tape. Think I gave it to you when I got it in disc.

[patrixa.livejournal.com]

Well, I haven't any tapes anymore because I haven't any tape players! But I do have a very good cd player ...hint, hint --I've a birthday coming up, too, ...hint, hint.

[tewok.livejournal.com]

Sorry for the late response -- off at Common Ground for the past two weeks.

I think "Original Sin" is the better album, but I can't tell 'cause I can't find my copy. I know it's here somewhere, I just don't know where.



I'd certainly appreciate it if you do get around to reviewing Gorach. (And I'll hope it's a good review.) If you do, I'd appreciate it if you could let me know when you've done it. I'll be away in Scotland for a few weeks starting Thursday, and won't have net access.

[ellyssian.livejournal.com]

Hopefully I'll have it done before you get back! (And it will be - it's good stuff!)

[tewok.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I think it's good, but I may be biased...

But integrity is best, so don't hold back 'cause we're friends. (Not like I need to tell you that, but this is more of an acknowledgment of it.)

Hey, I've got another blues recommendation I'll be posting soon.