Xanadu
MCA - MCA
Release date: 1998-09-08
Audio CD
Adult Contemporary, Album Rock, Fantasy, Film Music, Musical, Musicals, Pop, Pop/Rock, Prog-Rock/Art Rock, Romance, Soft Rock, Soundtrack, Soundtracks, Soundtracks & Film Scores, Soundtracks & Scores
1. Magic - Farrar, John
2. Suddenly - Farrar, John
3. Dancin' Round and Round - Farrar, John
4. Suspended in Time - Farrar, John
5. Whenever You're Away from Me - Farrar, John
6. I'm Alive - Lynne, Jeff
7. The Fall - Lynne, Jeff
8. Don't Walk Away - Lynne, Jeff
9. All Over the World - Lynne, Jeff
10. Xanadu - Lynne, Jeff
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Xanadu
Date undefinedHad this album on Vinyl LP for years till it broke. Was excited to find it on CD! This is a great album, and ELO is awesome! I Missed these songs!
Xanadu
Date undefinedI never even heard of Xanadu before my wife told me about it. She forced me to watch it and quite frankly it's a great movie. I ended up loving the sound track as well. I would recommend this if your a fan of the movie.
Xanadu
Date undefinedMusic: 5 stars; Album sequencing: 4 stars
This movie soundtrack was originally released in 1980, presenting the improbable mix of songs of Olivia Newton-John (penned by John Farrar) and Electric Light Orchestra (penned by Jeff Lynne) in a truly terrible movie, but the music was first rate, with both Olivia and ELO at their peak.
You have to imagine "Xanadu" (10 tracks; 42 min.) as the original vinyl album, with an A and a B side. On the A side are the John Ferrar-penned Olivia-sung tunes, with mega-hit "Magic" kicking things off. "Suddenly" is a fantastic ballad, featuring Olivia in a duet with then superstar Cliff Richard. "Dancing" is the only tune on here that doesn't captivate me (although it plays an important role in the movie). "Suddenly" is another beautiful ballad" and "Whenever You're Away From Me" is a great duet between Olivia and Gene Kelly (in his last movie role). Side B brings 5 outstanding ELO tunes, including "I'm Alive", "The Fall" (one of the better tunes from Jeff Lynne ever), the ballad "Don't Walk Away", the semi-hit "All Over the World", and the closer and title track (and mega-hit), with Olivia on vocals.
What always bothered me was that the songs on this soundtrack were completely out of sync, and didn't present the story line of the movie. Well, that has been corrected, now that "Xanadu", 27 years later, has been brought to Broadway, as improbable as it is. I saw the show in New York last month, and it is fabulous. Even better, the Broadway soundtrack presents the songs in their natural flow, mixing up the songs from the A and B side, as they should have all along. But despite this flaw on the original 1980 soundtrack, let there be no mistake, the music here is first rate. I've always thought of this soundtrack as a musical guilty pleasure, but when it stands the test of time, now 28 years later, is that really just a guilty pleasure?
