| Great soundtrack.... but missing some music |
La Bamba (1987.) The soundtrack to the Ritchie Valens biopic of the same name.
INTRODUCTION:
In 1987, the film La Bamba, based on the life and times of fifties pop-rock star Ritchie Valens, was released. The film cast Lou Diamond Phillips as the classic musician, and told his story, from his rise to fame, right down to his young and tragic death. For the film, Los Lobos, a fairly popular act of the day, was asked to rerecord classic Valens material for the movie. Some other moderately popular musicians who portrayed other musicians of the same era depicted in the film also provided recordings for the film. So, how is the soundtrack? Read on, and find out!
OVERVIEW:
The La Bamba soundtrack was released in 1987, around the same time as the film of the same name. Contributors to the soundtrack include Los Lobos, Howard Huntsberry, Marshall Crenshaw, Brian Setzer, and Bo Diddley. The A-Side of the soundtrack sonsists of the Los Lobos covers of the Ritchie Valens songs La Bamba, Come On Lets Go, Ooh My Head, We Belong Together, Framed, and Donna. The B-Side consists of the other artists' covers, which include Howard Huntsberry's cover of Jackie Wilson's Lonely Teardrops, Marshall Crenshaw's cover of Buddy Holly's Crying Waiting Hoping, Brian Setzer's cover of Eddie Cochran's Summertime Blues, Bo Diddley's remake of his own classic tune Who Do You Love, and the two songs Los Lobos recorded for the film, Charlena and Goodnight My Love.
REVIEW:
Awesome movie, awesome soundtrack. I'm a huge fan of the music of Ritchie Valens, and for the most part, La Bamba proved to be an efficient and entertaining retelling of the Valens saga. Aside from some omitted material (which I'll get to later), the soundtrack is every bit as good as the film it represents. Read on for my reviews of the tracks.
-SIDE A-
-La Bamba by Los Lobos: Los Lobos covers the track that took Ritchie Valens to the top of the musical world. Being a folk song, no one ever thought a rock and roll version would do well - Valens proved the non-believers wrong! Los Lobos does a great cover of it, too. The band actually did two versions of the song for the movie - a rendition of the slower, folksier version by the bar band that convinced Valens to cover the song himself, as well as the classic version Valens did. This is the classic Valens version. I wish they had included both versions of the soundtrack, though (although an instrumental sequence near the end of this version DOES reprise elements of the folk-type version. Still, I wanted BOTH versions as complete, separate tracks!)
-Come On Lets Go by Los Lobos: This classic rockabilly-style cut was another huge hit for Ritchie Valens. Los Lobos creates a fine rendition of the classic cut, staying true to the Valens original while at the same time adding their own spin onto things. All in all, another great song.
-Ooh My Head by Los Lobos: Not much to say about this one. Once again, Los Lobos manages to create an excellent version of one of the many classic Valens tunes people know and love him for. Every song on this soundtrack is excellent, and this one is no exception.
-We Belong Together by Los Lobos: Ah, the classic Valens love song. Although its success was pretty much ousted by the better known ballad Donna, this one was still a fairly notable hit for Valens. The Los Lobos take on the ballad is a damn good one - but I shouldn't have to tell you that, now should I?
-Framed by Los Lobos: Of all of the Ritchie Valens song that Los Lobos revisited in La Bamba, this one is the least well known. That's a shame, because it's a great song! The song takes a classic blues styling, and puts a rockabilly spin on it. Once again, Los Lobos does a marvelous cover version of the song.
-Donna by Los Lobos: This song was so big a hit for Ritchie Valens initially, that his only song even on the same plane of popularity is La Bamba. The classic ode Valens wrote to his high school girlfriend proved to be the stuff that has withstood the test of time. And I know you're probably getting tired of me saying this for every song, but Los Lobos really does a good job on here.
-SIDE B-
-Lonely Teardrops by Howard Huntsberry: In La Bamba, Howard Huntsberry portrayed the classic soul singer Jackie Wilson. And here, Huntsberry reprises Wilson's signature tune. This is classic soul at its very best. Prior to seeing La Bamba, I had never even heard of Huntsberry. But the real shocker is that I ended up liking this version of the song more than the original! Definitely a solid, underrated cut.
-Crying Waiting Hoping by Marshall Crenshaw: Marshall Crenshaw, a fairly popular eighties pop signer, managed to land the role of Buddy Holly in La Bamba. Holly, of course, was killed in the same plane crash that claimed the life of Ritchie Valens. Buddy Holly is a tough guy to cover, but Marshall Crenshaw does a damn good job of it. I personally prefer this version over Holly's original (and that's saying a lot since I LOVE Buddy Holly!) If you're interested in hearing Crenshaw cover another Holly tune, check out the remastered version of his 1982 self-titled debut - he covers Rave On on there as a bonus track.
-Summertime Blues by Brian Setzer: Long before Brian Setzer gained any real fame, he played Eddie Cochran in La Bamba, covering the song that made that man a rockabilly legend. Here's another one of those covers that is so good, I like it more than the original. Definitely worthwhile listening - but then again, isn't every song on here?
-Who Do You Love by Bo Diddley: Bo Diddley himself did this song originally so very long ago, and was asked to rerecord it for La Bamba. He did, and the end results are solid. Diddley is a legend of the blues, and this recording is just a small sample of why so many people feel that way. It just a shame that the version of this song most people remember is the George Thorogood one, because Diddley's version is the song the way it was meant to be heard.
-Charlena by Los Lobos: In addition to the Ritchie Valens covers, Los Lobos recorded two other songs for the La Bamba soundtrack. This is the first of the two. Essentially, this here is a neo-rockabilly track of sorts, and a damn good one too.
-Goodnight My Love by Los Lobos: Here's the second of the non-Valens Los Lobos songs done for the soundtrack. What we have here is one of those classic fifties-style rock ballads that were so popular back then. If you're into that sort of thing, you're going to love this song - I know I do!
-OTHER COMMENTS-
Omissions are the biggest problem with this soundtrack, by far. As I previously stated, only one version of La Bamba is on here - not both versions from the film. Another omission is Sleepwalk, the classic Santo And Johnny instrumental that shows up frequently in the film. Its omission is likely due to the fact that it wasn't recorded just for the film, but still, I miss it. And then there's the issue of Rip It Up, the classic Ritchie Valens rockabilly tune he first plays with his band in their garage, early on in the film. This was one of my favorite songs in the film, and I was devastated not to see it on here. And where's the Big Bopper's Chantilly Lace? I rated this soundtrack four stars instead of five because of omissions. If these songs had been on here, it would be five stars all the way.
OVERALL:
Overall, despite my issues with the omitted songs, I am very satisfied with the La Bamba soundtrack. Much like the movie, it's an excellent experience all the way through. If you liked the movie, or you're just into this sort of music, the soundtrack is well worth owning. Highly recommended!
EDITION NOTES:
This soundtrack is becoming increasingly more difficult to find on compact disc, implying it may be very gradually going out of print. Take my advice - if you want it, just buy it online. It's the fastest, easiest way to get it. |
4 Rating
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