Pros: Nice, well rounded collection of tracks, movie snippets.
Cons: Some songs that just don't made the grade.
The Bottom Line: If you were a fan of the film, this is a great soundtrack to pick up. A nice way to boost your library and "ooga chaka" your heart out.
Freak369's Full Review: Reservoir Dogs by Original Soundtrack
Few films can boast a powerful soundtrack. Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Dazed and Confused, Clerks and Singles are the ones that are at the top of my list. While a film is only as strong as it’s script and the ability of the actors – this freak firmly believes that without a supportive musical backbone a film is merely creatively arranged celluloid.
It's become almost a rite of passage to include little snippets from the film between songs. Some are key lines from the film and others are ones that tie in directly with the upcoming track. Reservoir Dogs utilizes Steven Wright’s monotone voice to not rob any glory from the unique collection of songs. Mixed in for variety are some of the more popular lines from the film including the infamous Madonna Speech and Let's Get A Taco featuring Harvey Keitel's advice to an up and coming thief.
The variety of the tracks on the Reservoir Dogs Soundtrack is what gives it mass appeal. I won't go so far as to say that there everyone will fall in love with this release, but these songs are classics. Songs that inspired memories and have stood the musical test of time. I can say in all certain honesty that if it weren’t for this soundtrack I would have never been exposed to some of these artists.
The Tracks
Little Green Bag 3:15
George Baker Selection
One of the more popular songs from The George Baker Selection, this was the perfect track to kick off the musical portion of the CD. I'd only heard a handful of songs from the group but after getting hooked on this song I invested in the Golden Classics Edition that showcases the best of the best. The mix of the beat, bass and background music makes this a first class piece but the slightly unorthodox style of the vocals is what really sets this in a class all its own. I highly suggest that you listen to this with headphones to get the full flavor.
Outside in the night, outside in the day
Lookin' back on the track gonna do it my way
Hooked On A Feelin’ 2:53
Blue Swede
This is one of ‘those’ songs – you know – the kind that makes you want to cabbage patch your way around the room regardless of who is there. After listening to this song for years and being mocked for it my children have now taken to singing the chorus with me [as long as we are alone]. Parental bliss can be achieved when your offspring echo the phrase ooga ooga ooga chaka over and over again. Regardless of how you sing it, this song is the hallmark of the quaalude popping, coke snorting, bell bottom wearing generation.
Lips are sweet as candy, the taste stays on my mind
Girl, you keep me thirsty for another cup of wine
I Gotcha 2:27
Joe Tex
Echoing a severe James Brown influence, this is a song that might need to grow on you. For me, this was an instant fast track until one day when the remote control took a little vacation. After the first 45 seconds I realized exactly what I had been missing. With a nice mix of funk this song deserves at least one listen before you pass judgment. If old school funk is your bag then this song should set you on fire.
You saw me and ran in another direction
I'll teach you to play with my affection
Magic Carpet Ride 5:11
Bedlam
Not being a fan of the signature sound of the sixties [hippie, granola type music], I wasn’t expecting to like this cover of the classic since the original version did nothing for me to begin with. While it’s nothing earth shattering, it was nice not to hear the original version since I get an overdose of that every night with the Time Life / K-Tel collections that get pimped in infomercials. This version by Bedlam retains the feel of the original track but kicks it up a little and improved the beat. Ripped to shreds by critics for having the audacity to even attempt to cover such a revered song, the bedlam version never stood a chance in the eye of classic rock purists.
Why don't you tell your dreams to me
Fantasy will set you free
You don't know what we could find
Why don't you come with me little girl
On a magic carpet ride
Fool For Love 3:26
Sandy Rogers
Country songs generally don’t make their way into my household, but this one snuck in. Reminding me of something that Sissy Spacek might sing in Coal Miners Daughter it starts out with a heavy country twang then mellows out by the second verse. Telling the story of lost love [like most country songs], this one could easily be labeled as the oddball track of the line up. Even so, as much as I hate to admit it, it has grown on me. No, I won’t be sporting cowboy boots and fringed demin skirts any time in the near future because of this song, but it is pretty cool.
Last time I saw him alive
He was standin' up on the bride's side
Yelling his objections at the groom
The blushing bride was my best friend
Stuck In The Middle With You 3:23
Stealers Wheel
If you are going to do any type of seventies compilation, you need to get your head smacked if this isn’t included. With a catchy guitar piece repeated through the track, this song is a piece of musical history. While there isn’t much meat on the lyrical bone, this song has an original [for the time] beat that kept it on the charts for fourteen weeks. I’ve been in many a debate with ‘youngsters’ that feel the need to argue with me – claiming that this a Bob Dylan track. That usually leads to a half hour education about Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty. Youngsters… If you need a mid day pick me up – skip the double cappuccino and throw this in the CD player.
Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you.
Harvest Moon 2:39
Bedlam
A cover version that was ripped to shreds by critics. For me, this was a mellow song, not something that I would rush to play first, but it has an old school Bruce Springsteen feel to it. For me, this track doesn’t really do anything for me. Don’t hate it… but certainly don’t love it. If I had to chop one track off this CD, I’m afraid this would have to be it.
I hear the night train every evening
Maybe change is coming soon
With the harvest moon
Coconut 3:51
Harry Nilsson
This is the type of song that you hear once and it follows you everywhere you go. Rather pointless but nonetheless entertaining, this reminds me of one of those Jimmy Buffett songs that you get sucked into singing Friday night at some hole in the wall happy hour party with co-workers you really don’t like.
You put the lime in the coconut, drink them both up
You put the lime in the coconut, drink them both up
You put the lime in the coconut, drink them both up
[annoying isn’t it?]
The Bottom Line
If you were a fan of the film, then this is a CD you might seriously want to consider adding to your collection. Ignore the fact that it’s a little over 30 minutes in length and look at the overall selections. The songs on this soundtrack were excellent picks to reflect the movement of the film and offer the ‘non-fan’ of the film a way to get some of the best songs from this era on one CD. If for nothing else, this is a great CD to have in your collection for annoying guests that refuse to leave a party, gathering or event. Simply slip this into the CD player and see them bolt out the door when Hooked On A Feelin’ starts up.
The wide variety of tracks is what makes this CD a must have in an audiophiles collection. The snippets from the film between some of the tracks also adds to the overall appeal. Steven Wright's monotone introductions of the tracks makes the entire release feel more like a Sunday afternoon radio broadcast than a stuffy soundtrack. I’d like to give this two thumbs up but some of the more annoying songs make it impossible. Instead, it gets one and a half thumbs up - you can blame the damn Coconut song for the heavy deduction.
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