Note: this is the original release, not the 2002 collector's edition.
I'm not sure if he can still do it, but back in the '90s Quentin Tarantino knew how to put together a soundtrack. If you can get past the self-serving habit Tarantino had of including snippets of dialogue on soundtrack albums, the music here is first-rate. Not that the dialogue is bad (I don't think it's as good as Tarantino thinks it is, though), but that's not why I buy a CD. If I wanted to hear dialogue, I'd buy the DVD (and, yes, I have this movie on DVD). This isn't something thrown by popular artists to make money and it's not simply a souvenir from the film. It's a fantastic compilation album. Almost single-handedly, Tarantino revived the surf music market. The only downside is the short length. If you take away the dialogue, there's only about 35 minutes worth of music on the CD.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #21
Tracks: It doesn't get any better than Jungle Boogie by Kool & The Gang followed by Al Green singing Let's Stay Together. The surf music (Dick Dale, The Tornadoes, The Centurians, The Revels, and The Lively Ones) is fun because I don't have any of it on other CDs. The other highlight is Dusty Springfield singing Son Of A Preacher Man taken from her classic Dusty In Memphis album. I guess I should use that song as my ringtone. A lot of reviews make a fuss about Urge Overkill's cover of the Neil Diamond song Girl You'll Be A Woman Soon, but I don't think it's a good enough song to warrant a cover, much less inclusion in the movie. That song, along with the Maria McKee song, are the low-points of the album.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: When my sons were very little, we used to crank up Jungle Boogie and dance like fools in the living room.
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