Wang Chung - To Live And Die In L.A. (1985)

From William Friedkin, director of the movie, in the CD liner notes:

It will come as no surprise to anyone who has listened to Points On The Curve that Jack Hues and Nick Feldman are two of the most innovative musicians around. It might also come as no surprise to listeners of their music that while their sound is contemporary, their musical orientation is classical... Strauss, Wagner, Schoenberg, Stravinsky.

Their work stands out for me from the rest of contemporary music, which is why I asked them to create an original score for the film To Live And Die In L.A.. What they finally recorded has not only enhanced the film - it has given it a deeper, more powerful dimension.

While mixing the soundtrack I was struck by the inseparable flow of one musical piece into another. Listening to the album, just now I discovered, to my surprise, that each track also stands out on its own - and delivers its own statement. For me this is not only an exciting film score, but a fine album of modern music.

While I agree with Bill to a point, there are a few skippable tracks on this disc, particularly ones without lyrics to add interest. Overall, however, I think it's a solid album and one I heard quite a bit in late '85/early '86.

For more on Wang Chung's film scoring process (taken from the September 21, 1985 issue of CashBox), click here. As someone who once aspired to score film soundtracks, lemme tell ya - it ain't easy and Leonard Bernstein will tell us why:

it is a musically unsatisfactory experience for a composer to write a score whose chief merit ought to be its unobtrusiveness. It has often been said that the best dramatic background music for a motion picture is that which is not heard.

In other words, soundtracks shouldn't simply be pop/rock music without vocals (that's for karaoke). But soundtracks in the mid-'80s were all about $ales and that meant lots of current bands producing hits (see Footloose, Top Gun, Pretty In Pink, Beverly Hills Cop, Flashdance, The Breakfast Club, etc.). This soundtrack album tries to bridge the two paradigms, sometimes succeeding, sometimes not.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #85
• CashBox: #109

Tracks: The LP was sequenced with vocal tracks on side one, instrumentals on side two. The best three tracks are on side one: the title track (#41 pop, #21 rock), Wake Up Stop Dreaming, and Wait (which was directly lifted from Points On The Curve). The remaining vocal track, Lullaby, suffers from a weak, pseudo-reggae arrangement, but the bridge is outstanding. Of the instrumentals, the most successful track is City Of The Angels; the least successful track is The Red Stare.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I've tried to watch the movie once or twice but never finished it, so I won't get into film reviews here. [Update 4/2/2023: finished it. I give it a 3/10. Some great photography, but hampered by poor writing, editing, and acting.] I'm not sure which of my friends owned this soundtrack LP but someone must have because I recorded it on one side of a C-90 cassette with INXS' Listen Like Thieves on the other (not sure where I got that album, either, but it was most likely from the same person).

In February 1986, while I was away for my sophomore year at college, my parents (now empty-nesters) moved to San Antonio. Like many people, they rented an apartment in their new city until more permanent living quarters could be acquired. So when I went to visit over spring break in March, it was an adventure: new living arrangement, new city, new people, etc. Even though the apartment complex was marketed to an older clientele, it did have a swimming pool (below). When the weather was nice during my visit, I hung out by the pool to get some "color."

Apartment swimming pool as it appeared earlier this week.
I remember it being cleaner 34 years ago, but it's oak pollen season.

What's the pool got to do with anything? For some reason, whenever I think of that dubbed cassette or either album that was on it, I am immediately transported back to this pool and March 1986 - the tape must have soundtrack all my visits there that week.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Points On The Curve (1983)