Customer Reviews

Grace Of My Heart: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

...You won't find it on this CD as so many other reviewers have noted. You *can* get it on a CD called "Love Scene--Romantic Movie Music" that is available through Amazon and other chains. As far as I know that's the only place Kristen Vigard's version is in print. What were they thinking by not including both versions on the soundtrack? Regardless, the soundtrack is a good one, and my favorite tracks are "Boat on the Sea" and "Between Two Worlds." The film is great too--Illeana Douglas is fab!

This is by far my favorite movie soundtrack from the 1990s. The combination of songwriting, production, and performance all comes together to create an amazing album. Larry Klein truly captured the spirit of the Brill Building and the flavor of the productions of the '60s in a way that few others have been able to do.

Given that, this is a flawed soundtrack. My reasons for finding it flawed are much the same as the other reviewers here -- there is a lot of material from the movie that is missing from the CD. Kristen Vigard's version of "God Give Me Strength" is the most notable omission, and even though a recording of it can be found on another CD, it is shameful that the most important song of the movie was left off the CD. (On the other side of that, I'm thrilled by Elvis Costello's version, and I'm glad it was included.)

It seems that this soundtrack could be made perfect by issuing a new, 2-CD version of the soundtrack, including all the other music from the film -- most importantly BOTH film versions of "God Give Me Strength," the solo version and full orchestral version.

Even with the flaws, this is still a fantastic soundtrack. The tracks by For Real are especially good, sounding as close to a Motown or Phil Spector production as you could possibly get.

Those of you lamenting the shameful omission of the movie's version of "God Give Me Grace" from this soundtrack can now rejoice. The album "Heart Beats: Love Scene - Romantic Movie Music" not only includes "Denise's" version of this amazing and heartbreaking ballad, but it also has a few gems from other soundtracks, including a couple of one-hit wonders from the 90's that are harder to find. Hope this helps everyone who loves this soundtrack but miss the movie's centerpiece song. Personally, without the signature song, I wondered why a soundtrack was necessary at all.

I love this soundtrack. The songs were so exceptionally written for the movie. The lyrics and music were so well written to coincide with the era of the movie moving form the late 50's to the early 70's. I grew up on Motown and the sweet ballads of the 60's and 70's that it's hard to believe this music was written in the 90's just for the movie. Excellent job. I will cherish these sounds for a lifetime. i never tire of playing my CD.

I agree with the previous poster. I was disapointed to hear the "male" version of "God Give Me Strength". I was fully expecting the Ileana Douglas version. Other than that I really liked the soundtrack, especially "Boat on the Sea".

The music in this soundtrack transports you back perfectly to the 50s and 60s. Meaningful lyrics and lovely harmonies provide perfect musical backdrop for the film. The only glaring omission in the soundtrack is substituting Elvis Costello's version for the lovely rendition by Kristin Vigard of "God Give Me Strength" instead of including both. This singer has a unique style and tone all her own. Her rendering of this one song was enough to make me want to own the soundtrack. ALL the songs on this soundtrack were topnotch and worth the price of purchase.

It was a brilliant idea to have new artists and old Brill Building stars to collaborate on the songs for this movie--some of the songs seem as good (if not better) than some of the actual songs from the era. "God Give Me Strength," the Phil Spector-like power ballad, is the real star here (although like most fans of the movie I think it was insane the records' producers didn't include the actual kristen Vigard recording of the song from the movie as well as the Elvis Costello version on this disc), but there are many other treats: Miss Lily Banquette on the Lesley Gore song "My Secret Love," Vigard on "A Boat on the Sea" and Joni Mitchell's "Man from Mars," Juned on "Groovin' on You"--only the J Mascis songs (in imitation of the Beach Boys) aren't up to snuff.

It was a typical Friday night movie rental. "Grace of My Heart," a film that did not claim to be based on anyone in particular, but in fact was basically Carole King's life story (had she married The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson after divorcing Gerry Goffin). Happily, the film was poignant, heartbreaking, and uplifting (all in less than two hours!). And the music was amazing. I had the soundtrack within two weeks, and still listen to it every few weeks. You should too.

The featured song is a collaboration between Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach on "God Give Me Strength" (also available on their new CD). Although no ballad would run six minutes on Top 40 radio in 1965, Bacharach's arrangements and Costello's wistful vocals make the listener feel the hurt of a lost love to the absolute maximum. 1996 Top 40 radio criminally ignored this masterpiece.

The other songs evoke memories of the era as well. For Real contributes three songs, "I Do," "Born to Love That Boy," and "Unwanted Number," in the style of The Shirelles/Crystals/Ronettes, while J Mascis' two numbers, "Take a Run at the Sun" and "Don't You Think It's Time," evoke early- and middle-era Beach Boys, respectively.

Veteran songwriters of the era contribute to the project. While Carole King wasn't involved, her ex-husband cowrote three songs (one with their daughter Louise). Music Director Larry Klein cowrote six songs, and David Baerwald had a hand in three. Carole Bayer Sager and ex-Eurhythmics head David A. Stewart penned "I Do," "Unwanted Number" was written by Elvis Costello, and Joni Mitchell contributed "Man From Mars." Vocally, the big find is Kristen Vigard, who I believe was once slated to be Broadway's Annie before she was replaced by Andrea McArdle. 20 years later, her version of the film's and CD's closer, "A Boat on the Sea," brings a note of hope to the viewer and listener.

This is a soundtrack anyone who sees this movie must have, as well as anyone with an interest in '60s music.

I have to agree the missing Kristen Vigard rendition was a GREAT disappointment for me. I am really tired of Hollywood releasing soundtracks for movies that don't have the songs on the disc the way they were in the film. Why would I want to hear anything other than what I heard at the cinema? This will not help me relive any good/great moments of a film if the soundtrack sounds nothing like my experience. I would like to somehow be transported back to the moment when I say, cried, laughed, or was reminded of a loved one. If I wanted to hear a different version or was so impressed with the material, I would inquire to the composer and their works, wouldn't I? Hopefully they would be published or soon to be, no?

There were two releases of this CD--this first time around (MCAD-11510), MCA accidentally released it with Joni Mitchell singing Track #7 "Man From Mars" (possibly a demo recording) instead of Kristen Vigard who is listed as the singer on the jacket. The CD was subsequently re-released with Kristen Vigard singing "Man From Mars" (MCAD-11554). I am not a fan of this CD (not thrilled with most of the material), but it is an interesting find for those who want an unbilled Joni Mitchell performance of her own song--if you are looking for that, you want MCAD-11510 (read the small print on the jacket to make sure).