Customer Reviews

Pirate Radio

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a good CD, but could have been a great CD. The movie in the U.S. was called, "Pirate Radio." The same movie in the UK was called, "The Boat That Rocked.". Both have CD Soundtracks. The differences are that:

The U.S. Version has 32 Songs. The UK Import Version has 36 Songs. The 4 terrific songs that are missing from the U.S. Version are:

a. Tommy James & the Shondells - Crimson & Clover
b. The Box Tops - The Letter
c. Skeeter Davis - The End of the World
d. The McCoys - Hang on Sloopy

Other Issues That You Might Want to be Aware of:

1. The song "98.6" by the Bystanders is NOT the Original Hit Version that was played on the radio in the U.S. The Original Hit Version was done by an artist called, "Keith" and peaked at #7 in 1967 on the Billboard Pop Chart. The soundtrack version of this song by "The Bystanders" was never on the U.S. charts.

2. The song "Judy in Disguise" by John Fred & His Playboy Band is NOT the Original Hit Version that was played on the radio in the U.S. and peaked at #1 on the Billboard Pop Chart in 1968. It is a RE-RECORDING by the same artist. As of 6/29/10, the Original Hit Version is NOT available for download at the Amazon mp3 store. (If you listen to the 30 second samples, you will know these are Re-Recordings). However, the Original Hit Version is available at the iTunes Store. (Always listen to the 30 second samples before you purchase! Record Companies make a lot of money off of incorrect purchases that we consumers didn't want because we didn't listen to the 30 second samples first!)

3. "Stay With Me Baby" by Duffy did NOT chart in the U.S. "Stay With Me (Baby)" by Lorraine Ellison (NOTE: These are two different songs) peaked at #64 in 1966 on the Billboard Pop Chart. These might be unfamiliar songs to some people.

4. Other songs on here that did NOT chart in the U.S. are "Hi Ho Silver Lining" by Jeff Beck and "I've Been a Bad Bad Boy" by Paul Jones. Again, these might be unfamiliar songs to some people.

5. All other songs on this Soundtrack (which is most songs) are the Original Hit Versions by the Original Artists!

I hope this was a helpful review.

Thank you.

I saw the movie last night. The movie was hillarious. I have never laughed out load that much at any movie in my life(and I'm 65) The music was played very loudly in the theatre but it had to be played loudly because it is bloody rock and roll. Soundtracks never really captoure the essence of the cinema but ,Hell, tis sountrack has much of the great music. Missing from both the movie and the soundtrack was a young Brit band that may have been pretty good called the BEATLES. What's up did Michael Jackson not get enough cash for the clearance? What a rat bastard! How could the Beatles be missing from a history of Limy music from 1966? It's at the very beginning of the movie they were mentiond in print when the movie was stating the rock and roll that was polluting the UK's air waves,Great, great music. I bought the MP3 download. It's terrific.

GREAT movie. Great music. So-so CD. Lots of the good music from the movie is missing; lots of lesser efforts stuffed in here instead. (I mean, c'mon--the Troggs are on here, and they sing "With a Girl Like You"???) No Stones, No Beatles. Two versions of "Stay with Me Baby" when the Lorraine Ellison one was all we needed. The CD's not bad--just a bit disappointing.

Ever since George Lucas built American Graffitti around its ever-present soundtrack, filmmakers have used vintage music as a shorthand to quickly evoke a specific period. In this film's fictionalized version of 1960s UK pirate radio, the nostalgic selections are in many ways the central character. Driven by monopolistic, government controlled radio's narrowness, daring entrepreneurs anchored ships outside territorial waters where they could beam their signals back to the Emerald Isles. Those radio waves were stocked with fresh, daring new artists that the BBC wouldn't touch. Forty years later, the music on this 2-CD, 32-track collection may seem quaint and familiar, but it caused quite a stir at the time.

While the Beatles-led British Invasion suggests that musical travel was all in one direction, the heavy dose of U.S. rock and soul sides heard here suggests otherwise. There are many U.K. flag bearers among the pirate radio favorites, including the Kinks, Who, Troggs, Hollies, Tremeloes, Procol Harum and Moody Blues, but also a rip tide of U.S. acts whose impact returned the favor, including the Turtles, Beach Boys, Martha and the Vandellas, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, and Otis Redding. Star acts like the Rolling Stones are missing (no doubt due to licensing cost), but more importantly are the lesser known British acts that gave pirate radio its local flavor. The one nod in this direction is the Bystanders' version of "98.6," which shadowed the bigger international hit by Keith on the UK charts.

British favorites like Sandie Shaw, the Pretty Things, Small Faces and Ivy League, and dozens of other acts that never made a big dent in the American charts would have given this set a deeper feel for the pirate radio charts. The stations' breadth is suggested in Herb Alpert's "This Guy's in Love With You," but even that doesn't capture the freedom of a station like Radio Caroline that used Jimmy McGriff's version of "Round Midnight" as its theme song. The lead-off cover of "Stay With Me Baby" by the throwback vocalist Duffy seems to be an attempt to draw attention to an album of 45-year-old music, but with Lorraine Ellison's searing period original also included, the flavor-of-the-month cover is superfluous.

The track selections stay too close to the mainstream to really demonstrate pirate radio's unique contribution to the airwaves. The lack of radio continuity - jingles and DJs - further obscures the actual sound of the pirates. There are moments of musical discovery here, such as Chris Andrews' ska-influenced "Yesterday Man," Jr. Walker and the All Stars' dark instrumental "Cleo's Mood," and aforementioned tracks by the Bystanders and Lorraine Ellison, but the core tracks are well-worn totems of mid-60s rock and soul. For U.S. audiences, these songs American top-40 hits, so while they're great listening, they don't really say anything particular about UK pirate radio of the 1960s.

If you enjoyed the songs in the movie, and you don't already have a deep collection of `60s classics, you'll like this soundtrack. If you want to hear a broader, more Eurocentric range of pirate radio music, get a copy of 101 Pirate Radio Favorites, Rockin' With the Pirates, or We Love the Pirates. Or better yet, create your own compilation from the vintage playlists on Caroline and London's websites and add some continuity from the CD Pirate Radio Jingles Sixties. 3-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

I am just ordering this CD, so can't yet comment on its sound quality. I did a comparison of track listings from the "Pirate Radio" soundtrack and the import "The Boat That Rocked" soundtrack. They are nearly identical, but "The Boat That Rocked" includes three tracks that seem to be missing from "Pirate Radio". They are

"Crimson and Clover" - Tommy James
"Letter" - Boxtops
"End of the World" - Skeeter Davis

A shame that these 3 were left off the US version, but probably not enough to justify the $20 price difference of the import.

looking at the list of old war horses that make up this soundtrack; who the blank are the bystanders?
"98.6" was originally performed by a chap named KEITH.
"stay with me" was originally done by "ROD STEWART AND THE FACES."
everything else appears accurate.

btw, it's nearly impossible to get releases for the BEATLES and the STONES for either soundtrack cd's or anthology cd's.it happens very rarely; greed you know.

I purchased this after seeing the movie in theater's. It actually had some tracks on it that I didn't already have in my collection and they sound so perfect together. Great mixes from the movie, my only complaint is that the movie supposedly took place in 66 and some of the songs were written three years later - but that is for the movie review! All in all - a great buy ;) Doesn't look like the DVD will be released in the US anytime soon, I had to buy the UK Blu-Ray version which is called "The Boat that Rocks". Same movie different title - go figure.

I loved the movie and the music in it, this album was a little disappointing. Not enough of the great music from the movie made it on to these disks and too much filler did. I like Bowie but what's his 1980s dance song doing here?

Good tunes from a fun movie. But it seems to be missing a couple of the major best tunes from the movie.

Fans of rock'n'roll rejoice: this movie is a rollicking celebration of the music of the 60's that will rekindle your passion for this great genre of popular music. It is also a well-deserved tribute to the pioneer radio dj's that broadcast the music from "pirate radio" stations off the shores of the UK. Very funny, well written and acted, fantastic soundtrack: you're gonna love it.

And don't forget to watch the deletes scenes in the bonus features section of the DVD: they are awesome as well. Ckeck out "the meaning of life" and let it all out.