Some Kind Of Wonderful: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack [Soundtrack]

Various Artists (Composer), Stephen Hague (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: February 27, 1987
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B000002O58
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,061 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

While most '80s soundtracks offer collections of radio-friendly hits from haircut bands, the Some Kind of Wonderful soundtrack features quirky non-hits from bands like the Jesus & Mary Chain, Flesh for Lulu, and the Apartments. This delightfully non-mainstream soundtrack features Stephen Duffy's "Lonesome," the March Violets' unforgettable cover of the Rolling Stones' "Miss Amanda Jones," and Pete Shelley's "Do Anything." The highlight of the CD is unquestionably Lick the Tins' gravel-voiced, tin-whistle-driven cover of "Can't Help Falling in Love." Just listening to this CD can throw you into a John Hughes nostalgia tailspin that you may not want to come out of. --L.A. Smith

Product Description

No other popular filmmaker in the '80s exhibited a thirst for new wave more than John Hughes. The soundtrack for Hughes' Pretty in Pink exposed such college-radio heroes as New Order, the Psychedelic Furs, the Smiths, and Echo and the Bunnymen to the Top 40 crowd. Consider the Some Kind of Wonderful soundtrack as its even hipper sequel. While the Pretty in Pink soundtrack assembled new wave artists with substantial cult followings, Some Kind of Wonderful digs deeper in the import section; names like Blue Room, Lick the Tins, and the Apartments are probably unfamiliar to the most hardcore of new wave enthusiasts. Nevertheless, the songs are accessible and catchy, as if they were ripped from an underground pop station's nightly countdown. The wounded emotions in Blue Room's piano ballad "Cry Like This" simmer with palpable teen angst; Flesh for Lulu's "I Go Crazy" is high-spirited synth pop with glam rock guitars; and Furniture's brooding "Brilliant Mind" reflects the icy detachment of adolescent depression. The March Violets also transform the Rolling Stones' "Miss Amanda Jones" into a new wave singalong, while the Apartments sneak coy indie pop onto a major label. Lick the Tins' remake of "Can't Help Falling in Love" encapsulates the innocence of teen love with its little-girl vocals. The Some Kind of Wonderful soundtrack offers minor-leaguers an opportunity to play for the masses, and each one scores a home run. ~ Michael Sutton, All Music Guide --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Opening Track, May 11, 2000

By 

Tom Banks (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Some Kind Of Wonderful: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

A delightful film, matched by tracks that were obviously picked with scenes in mind. I have to agree with fellow reviewer Emily that the opening track is the cat's whiskers, but unfortunately, it doesn't appear on the album. The track is called Dr Mabuse by a German band called Propaganda, and the opening titles with Mary Stuart Masterson on drums listening to the track on headphones is excellent.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All Kinds Of Wonderful, July 11, 2000

By 

Thomas Magnum (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Some Kind Of Wonderful: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

Nowadays soundtracks are issued as strict money makers. Gather together a bunch of superstars, have them contribute material that's "inspired" by the movie and collect millions. Soundtracks are supposed to convey the feeling of and set the mood for a movie. Martin Scorcese & Quentin Tarrentino do it, but maybe no one better than John Hughes. He uses the songs included on this cd and the ones in the movie but not included here as the spirit of the film. They all have a hard edge to them with lyrics about obession, fear and vulnerability which is what the movie is all about. The artists are basically made up of unknowns with some typically strange 80's band names (Lick The Tins, Flesh For Lulu to name two) and there are no hits among them. Taken as a whole, the music, like the film, is: wonderful.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars get it for furniture's "brilliant mind", March 21, 2005

By 

Levon Kazarian "levon" (san francisco, ca usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Some Kind Of Wonderful: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

there's a scene in the movie where a song is playing on a boombox and one of the characters walks over and presses "stop." No! I stopped the DVD and played those few seconds again and again to hear the song. it turned out to be furniture's "brilliant mind," a hard to find single from 1986 that made the british charts. it's an understated, moody, and sophisticated song in the mold of the lotus eaters, talk talk, late roxy music & bryan ferry, or seona dancing. it begins with a world weary lament: "I'm at the stage where everything I thought meant something seems so unappealing, I'm ready for the real thing but nobody's selling" the song portrays the stuggle to find life's offerings worthwhile, and to the advice everyone around him offers, the singer replies "you must be out of your brilliant mind." it's a masterpiece of romantic new wave crooning.

the rest of the CD also offers some hard to find songs that give a better sense of the depth of 80s music than your average 80s comp. especially great and rare is the song by australian group the apartments. the flesh for lulu, stephen "tin tin" duffy, and jesus and mary chain songs are also great. I'm not as enchanted by the march violets and lick the tins as others seem to be, but in just 10 songs this CD offers a nice corrective to stereotypical 80s comps (including other john hughes soundtracks).