Customer Reviews

Songs From the Film

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I am lucky enough to claim that I am from the same area as Tommy Keene, hell, I am even studying at the same school that he used as his stomping grounds during his days in pop band Razz (University of MD, College Park). After discovering the brilliant single "Places That Are Gone" on the Poptopia compliation, and finding out he was a local boy, I knew I would have to check out his music more. This was one of the 1st CD's I bought on Amazon and was definately blown away. Track for track it is perhaps the most consistent album of the 80's - I love every song but "Gold Town", which is really odd because that's one of his classics. The 1988 EP Run Now was tacked on for good measure - not quite as consistent but the title track may be my all time #1 Keene tune. The guitar tones are soaring and arena-worthy, but the earnest lyrics, punk energy, and sad vibes make Tommy more of a contemporary of the Replacements (who loved his work) and Game Theory (similar smart-pop) than your average 80's rock/pop act.

Best Tracks:
"Places That Are Gone" - Keene's meal ticket that inexplicably never amounted to much, this song is power pop heaven. Great outro solo.
"Listen To Me" - I get a U2/Waterboys majestic vibe from this song, I love the lyrics throughout and the bass-only final verse.
"Paper Words And Lies" - Jangle pop par excellence, 2 minutes short but great hooks.
"My Mother Looked Like Marilyn Monroe" - Cryptic lyrics which are explained in the liner notes, the slow verse explodes into a typically great Keene chorus.
"Astronomy" - WOW. This song packs everything into 1 1/2 minutes without sounding the least bit hurried or too "punk", but it rocks intensely and features an amazing vocal performance.
"Run Now" - Basically the encapsulation of everything from the Songs From The Film CD. A full but sweet production, new wave-y shimmering guitars, great lyrics and vocals, and not one but two ultra-melodic guitar solos. Deserved to hit #1, but what do I know...

I have waited 12 years for this album to become available. I was very happy with the sound quality, though I would have liked to have seen the lyrics included in the liner notes. This album is still fresh, the songs are still excellent. This is one of my top 5 albums of all time. If you grew up in the 80's, get this album. You won't be disappointed.

This 1998 release--consisting of Keene's 1986 record, an earlier EP, and four
previously unreleased songs--brings together some the best work by an
under-appreciated veteran of the 1980s Washington, DC & Boston music scene. At times, the
singer-songwriter sounds as if he's directly channeling Alex Chilton. With ringing, trebly
guitars straight out of the Byrds and mid-period Beatles, Keene pumps out
straightforward songs that faithfully deliver the sweet and sour payoff of pure pop.

This collection opens with a (superior) re-recording of "Places That Are Gone," an early
single and an archetype of Keene's winning combo of insistent melody and jangly
beauty. He's at his best when he's at his most vulnerable, as on "My Mother Looked
Like Marilyn Monroe" and "Paper Words and Lies," which boast soaring vocals and
gleaming guitars. The RUN NOW E.P. included here in its entirety, was a more no-frills
affair than the elaborate SONGS (produced by Geoff Emerick, whose ornate stylings
made Elvis Costello's IMPERIAL BEDROOM such a fascinating listen). The title track and
"Back Again," with its chiming vocal hook, are stirring outsider anthems.

Pop Kulcher Review: Of all the jangle-pop artists snagging the ever-important comparison to Big Star, Washington D.C. singer/songwriter Tommy Keene is probably the most deserving -- his vocals are reminiscent of Alex Chilton, and the jangle-guitar-pop sound is in the same vein. (Plus he does a killer cover of Chilton's "Hey! Little Child" on another album.) 12 years after its initial release, Songs From The Film finally makes an appearance on cd. It's not a great album -- the clever lyrics often get lost in forgettable music, and Keene doesn't wield a pop hook quite as well as, say, Matthew Sweet. Still, this has plenty of catchy tunes (most notably "Places That Are Gone," an unforgettable pop gem, as wells as a dead-on cover of Lou Reed's "Kill Your Sons"), and it belongs up there among releases by Matthew Sweet and the dB's for fans of the genre. Plus, the reissue tacks on plenty of bonus tracks, some of which ("Take Back Your Letters") fit in great alongside today's alt.country/Americana pantheon of Wilco, etc. Hard not to like.

Like no other album I've experienced, the original Songs from the Film has an arc, a feeling of unfolding and growing from the opening chords to the final fade-out.

I had the vinyl back in the late 1980's so that's the way I listened to that dozen songs, and over twenty years later I think it's the right way to do it still.

Side one starts with "Places That Are Gone", which retained its appeal even without the terrific opening sound montage (ending with Russ Hodge's call of "THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT") from the EP version. The next three songs, although great in their own right, back off a bit from the anthemic power of the opener, but the drum-heavy, almost threatening sound of "Gold Town" is a perfect intro to the immense guitar crunch of "Kill Your Sons" (and can someone tell me why it's absolutely fitting and intuitive and perfect that the last chord is repeated 13 times? Listening to it, even in my head, I never think it's going to end even one beat sooner or later.)

Side two turns the amps back down from 11, but the progression from "Call On Me" to "My Mother Looked Like Marilyn Monroe" is a sort of dive into darkness, with "Underground" forming a neat parallel to side one's "Gold Town". But where the latter is a lead-in, "Underground" is in some way the album's climax, with Keene managing to combine both surrender and defiance in the lyrics while his guitar sounds a wounded and angry challenge (although the piano is the element that drives the song). "Astronomy" and "The Story Ends" are the dénouement, providing (thank you Wikipedia) a sense of unwinding and release that has always left me satisfied.

Yep, that was an album. Not just a collection of songs, but an assembly of musical and lyrical thoughts that moves organically from start to finish.

I don't own the 1998 release, and although I've got the EP tracks on tape, I don't think I've heard the previously unreleased material. If you never heard the original album, program your CD or MP3 player to hand you the tracks in their original order (1-10, 12, 13). Find an uninterrupted hour to listen. It's worth the time.

After finally being signed to a major label, Keene hooked up with producer Geoff Emerick (Badfinger, Split Enz, Nick Heyward) to make Songs from the Film, a further refinement of his virtues with occasionally more substantial lyrics. The standout is a different version of "Places That Are Gone," but the new compositions are good and sturdy in their own right. The sole non-original is a weirdly "normal" version of Lou Reed's "Kill Your Sons." The EP Run Now (included on the Geffen CD reissue of Songs) adds another enjoyable chapter to the Keene canon, despite the occasional unease in what he says and the way that he says it ("I Don't Feel Right at All"). The closest to a dud is the commercial title track, which is not offensive, just inconsequential. (That number was produced by Bob Clearmountain; the rest was overseen by the team of T-Bone Burnett and Don Dixon.) The EP's closer is a good live version of "Kill Your Sons." - Jim Green/Ira Robbins, Trouser Press

In what seemed like an attempt by Geffen to make a "big" pop record and endear Keene to an audience wider than critics and a small cult of discerning record buyers, renowned producer Geoff Emerick (Elvis Costello, Beatles) only succeeded at rounding the edges, thus stealing the spark from Keene's performance. The drums are buried in the mix and Keene's distinctive vocals obscured behind a wash of studio processing, but fortunately, Keene's talent shines through in memorable songwriting and biting guitar solos. "In Our Lives" and "Goldtown" are classic Tommy Keene melodic power rockers, while "The Story Ends" stands among his best Beatlesque ballads. The story has it that Geffen rejected the original Songs From the Film sessions, produced by T-Bone Burnett and Don Dixon, to make this record, although the label released tracks from those sessions later that year on the excellent Run Now EP. [Geffen's 1998 CD reissue of Songs from the Film includes the Run Now EP, plus four previously unreleased songs: "Take Back Your Letters," "We're Two," an alternate full-band take of "Faith in Love" and a live cover of the Flamin' Groovies' "Teenage Head."] - Jack Leaver, All Music Guide

Back in the day, I saw Tommy and his band perform probably fifty times, nearly every one amazing, until he became so embittered at the whole damn music biz thing that it began to filter into his on-stage performance, which, when he loved his pop star life the most, simply was the best there was. These here songs are a few of my favorite things, particularly the seemingly "throwaway" Astronomy. Some people are miffed by "Kill Your Sons" but this was a cornerstone of his live show for years because, while known as a power pop legend, Tommy was actually a guitar rave-up god! Sure, he looked skinny-tie cute, but, trust me, he wielded his axe, fell to the floor, sweated like a stuck pig and simply rocked house, when he dug down to solo. His music, even when he was young, was drenched in nostalgia and nearly obsessively dwelling on the passage of time, so I don't mind saying I sometimes pine for the days of heading down to the old 9:30 Club to fight me way up front to rock out with Tommy, or catch him ripping it up at Friendship Station, or the time we ran into him at a tom verlaine show in new york and kidnapped him to ride around and play some songs my brother had written. And I miss Ted Nicely just as much!

I saw the video for "Places that are Gone" once on MTV and was hooked. Tommy Keene sets the standard for power pop (even though he hates that phrase). Every song on this album is incredible. He rides the subtle ("My mother Looks Like Marilyn Monroe") and socks it to you (the excellent cover of "Kill Your Sons"). A classic in every sense of the word.

I first heard the song "run now" on the soundtrack of an 80s movie called "Out of bounds" and instantly liked it.But I could not even find out who the artist was because the tape was a friends.Long story short I was finally able to figure out who the singer was and Amazon came through with this CD.Thanks Amazon

Tommy Keene's finest hour. One of the best LPs of the 80s. Also includes the excellent Run Now EP. Fans of Replacements, REM, BIG STAR, etc. should own this. Get it before it goes out of print again.