Grace Of My Heart: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [SOUNDTRACK] [IMPORT]

Various Artists - Soundtracks - 1996

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 17, 1996)
• Original Release Date: September 17, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack, Import
• Label: Spectrum Audio UK
• ASIN: B000002P4S
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #43,825 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
A terrific sampler of greatest hits from the heyday of girl groups and the Brill Building--except that none of the songs are actually from that era. What we have here is an incredible simulation--from Allison Anders' unjustly overlooked 1996 movie about the tempestuous life and career of a Carole King- like singer-songwriter (the magnificent Illeana Douglas) who spends years writing for others before finding her own voice. But instead of just licensing the old Shirelles' recordings of Goffin-King hits, the filmmakers came up with the brilliant idea of doing original songs by combining the sensibilities of contemporary artists and their songwriting forebears. So, for example, Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach teamed up to write and perform the power- ballad "God Give Me Strength" (although I wish they'd also included Douglas's even more moving version from the picture); Leslie Gore teams with Larry Klein and David Baerwald for "My Secret Love" (performed by Miss Lily Banquette of Combustible Edison); Gerry and Louise Goffin team with Baerwald for "Between Two Worlds" (performed by Sean Colvin); J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. writes and sings some Brian Wilson/Beach Boys-type stuff ("Take a Run at the Sun," "Don't You Think It's Time"), and so on. Buy the record; see the movie. You won't be disappointed. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you want the film version of "God Give me Strength"..., April 21, 1999

By A Customer

...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!

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I FOUND THE MOVIE VERSION OF GOD GIVE ME STRENGTH, April 7, 2005

By	J. Burns (La Jolla, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, if flawed, soundtrack, April 21, 2006

By	DVD buff (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews

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.