American Dreams [ENHANCED] [SOUNDTRACK]

Various Artists - Soundtracks - Television

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 6, 2003)
• Original Release Date: September 29, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced, Soundtrack
• Label: Hip-O Records
• ASIN: B000092ZKT
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #52,176 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Little Disappointed..., May 12, 2003

By	Thnairg "Thnairg" (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

I've been an "American Dreams" watcher since the series' first episode and, being a music fan as well, it wasn't long before I began eagerly anticipating the soundtrack CD from this show (which we all knew was coming, seeing as how music is itself a character in the show, as much as the Pryor family members are).

I very much enjoy this album, starting with the great title song for the show, "Generation". There's a great mixture of classic '60s tunes by the original artists, as well as new covers of other ones by contemporary pop stars (from the excellently-done re-creations on the "American Bandstand" set, which have become a staple of the show).

Unfortunately, some of my favorite musical guest appearances, the ones I was most eagerly awaiting on CD, are absent from this disc ... specifically Nick Carter (Jay and the Americans), Michelle Branch (Lesley Gore), and Usher (Marvin Gaye). Why were they (perhaps the most publicized of the guest appearances, ironically) left off the disc? Certainly there was room for three more tracks, seeing as how nearly every song is less than three minutes long. Hopefully these songs won't be forever condemned to "musical limbo" and will see the light of day on a future "American Dreams" release.

That's the reason my review is only three stars ... it may be a rather insignificant reason to some people, but a big one for me, since it took away a good deal of the album's worth in my eyes.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Half Original Hits + Half Cool Covers = Glass Half Full, May 8, 2003

By	Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

So, the big question was whether the Soundtrack for the NBC Television series "American Dreams" would feature the original hits that Dick Clark played on "American Bandstand" in 1963-64 or the covers of those songs by some of the young talent out there singing today. The answer is: Both (sort of). You do have Vanessa Carlson singing "Wishin' and Hopin'" and "My Girl" performed by B2K / Marques Houston but then you have the Zombies doing "She's Not There," Martha and the Vandellas singing "Heat Wave," the Kinks ripping through "You Really Got Me," and even Simon & Garfunkle doing "Sounds of Silence." Once you toss the two versions of the theme song "Generation" by Emerson Hart out of the equation the album is split right down the middle: seven Golden Oldies and seven contemporary covers of same.

I have to admit I am rather disappointed. Each week we get to here bits and pieces of the guest artists doing these songs (e.g., last week with the melodic post-grunge group Third Eye Blind appearing as the Kinks), and I was really hoping that this album would include the complete recordings done for the show (I figured they HAD to let Michelle Branch, Nick Carter, Ashanti, and the rest of these guest artists actually sing the ENTIRE song in the studio). The surprise on the album ends up being Meg (Britney Snow) and Roxanne (Vanessa Lengies) singing "My Boyfriends Back" along with Stacie Orrico, and the producers get props for putting lesser hits from that period by artists like Otis Redding and the Everly Brothers. I feel safe in assuming since this soundtrack has some, but clearly not all of the songs recorded for the show, there were contractual obligations that dictated who could and could not appear on the album. Too bad; 'tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.

This mix of originals and covers is pretty good, but on balance the originals come out ahead. I would have really loved to have heard nothing but the complete covers and I suspect I am not alone in that regard. I already have (almost) all of the originals, which is why I can enjoy the covers so much. Hopefully this situation will be rectified in future "American Dreams" albums because the reason this show bridges the Generation Gap is because we say "Marvin Gaye," our kids say "Usher," and then we start exchanging albums (Okay, so this album does allow that; but I still want more covers).

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good beat, you can dance to it, I'd give it an 85, June 3, 2003

By	hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

NBC's freshman drama has smartly captured the turbulence of the early 60s and its impact on America. But unlike the suburban flight that was celebrated on "The Wonder Years," "American Dreams" is mired in the tensions of inner-city, inter-racial Philadelphia, a metropolis that still claimed ownership of American Bandstand. And it's that ownership (and Dick Clark's production of the TV series) that provides one of the show's innovative dramatic conceits.

By casting two of the main characters as Bandstand regulars, the music of the era, and especially its transitions (Girlgroups, British Invasion, Motown, et. al), have become the show's guiding continuity (or discontinuity, if you want to nit-pick the historical accuracy of the song selections). Further, as a lure to the latest MTV generation, the producers have restaged classic Bandstand performances with modern artists, several of which are included here. This CD is a good overview of the show's musical offerings, including s an extended (or more likely original, un-edited) version of the show's theme song (the sensational Searchers meet the Byrds "Generation" by Tonic's Emerson Hart), eight original hits, and six re-creations.

At first, Hart's full-length theme song seems overlong compared to the familiar, edited TV rendition, but a few spins reveals the charms of the additional lyrics and 12-string guitar interlude. The original artist hits, widely anthologized elsewhere, provide good continuity for the recreations, with highlights that include an expansive stereo mix of The Impressions' "People Get Ready" and Otis Redding's incendiary, soulful "That's How Strong My Love Is." The closing electric folk-rock mix of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sounds of Silence" having been released in 1965, and a hit in early 1966, is misplaced here -- the straight 1964 acoustic version would have been a better fit.

The re-staged hits offer a few stand-outs, chief among them India.Arie's mesmerizing crawl through Nina Simone's "Come Ye." The sparse accompaniment of congas and organ stabs adds terrific drama to Arie's vocal. B2K featuring Marques Houston perform a letter-perfect take of "My Girl," which, though remarkably similar to the original, generates its own spark. Ditto for Vivian Green's run through Brenda Holloway's "Every Little Bit Hurts" - confident and soulful.

Duncan Shiek gives a performance of "Beyond the Sea" that's more of an actor's play on Bobby Darin's ring-a-ding-ding style than a singer's cover. Stacie Orrico's reworking of The Angels' "My Boyfriend's Back" is more notable for her background singers (series stars Brittany Snow and Vanessa Lengies) than for Orrico's own performance, and weakest of the lot is Vanessa Carlton's cover of "Wishin' and Hopin'," which shows none of the sophistication that Dusty Springfield brought to the original.

Licensing restrictions no doubt scotched several other TV performances from making the CD compilation (e.g., LeAnn Rimes, Usher, and Nick Carter). Still, this is a nice souvenir of the show's first season, and well timed to help fans through summer withdrawal.