Movie soundtracks to remember

50 First Dates is the new romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. This, indeed, is a most welcome reunion. These two were great in The Wedding Singer, where music also played an important role, and I am really surprised they got to work together again only now. Must be because they have both been so busy. In fact Sandler and Barrymore are two of the most powerful people in the movie business today, not only as actors, but also as producers.

Anyway, 50 First Dates is a romantic comedy about a girl with short-term memory loss. That means she does not remember anything that happened during the past 24 hours and that means everyday of her life is without a yesterday. There is this guy though, who is so in love with her he is willing to win her even if he has to go through 50 or even more first dates. Take note that their every date is a first because she does not remember the last one. Intriguing concept, funny romantic comedians and helping things along is a good soundtrack.

Sandler’s contribution to the collection is Forgetful Lucy. The other songs in the album are Hold Me Now by Wayne Wonder; Love Song by 311; Lips Like Sugar by Seal featuring Mikey Dread; Your Love (L.O.V.E. Reggae Mix) by Wyclef Jean featuring Eve; Drive by Ziggy Marley; Slave to Love by Elan Atias; Every Breath You Take by UB40; Ghost in You by Mark Mcgrath; Friday, I’m in Love by Dryden Mitchell; Breakfast in Bed by Nicole Kea; and I Melt with You by Jason Mraz.

Brother Bear is the soundtrack of the Academy Award nominated feature from Disney which features the music of Phil Collins. The former Genesis frontman and solo act behind biggies like Against All Odds, Susussudio and others, wrote, produced and arranged the songs for this heartwarming return-to-nature movie. This is Collins’ second effort for Disney. The first was Tarzan, which will be hitting the Broadway stage soon with the Collins’ music, of course. If I remember right, his composition You’ll Be in My Heart won the Oscar for Best Original Song. He did not have the same luck with Brother Bear but his music snugly fits the story and his songs are as charming as ever.

Just like what he did with Tarzan, Collins performs most of the songs in the soundtrack album like the main theme No Way Out, Look Through My Eyes, Welcome, On My Way and Transformation. Tina Turner guests in the Great Spirits number while the Bulgarian Women’s Choir also do Transformation and Collins and Oren Waters join The Blind Boys of Alabama in another version of Welcome. Nothing beats owning a video copy of the movie, one of Disney’s best, but this soundtrack has Phil Collins so you’d better get the CD too.

Dirty Dancing 2 is a Latin take on the very successful film of the same title which starred Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey and Cynthia Rhodes. That one though was set in the Catskills Mountains up North in the US of A. This one goes down to Cuba where the weather is hotter and the mood, torrid. Very memorable about the first was the dancing, Swayze is divine on the floor, and the music that included the Oscar-winning theme I’ve Had the Time of My Life, by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. This plus Hungry Eyes by Eric Carmen and Love is Strange by Mickey & Sylvia made the soundtrack one of the biggest selling albums of all time.

Now I do not know if buyers will react the same way to Dirty Dancing 2 but if you like Latin dancing laced with hip hop, you will enjoy this one. It has Dance Like This by Wyclef Jean featuring Claudette Ortiz; Dirty Dancing by the Black Eyed Peas; Guajira (I Love U 2 Much) by Yerba Buena; Can I Walk By by Jazze Pha; Satellite by Santana featuring Jorge Moreno; El Beso del Final by Christina Aguilera; Represent, Cuba by Orishas featuring Heather Headley; Do You Only Wanna Dance by Mya; You Send Me by Shawn Kane; El Estuche by Aterciopelados; plus other versions of Do You Only Wanna Dance by the Julil Daivel Big Band and Santana’s Satellite in Spanish.