Description
Original 1983 West German pressing
Flashdance is probably one of the most enduring films from the 80s, both for its uplifting, if entirely implausible, story and for its incredible visual style. Of course, its soundtrack is also indelibly stamped on the psyches of many people—particularly women—of a certain age. Flashdance was a modern fairy tale for the burgeoning MTV generation. In fact, director Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction, Unfaithful) essentially made an extended music video, with the film’s highly stylized look, sharp editing and hit-heavy soundtrack. Whether that’s a good thing or not is open to debate, but the film’s influence on subsequent music videos and on pop culture at large cannot be overestimated. Just think of all the dance films aimed at the teen audience over the past several years for proof of the impact of Flashdance. From the moment youll hear the opening strains of Irene Cara’s Oscar-winning theme song, youre instantly transported to a place where hope is in the heartbeat of a song and all your dreams are possible. The original soundtrack sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best selling albums of all time. In 1984, the album received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year and won for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special. The film’s three singles feature on the album. Two of these singles, “Flashdance…What a Feeling” by Irene Cara and “Maniac” by Michael Sembello, peaked at #1 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The track “Romeo” by Donna Summer was released as a promo video to MTV prior to the film’s release, composed only of outtakes from the film. The album is notable for having supplanted Michael Jackson’s Thriller after the latter had remained Billboard’s number-one album for 17 weeks. Thriller would again overtake Flashdance at number one after 2 weeks. In Japan, the album topped the chart for 11 weeks in total, and became the biggest-selling album of 1983. The music in Flashdance was supervised by Phil Ramone. There are several pieces of music used in the film that do not appear on the soundtrack album, including “Gloria” by Laura Branigan; “I Love Rock and Roll” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts; and the “Adagio in G Minor” by Remo Giazotto. The title track “Flashdance… What a Feeling” was originally recorded by Joe Esposito before Irene Cara was asked to re-record the song as in line with the film’s female perspective.
Track list:
1. Irene Cara -Flashdance… What A Feeling
2. Shandi -He’s A Dream
3. Helen St. John -Love Theme From Flashdance
4. Karen Kamon -Manhunt
5. Joe Esposito -Lady, Lady, Lady
6. Laura Branigan -Imagination
7. Donna Summer -Romeo
8. Cycle V -Seduce Me Tonight
9. Kim Carnes -I’ll Be Here Where The Heart Is
10. Michael Sembello -Maniac