Rocky 2

Boxer Rocky Balboa enjoys the wealth he has as world-champion. He only fights against opponents "hand-picked" by his manager Mickey Goldmill. Then he is challenged by the arrogant Clubber Lang. Rocky accepts the challenge to prove once more that there is only one world-champion. But Lang wins and becomes the new champion. Nobody believes in Rocky anymore, except for one man: former world-champion Apollo Creed. As Creed tries to stimulate his fighting spirit and get Rocky back in top-form, it is now up to Rocky to get his edge back. Will he win ?

The Gypsy swing music of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli of the 1930s has been kept alive by various European jazz musicians in the decades since Reinhardt's death in 1953 and Grappelli's in 1996. For the most part, the young guitarist Rocky Gresset continues Reinhardt's approach in his debut effort as a leader, utilizing a quartet with violinist Costel Nitescu and rhythm guitarist Matheu Chatelain, with bassist Jeremie Arranger taking over on two tracks. Gresset doesn't really break new ground in his treatments of standards like “Time on My Hands," “Just One of Those Things," and “Blue Skies." One of Reinhardt's songs, “Webster," is an obscurity dating from the guitarist's post-World War II years; Gresset and Nitescu offer impressive solos.

Composer Bill Conti's iconic score for Sylvester Stallone's tale of over-the-hill Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa ranks as one of the most memorable and instantly recognizable pieces of film music ever applied to celluloid. The first Rocky is still the best, with classic cues like "Going the Distance," "Fanfare for Rocky," the "Final Bell" and "Gonna Fly Now" – the latter was actually a hit single – eschewing the myriad of questionable AOR songs that would end up cluttering future installments.

The Rocky Story pools material primarily from the Rocky IV soundtrack (Survivor's “Burning Heart,” John Cafferty’s “Heart’s on Fire,” James Brown’s “Living in America,” and Robert Tepper’s “No Easy Way Out”). Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” is also featured, along with new, re-recorded versions of “Gonna Fly Now” from the Bill Conti ‘70s originals.