Tubes

Xanadu [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] Review by Doug Stone
Hollywood never learns. Hot on the heels of box-office failures Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Can't Stop the Music, comes the roller-skating Olivia Newton John in Xanadu. This soundtrack is fluff stuff to be sure, but some pearls float amongst the mire. Lead-off "Magic" remains a fine single. "Suddenly," a duet ONJ ekes out with British luminary Cliff Richard, seems better than most love themes. The sudden appearance of the Tubes almost saves the doomed swing/rock hybrid "Dancin," but the two styles should never meet. The second half glows from the Electric Light Orchestra, soaring at its commercial height, escaping this crippling fairy tale fairly untarnished with three more hit bits: "I'm Alive," "All Over the World," and the Olivia Neutron Bomb showcase title track. "Don't Walk Away" and "The Fall" stand as two of Jeff Lynne's finest, thus the flip nukes the front which should stay stuck to the theater floor. Listening to this soundtrack may beat watching the actual film, but know that if you didn't dig Xanadu when it came out, the platter gains nothing through time.

"Xanadu" is the soundtrack of the 1980 musical film of the same name, featuring the Australian singer Olivia Newton-John and the British group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in June 1980 on MCA Records in the United States and July 1980 by Jet Records in the United Kingdom. The original LP release featured on side one the songs of Newton-John, and on side two the songs of ELO. The Newton-John side also featured Cliff Richard, the Tubes and Gene Kelly. Although the film was a critical and commercial disappointment, the soundtrack was a worldwide success and received positive reviews from music critics going double Platinum in the US and Canada. The hit singles "Magic" and "Xanadu", peaked at #1 in the United States and United Kingdom, respectively. Both singles also went to #1 in the Netherlands and Italy, respectively. It was the 5th most popular US soundtrack in 1981.

Amazon Review by David Sheridan
Lots of good new wave era chestnuts on this compilation. I wonder where perhaps Talking Heads, Echo & the Bunnymen or Graham Parker are, why no Nick Lowe/Dave Edmunds/Rockpile, why no "Girl of My Dreams" by Bram Tchaikovsky, and they definitely seemed to put this together having drawn a somewhat arbitrary line in the sand somewhere between punk and new wave (no Pistols, no Clash, but the Ramones and Sham 69 are here). And then we get the Tubes (almost more musical theatre than new wave) and Hazel O'Connor (wtf?). And they also include whatever a Jilted John is. There's more than a little overlap with some other compilations and box sets out there (although I still know of no proper full sized new wave box set, Rhino, where are you?), but this will send those of us of a certain age nostalgically back to the days of Jimmy Carter in the White House, lining up for 79 cent gallons of gas and skinny ties with the knot a few inches below your collar…remember the first time you heard My Sharona? Maybe in your Ford Maverick while sitting in one of those gas lines…

The Sexy 80's, a Various Artists Compilation. Released 1998 on BMG Special Products / Delta Music.

Bien que paradant en tête des meilleurs électroniciens actuels, ne guère attendre de Juan de Guillebon la formule gagnée d’avance, le confort hédoniste ou le bis repetita de ses précédents tubes (Fantasy, Steel Life, She’s bad). DyE ne raisonne qu’en fonction d’un état d’esprit, d’une envie soudaine. Bien sûr, et c’est toujours le cas sur Inside Out, la passion funk de Juan réapparait souvent (et qui s’en plaindra ?), mais, comme à l’accoutumée, le musicien ne gravite jamais dans les mêmes sphères que ses précédents travaux.

For Dads that rock! Spoil your Dad this Father’s Day with this fantastic collection of songs designed to appeal to the coolest fathers on the block. From classic reggae, country, punk and rock to irresistible indie, Ultimate Dad is the perfect way to show your Dad you care, and that you know just how awesome he is. So crank up the volume and get your Dad dance on to Free, Thin Lizzy, the mighty Quo, The Damned, the Boomtown Rats, Johnny Cash, the Jam and many many more.

Who doesn’t love electronic music? From its experimental beginnings in the 1970s to its global domination of the pop chart, all things electric have become the mainstay of popular culture; as important to today’s musical landscape as the guitar was to rock & roll.
Greatest Ever Electric presents 3CDs of electronic music, not just from the ’80s when it went overground, but from the ’70s, ’90s and ’00s too, providing an overview of its origins and its current state. So sit back (or stand up) and let everyone from Giorgio Moroder and John Foxx to Hot Chip and Soulwax take you on a fantastical journey through electric. Just mind the static.