The Blues Brothers Norristown PA

The Blues Brothers

Soundtrack

Atlantic Records, 1981

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 05/03/1997

When I review an album here on "The Daily Vault," it doesn'tmatter if I just purchased it or have owned it for over a decade,I'll still dig it out of the Pierce Memorial Archives (where we'rein the process of baby-proofing) and give it another spin torefresh my mind.

In the case of today's review, the soundtrack to the classiccomedy The Blues Brothers, I didn't have to find it in the Archives- some ignorant bastard in my apartment complex has treated me toover-amplified performances the last three nights. (I know whereyou live - you asshole.) I did find my copy of the movie and watched itbefore writing this review - there is no such thing as doing toomuch research.

The first movie based on a skit from "Saturday Night Live," thesoundtrack has some performances that still sound fresh - thoughthe term "blues" is a misnomer. If anything, this is a mixture ofrock, jazz, and r&b.

The film resurrected more than one career of a musician whosecareer was in the proverbial toilet. Ray Charles turns in a stellarperformance with Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood (Dan Ackroyd) Blueson "Shake Your Tail Feather," which only added to Charles's prowessand legend in my eyes. And while I have never been a big fan ofAretha Franklin, she turns in a decent cover of her hit "Think" -less than five years later, Franklin would top the charts againwith "Freeway Of Love."