The Commitments - Original Soundtrack

Ahhhh - you can't beat a bit of cod soul and R&B to start your Bank Holiday weekend. Lovely.

Obviously this album is taken from the Alan Parker movie of the same name; with a story that is set in Dublin and follows the fortunes (and misfortunes) of a bunch of musicians as they try to get their band, the self titled 'The Commitments', off the ground. Tensions, love triangles and alcohol binges ensue and eventually cause the inevitable split. It's a decent film which heavily uses soul and R&B music to tell the story of the hapless band.

Obviously I was so impressed that I rushed out the next day and bought the album. I've not heard it in a long while and...... well I'm embarrassed to say that it's not too bad. A lot of movie soundtracks don't really stand up on their own when removed from their celluloid prop. This one just about survives, but compare it to the source material and it's shortcomings are there for all to see. The playing is solid enough, as are the cast vocals, especially those of Andrew Strong, but it is a facsimile of the originals. If you were to take those songs, remove the soul and replace them with clean, modern production you might end up with something like this soundtrack.

But why did I really buy this album? Was I so enamoured with the film that I wanted an aural memento? Could it be that, as I was embarrassingly ignorant to the source material, I thought it was a good collection of R&B classics? Or was it that this was a first-date movie? I suspect that it was the latter. I can't recall how this film was picked, but for me it must've been a safe bet - combining my interest in movies with my obsession with music. But knowing me it was chosen because it would give me a good indication as to whether my date shared the same interests - and by extension whether the fledgling relationship would last?

It didn't but I don't think that it is either the movie or its soundtrack's fault.

But after spending nearly an hour in the company of this album, I'm desperate to listen to the originals. A bit like overdosing on cheap pop. It's momentarily satisfying but soon you realise that it was a mistake.