Kick Off Your Sunday Shoes With Countrified 'Footloose' Soundtrack
"Everybody cut, everybody cut. Everybody cut, everybody cut. Everybody cut ... FOOTLOOSE."
With that clarion call, Kenny Loggins sent a generation of teenagers into spasms of what approximated dancing in the 1980s. The soundtrack to the 1984 film "Footloose" made almost as much of a pop culture impact as the movie itself, and tracks like the title song, "Almost Paradise," and "Let's Hear It For the Boy" were ubiquitous at middle school dances and roller rinks throughout America.
Now, we're on the verge of a "Footloose" remake, this time transplanted from the Midwest to the South. The movie looks ... well, interesting ... but can a remade soundtrack be as big of a draw as a remade film? We're not so sure, but that doesn't mean the "Footloose" soundtrack isn't worth checking out.
To go along with the geographical changes of the film, "Footloose" has countrified the music. Nowhere is this more evident than in the title track, which was covered by "The Voice" judge and country superstar Blake Shelton. Surprisingly, it's not a bad transition, as Shelton's version has a rougher edge than Loggins' polished '80s version. Jana Kramer's take on "Let's Hear It For the Boy" is also a lot of fun, retaining the silly-funky spirit of the 1984 original while making it definitively more modern.
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Other holdovers don't fare as well. Ella Mae Bowen turns the in-your-face "I Need a Hero" into something dirge-ish, and her voice is auto-tuned within an inch of its life. Victoria Justice and Hunter Hayes make out better with their twangy version of "Almost Paradise," but it lacks the power that artists like Heart's Ann Wilson were able to put into the original.
Fortunately, it's not all nostalgia here. Shelton's "The Voice" costar Cee Lo Green and Kenny Wayne Shepherd team up for an excellent take on legendary bluesman Robert Johnson's "Walkin' Blues," and music from artists such as Big & Rich and David Banner round things out.
You have to give the folks behind the soundtrack props for touching on the classic elements of the original "Footloose" while still putting their own, countryish spin on them. Whether or not you enjoy this new take will depend on your tolerance for country, your fondness for the original film, and whether or not you're a teenager -- on the inside or out.
Full Tracklisting:
1. Footloose - Blake Shelton
2. Where the River Goes - Zac Brown of Zac Brown Band
3. Little Lovin' - Lissie
4. Holding Out for a Hero - Ella Mae Bowen
5. Let's Hear It for the Boy - Jana Kramer
6. So Sorry Mama - Whitney Duncan
7. Fake ID - Big & Rich feat. Gretchen Wilson
8. Almost Paradise - Victoria Justice and Hunter Hayes
9. Walkin' Blues - Cee Lo Green feat. Kenny Wayne Shepherd
10. Magic in My Home - Jason Freeman
11. Suicide Eyes - A Thousand Horses
12. Dance the Night Away - David Banner feat. Denim
