Grease C/D?

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Grease: The Film & Soundtrack. 25 years on. Classic or dud?

― Craig, Thursday, 26 September 2002 15:31 (10 years ago) Permalink

so, so classic.

― adam b (adam b), Thursday, 26 September 2002 15:35 (10 years ago) Permalink

At the time of it's release (I was a pre-teenager when the film came out), it seemed implausibly cool (especially "Greased Lightning"). I saw the film again quite recently (last week), and had a very hard time understanding exactly how/why I found it to be as cool as initially considered. Had a simillar experience in regards to the animated "Heavy Metal" movie from, what, 1979? Twentysomething odd years later, it falls completely flat. "Grease" stands up a bit better, but not by too much.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 26 September 2002 15:36 (10 years ago) Permalink

Now "Hair" on the other hand.....

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 26 September 2002 15:37 (10 years ago) Permalink

This is my Alex in NYC moment where I go "No, surely not. Not *Grease*" and splutter beer on the monitor. Except I have no beer. :(

― Tom (Groke), Thursday, 26 September 2002 15:39 (10 years ago) Permalink

"You're The One That I Want" has suffered from cover versions / through being reused in other 'musicals', while "Summer Nights" has suffered from karaoke. But still just about classic, I'd say. (Tom - you had to have been there, as Alex points out)

― Jeff W (Jeff W), Thursday, 26 September 2002 15:43 (10 years ago) Permalink

The songs from Grease are borderline dud, but if you liked Stayin' Alive, I don't why you wouldn't like the title song -- unless you hated Frankie Valli, which makes tons of sense to me.

The movie itself was terrible.

― dleone (dleone), Thursday, 26 September 2002 15:55 (10 years ago) Permalink

How about the connection between the '50s birth of rock'n'roll & '70s disco? This was the strongest link.

― Mark (MarkR), Thursday, 26 September 2002 16:21 (10 years ago) Permalink

Complete dud except for "You're the One That I Want," not part of the original Broadway score and one of the best singles of the seventies.

― Burr, Thursday, 26 September 2002 17:04 (10 years ago) Permalink

The movie kicks the plays butt, but still is gaudy.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Thursday, 26 September 2002 17:29 (10 years ago) Permalink

Could never quite understand why the theme song ("Grease is the Word," sung by Frankie Valli, written by Barry Gibb) was essentially a disco number, and not a 50's-style rocker or doo-wop number, which would've been much more appropriate given the period the film depicts.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 26 September 2002 17:48 (10 years ago) Permalink

For that matter, "You're the One That I Want" has about as much to do with the 50s as the rest of Olivia Newton-John's catalog. It could never be mistaken for anything but a slab of 70s pop.

Nor (on a considerably lower aesthetic plane) could "Crocodile Rock" or "Old Time Rock n Roll" -- other records from around the same time that are somehow supposed to evoke (but could not possibly sound less like) the 50s.

― Burr, Thursday, 26 September 2002 18:19 (10 years ago) Permalink

A REAL PUSSY WAGON

― dave q, Thursday, 26 September 2002 18:36 (10 years ago) Permalink

Great fake 50s r'n'r - Rocky Burnette, "Tired of Toein' The Line". I haven't ever met anybody else who has heard of this.

― dave q, Thursday, 26 September 2002 18:39 (10 years ago) Permalink

Film=classic, in the Hollywood sense. Last successful live action musical. If it comes on TV, I'll watch it.

Soundtrack=Okay. "Born To Hand Jive" is inexplicably absent from the other responses, however.

― Vic Funk, Thursday, 26 September 2002 19:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

i was submitted to this movie seemingly incessantly as a youngster and the only thing i can remember is how much i HATED the "hopelessly devoted to you" ballad. absolutely excruciating to my young ears...

― gygax!, Friday, 27 September 2002 01:05 (10 years ago) Permalink

You don't like country music?

― James Blount (James Blount), Friday, 27 September 2002 01:12 (10 years ago) Permalink

which country?

― gygax!, Friday, 27 September 2002 01:33 (10 years ago) Permalink

God's country!

― James Blount (James Blount), Friday, 27 September 2002 01:47 (10 years ago) Permalink

which God?

― gygax!, Friday, 27 September 2002 01:49 (10 years ago) Permalink

Classic - but just for the last few seconds of 'Stranded at the Drive-In' where there's the snack bar promo that's playing up on the screen in the background, and an animated hot-dog leaps suggestively into its bun perfectly synchronized with Travolta's ultra hammy "Oh Sandy". Genius!

― Kim (Kim), Friday, 27 September 2002 03:24 (10 years ago) Permalink

Classic. Beauty School Dropout (or Musical Drubber as I always thought it was) is still amazing, along with the mighty Stockard Channing and her peerless slut anthem...

― Charlie (Charlie), Friday, 27 September 2002 07:05 (10 years ago) Permalink

The intro track 'Grease', by the BeeGees (?) is fucking great. I can't take much of Summer Nights / You're The One That I Want anymore. The film is an absolute classic.

― Andrew (enneff), Tuesday, 1 October 2002 06:34 (10 years ago) Permalink

I saw the film again quite recently (last week), and had a very hard time understanding exactly how/why I found it to be as cool as initially considered.
Sure sign y're old. ;-) My cousin said the other day "The film is completely dud, but the soundtrack is ace." I disagree: both are classique.

― nathalie (nathalie), Tuesday, 1 October 2002 09:20 (10 years ago) Permalink

One of the best evenings of my life was spent watching 'Grease' in Greece! In an open-air cinema!

I also used to have a photonovel of the movie - wish I still had it.

Only dud aspect - 'inspiring' Kenickie!

― Andrew L (Andrew L), Tuesday, 1 October 2002 09:34 (10 years ago) Permalink

"Hopelessly Devoted to You" is fantastic. About as good as watered-down '70s pop-country ever got, short of maybe Linda Ronstadt's take on "Blue Bayou." Love that octave leap at the chorus.

― Jody Beth Rosen, Tuesday, 1 October 2002 09:37 (10 years ago) Permalink

10 years pass...

Me on the soundtrack.

― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Wednesday, 10 October 2012 13:07 (7 months ago) Permalink

Is there another album in which a song appears TWICE in identical versions? Not a reprise, not a remix, exact same length to the second...

― Faster than food (Myonga Vön Bontee), Wednesday, 10 October 2012 21:03 (7 months ago) Permalink

Lots of crazy 8-tracks used to do that to make use of the extra time, but I can't think of when it was done as part of the original sequencing.

― pplains, Wednesday, 10 October 2012 21:06 (7 months ago) Permalink

James Brown did it with some interludes (ie the same 20-second clip of You Can Have Your Watergate appears several times throughout an album), but not full tracks iirc

― stop swearing and start windmilling (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 10 October 2012 21:32 (7 months ago) Permalink

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