Wonderland [Original Soundtrack]

by Wonderland / O.s.t.

Overview

The soundtrack to Jonathan Cox's Wonderland revolves around the dark underworld that surrounded porn star John Holmes in the early '80s -- including the July 1, 1981, murders of the Wonderland gang in which he was implicated (and for which he was later acquitted). Not surprisingly, the music plays like the evil twin to the ecstatically decadent Boogie Nights soundtrack, mixing strutting glam rock and punk with the coked-up new wave, pop, hard rock, and singer/songwriter fare that defined '70s and early-'80s music outside of disco. The soundtrack begins on something of a sour note with Jonathan Davis' "Love on the Rocks," a bitter, Bowie-esque ballad that tries to ape '70s rock conventions but just ends up paling in comparison to the songs that surround it. Davis' overwrought vocals and lyrics like "Yesterday's gone/And all I want is a smile" make the song downright seedy and unpleasant, but then again, so is the story that the movie tells. However, after that Wonderland has nowhere to go but up, which it does with revved-up songs like T. Rex's "20th Century Boy," Iggy & the Stooges' "Search and Destroy," the Cars' "Good Times Roll," and one of the soundtrack's most apt picks, Duran Duran's "Girls on Film." Roxy Music's "In Every Dream Home a Heartache," Patti Smith's "Gloria/In Excelsis Deo," and Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold" all capture the film's claustrophobic, paranoid vibe, albeit in very different ways, while songs like Dobie Gray's "Drift Away," Bad Company's "Shooting Star," and Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind" provide a not-so-ironic counterpoint. The dialogue that bookends the music is mostly throwaway (even the provocatively titled "Can I Touch It?"), but that doesn't prevent Wonderland from being a successful, if slightly depressing, soundtrack. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	09/30/2003
Label:	Epic
UPC:	0827969066126
Rank:	65646

Tracks

1. Wonderland
2. Love on the Rocks
3. 20th Century Boy
4. Shooting Star
5. Good Times Roll
6. Search and Destroy
7. Girls on Film
8. In Every Dream Home a Heartache
9. Faith to Arise
10. The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)
11. Big Shot
12. Gloria/In Excelsis Deo
13. Stranglehold
14. Drift Away
15. If You Could Read My Mind
16. Can I Touch It

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Roxy Music   Primary Artist
Iggy & the Stooges   Primary Artist
Val Kilmer   Primary Artist
Terry Reid   Primary Artist
T. Rex   Primary Artist
Jonathan Davis   Primary Artist,Bass,Guitar,Keyboards
Dobie Gray   Primary Artist
Duran Duran   Primary Artist
Gordon Lightfoot   Primary Artist
Billy Joel   Primary Artist
Bad Company   Primary Artist
Patti Smith   Primary Artist
Bob Dylan   Primary Artist
Ted Nugent   Primary Artist
The Cars   Primary Artist
MC Gainey   Primary Artist
Tess Parker   Primary Artist
Scoot McNairy   Primary Artist
Julieanne Steger   Primary Artist
Josh Lucas   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Ric Ocasek   Composer
Neil Diamond   Composer
Tim Harkins   Engineer,Producer
Roger Taylor   Composer
John Taylor   Composer
Matt Aberle   Music Supervisor
James Cox   Liner Notes
Tim Palen   Cover Photo
Hooshik   Art Direction,Photo Manipulation
Tiffany Ryan   Assistant Music Supervisor
Jim Monti   Assistant Engineer
Stephanie Lynn Urcheck   Soundtrack Coordination
Ted Nugent   Composer
Patti Smith   Composer
Billy Joel   Composer
Marc Bolan   Composer
Gordon Lightfoot   Composer
Gilbert Becaud   Composer
James Williamson   Composer
Joel C. High   Music Supervisor
Louie Teran   Mastering
Jonathan Davis   Producer
Bryan Ferry   Composer
Bob Dylan   Composer
David Falzone   Music Supervisor
Mentor Williams   Composer
Paul Rodgers   Composer
Terry Reid   Composer
Van Morrison   Composer
Andy Taylor   Composer
Simon LeBon   Composer
Nick Rhodes   Composer
Iggy Pop   Composer