Welcome to soundtracks! Our look at the latest offerings in the soundtrack world.

Soundtracks – Dogtown and Z-Boys 
Label: Enjoy-Records / Universal 
Rating: 
Review By: antiGUY
 

Tracks: Ezy Ryder - Jimi Hendrix Motor City Madhouse - Ted Nugent Funk - James Gang Generation Landslide - Alice Cooper Children of the Revolution - T Rex Gimme Danger - Iggy and the Stooges Bad Reputation - Thin Lizzy Rocky Mountain Way - Joe Walsh La Grange - ZZ Top Maggie May - Rod Stewart

When I was approached about reviewing a soundtrack to a film that chronicles the early days of skateboarding I anticipated the disc would be filled with songs from bands I used to see advertised in Thrasher Magazine (yes, the secret is out, antiGUY was a skater in his youth, a master of the board, the half-pipe, McTwist and an occasional face plant!) Once the disc arrived I found out the film actually goes back further than my skating days of the mid eights, way back to the 70’s when boards were short and skinny and the music that skaters did their thing to was good old fashioned 70’s era rock! 

Here is a little background on the film before we proceed with the soundtrack. The film chronicles the early days of skateboarding and Zephyr Skateboard Team from Venice, Ca (or Dogtown as it was known to the Z-boys). The Z-boys were really the pioneers of professional skateboarding and the culture that grew up around it. This documentary film was put together by Stacy Peralta (skaters will recognize the last name) and was narrated by Sean Penn with commentary from Tony Hawk, Henry Rollins, Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament and Fugazi’s Lane Mackay. Any serious skateboarding enthusiast would be well advised to check out the film since it really gives you a look at how it all began. 

Now on to the soundtrack. Like I said, I initially expected the disc to be made up of tracks from bands like JFA, Black Flag and the Dead Kennedy’s. The stuff that was popular in skateboarding circles when I was back breaking bones on half-pipes. Instead the soundtrack goes back further in time when the rock of choice to the early skateboarders was the big hard rock of the day. So really anyone who is into the hard rock of the 70’s will get off on this disc, you don’t have to be a skateboarder to appreciate it. In fact, this disc is actually a great one to have on hand for parties or cruising down the freeway with the top down! 

Jimi Hendrix kicks things off with “Ezy Rider” which really sets the tone of the album in a way that only Hendrix can! Up next is Gonzo himself, Motor City Madman--Ted Nugent with “Motor City Madhouse”. Then The James Gang mixes it up a bit with “Funk 49” only to have Alice Cooper take things back to the hard rock arena with “Generation Landslide”, T Rex chimes in with “Children of the Revolution” and none other than Iggy Pop and the Stooges punch you right in the face with “Gimme Danger” (If that isn’t the perfect song to skate to, I don’t know what is!). Thin Lizzy takes you back to the age of arena rock with “Bad Reputation” and Joe Walsh keeps things moving with his hit “Rocky Mountain Way” only to topped by the “Best Little Band in Texas”, ZZ Top and their classic radio staple “La Grange”. The only song that doesn’t really fit here is the closing track, “Maggie May” by Rod Stewart, while a great song in itself, it’s a bit too mellow for this line-up, I can’t picture people thrashing out on their boards to this tune. 

So all in all this is a pretty solid CD, packed with plenty of classic rock gold, which features some tunes you won’t normally hear in rotation on classic rock radio. So hats off to Enjoy Records for a job well done, it even inspired me to think about dusting off my old board and giving it a spin! 
 

Listen to samples and Purchase this CD online