A review of the Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) soundtrack

In 1981, Rolling Stone magazine writer, Cameron Crowe, published a book about his experiences as an undercover student at Clairemont High School. The following year, we saw the release of the film based on that book - Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Since then, the soundtrack to this teen drama has proved something of a cult classic. This article analyses the reasons why.

A strange soundtrack for strange times

Listening to the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack is like travelling back in time to a distant planet called the early eighties. It features tracks from long forgotten bands such as Quarterflash, The Ravyns, the Go Go's and the freakishly named - Oingo Boingo. These relics from a musical landscape that time forgot are joined by 80s icons such as Sammy Hagar, Joe Walsh and ex-Eagle Don Henley on a sizzling and sparkling diamond of a soundtrack which is almost as funny as the film.

19 Songs, one Album, all Good

The album There are 19 songs on the album but the one that really did the business in the charts of the day, was Jackson Browne's "Someday Baby". This stand out track is a rhythmic slow burner with a hint of melancholy that proves Browne can deliver a great non-political pop song. Stevie Nick's "Sleeping Angel" and Donna Summer's "Highway Runner" also step gallantly up to the plate and add to the overall punch and poignancy of proceedings. Part and parcel of the appeal of Fast Times at Ridgemont High's soundtrack is that all of the featured songs were written specifically for the film or had never appeared on the respective artist's releases to date. As such, it benefits from an effortless cohesion and well-thought out running order which many soundtracks of the modern era seem to lack.

Where's the Cars?

The Cars Of course, "Moving In Stereo" by The Cars, which soundtrack's actress Phoebe Cates Fast Times at Ridgemont High's show-stealing scene, where she takes her bikini top off is conspicuous by its absence. Yet, don't let that deter you from giving this curious musical memento a spin. After its initial release in 1982, the soundtrack remained unavailable for quite some time, but as Paul Weller once rightly snarled, "The public get what the public want," and the soundtrack was re-released on CD in 1995. So, there is really no excuse for you not to experience life in the fast lane and enjoy some Fast Times at Ridgemount High.