Great upgrade from the original soundtrack CD
J. Bergstrom | Honolulu, HI United States | 08/07/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I bought this expanded version of The Wanderers soundtrack blindly, not certain of the sound quality or the stereo content. One of the best features of the original soundtrack CD was that it had the wide stereo version of Dion's "The Wanderer" and "Runaround Sue" (back when they were still a little less common on CD). So I was pleased to discover that for the most part, the stereo content is the same, and the fidelity is noticeably improved. There are a few changes, however, that are worth noting for people who are familiar with the original soundtrack CD. First of all, the obvious: this new version has been expanded to include five new songs from the movie, "Pipeline" by The Chantays, "You Really Got a Hold on Me" by The Miracles, "Wipe Out" by The Surfaris, "Tequila" by The Champs and "I Love You" by The Volumes. Second, one track that was formerly mono is now presented in stereo: "Soldier Boy" by The Shirelles. On the down side, though, "Stand By Me" which used to be in stereo, is now inexplicably in mono. And with all the great restoration that's been done to the Motown catalog in recent years, there's really no good reason not to go with the stereo version of "You Really Got a Hold on Me" either - that's a poor choice in my opinion. Also, one other significant change is the stereo alternate take of "Do You Love Me" used on the old soundtrack has been replaced by the more common mono 45 version on the new soundtrack. That was probably done for posterity sake since it's the true hit version, but personally I liked having the stereo alternate take, since it's rarer. All in all, this expanded edition is a great album and definitely a worthwhile upgrade. Here's the full stereo/mono breakdown for those who are interested:
1. Walk Like a Man - The Four Seasons (S)
2. Ya Ya - Lee Dorsey (M)
3. Big Girls Don't Cry - The Four Seasons (S)
4. My Boyfriend's Back - The Angels (S)
5. Sherry - The Four Seasons (S)
6. Baby It's You - The Shirelles (M)
7. Pipeline - The Chantays (S)
8. You Really Got a Hold On Me - The Miracles (M)
9. Wipe Out - The Surfaris (M)
10. Soldier Boy - The Shirelles (S)
11. Stand By Me - Ben E. King (M)
12. Shout (Part 1) - The Isley Brothers (S)
13. Do You Love Me - The Contours (M)
14. Runaround Sue - Dion (S)
15. Tequila - The Champs (M)
16. I Love You - The Volumes (M)
17. The Wanderer - Dion (S)"
