Review: Soundtrack "If Looks Could Kill" (1991)

I've never heard of this 1991 movie (starring Richard Grieco), but the soundtrack caught my eye because a number of bands I somewhat enjoyed had some songs on here that I've never heard. Judging by the booklet and movie poster, it is not a movie I am going to rush to Blockbuster to check out. But here is the scoop on the tunes for those who care...

Glenn Medeiros (remember "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You"), starts off us with a track that tries really, really hard to keep the 80s sound alive, despite the fact that it was recorded in 1991. It sounds exceptionally dated and wasn't the kind of 80s music I was a huge fan of. I began to think that I made a mistake with this soundtrack, but then comes a long lost track from The Outfield, an 80s favorite of mine. "One Hot Country" is classic Outfield and is one of their better tracks from the time period. Sounds like it could have come off "Rockeye". The short-lived hair band supergroup Contraband makes a decent contribution with a track made for cruising, "Loud Guitars Fast Cars, and Wild Wild Women." Trixter's track, "One Mo Time" is queer; the only song I know from them featuring sax. I would not have known it was Trixter. This track did very little for me. The soundtrack reaches a low point with a pure dance track by Kylie Minogue (WTF? Who puts this on a soundtrack of mostly AOR and hairband stuff?)

Next up comes Robin McAuley (McAuley Schenker Group), who is now the lead singer for Survivor. Songs like this "Teach Me How To Dream" probably got him that job. Robin McAuley sounds a lot like Klaus Meine (Scorpions) at times, and this song a lot like "Winds of Change" - overall, it is a respectable power ballad. The Fixx put in a surprisingly good rock track with harmonica to boot called "All Is Fair". Another underrated AOR band called The Stabilizers contribute a very nice track called "Maybe This Time", a pleasant uptempo rocker with plenty of harmony and a perfect balance of guitars and synth that was typical of the late 80s. Incidentally, their 1986 CD "Tyranny" is a good catch for collectors - currently going for $42 on Amazon.com - check now. "Maybe This Time" is much better than anything on "Tyranny", though. Bang Tango closes things out with another blast from the past - a funky rocker called "My Saltine". I was never a huge fan of this band, but this track is jazzed up with horns and quite catchy.

iPOD-worthy: 2, 6, 7, 8, 9