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The main theme song is the rhythmic but semi-melancholy "Somebody's Baby" by Jackson Browne. "going walk up to her, I'm going to talk to her" reflects Mark Ratner's feelings towards Stacey.

With "Waffle Stomp", ex-Eagle Joe Walsh has one of his goofy songs with a stomping beat. "You can punch out your boss/get fired from your job/collect unemployment/for your enjoyment/take out he trash/come down with a rash" and so on. One of the funnier songs here.

Fellow ex-Eagle Don Henley comes next with the tender guitar and piano "Love Rules." Standout lyric: "I wish I didn't have so much to feel/it's much too scary and it's all too real"

Louise Goffin's poppy "Uptown Boys" has a bit of 60's girl-group stylings in the chorus and backing singers, but the pre-chorus bits have that California sound a la Ronstadt or Karla Bonoff. Timothy B. Schmit's fingersnapping "So Much In Love" is a nice bit of doowop, with only a bass and drums coming in. The Ravyns' rocking "Raised On The Radio" is heard at least twice, once when Brad is washing his car.

The Go-Go's' "Speeding" has a jamming beat reminiscent of "We Got The Beat", which wasn't included here despite playing during the first scene, but has a sound close to their Vacation era. One of the best songs by them and on this album. "Driving faster, driving faster..."

"Don't Be Lonely" by Quarterflash fits more on their debut album than Take Another Picture, and it's a good-enough song. And yes, there is a brief Rindy Ross sax solo.

Like Heavy Metal, Fast Times sports two title songs, and they fit in the rock mode. The first is Billy Squier's "Fast Times (The Best Years Of Our Lives)" and the second is Sammy Hagar's hard-driving, with a grinding guitar and tempo like "I Love It Loud" or "We Will Rock You."

Jimmy Buffett's goofy "I Don't Know (Spicoli's Theme)" perfectly fits the character, incorporating lines and loves of Spicoli: "too gnarly a day for a classroom" and "cruising is what I dig the most."

Graham Nash's "Love Is The Reason" has a melody and sound like the Eagles' "Take It To The Limit", while Poco's well-paced "I'll Leave It Up To You" with its new wave synths makes it far from the country-rock band that emerged from the ashes of Buffalo Springfield. Donna Summer's "Highway Runner" sports some Eagles-ish guitar and sitar, and is a far cry from her usual disco stuff. It's not bad, just weird for her.

Stevie Nicks' "Sleeping Angel" can also be found on the Enchanted box set; when I first heard it from there, I chalked another all-time great melancholy ballad for the Welsh Witch. This is played while Mike Damone is calling people who owe him money, to no avail.

Palmer/Jost's "She's My Baby (And She's Outta Control)" is pure 80's new wave a la Devo or Cars. Oingo Boingo's raucous "Goodbye, Goodbye" is more like Stray Cats-like rockabilly, with a call and repeat bridge section.

One of the best 80's soundtrack compilations, with the legacy of the Eagles included in various spots.


Great Movie, Great Soundtrack   June 29, 2000
 13 out of 14 found this review helpful

Fast Times is one of the funniest movies ever made and the soundtrack captures the spirit of the movie quite well. Although the movie employs some great previously released material that doesn't appear on the cd (The Go-Go's "We Got The Beat" & Zeppelin's "Kashmir" as examples), the songs written specifically for the movie and appear on this cd stand up to those quite well. "Sleeping Angel" is one the prettiest songs Stevie Nicks has ever recorded as is "Love Rules" by Don Henley. Jimmy Buffett contributes a typically humorous track with "I Don't Know", the usually insipid Sammy Hagar mines a heavy chunk of rock in the title track, the Go-Go's provide a great original song with "Speeding" and the big hit off the album, Jackson's Browne's "Somebody's Baby" is still catchy. There are some very weak songs ("Uptown Boys" & the Timothy B. Schmidt remake of "So Much In Love" to name two)which prevent it from being a 5 star cd, but overall if you loved the movie, you'll love the cd. Even if you're not a fan, there is some outstanding music that makes the cd worth a listen.


This is the best movie and soundtrack ever!!!   August 22, 1999
 9 out of 13 found this review helpful

Ohmigod this has got to be the best soundtrack ever made. Normally soundtracks just have a few good songs, but this one has all good songs. If you are someone who likes 80's music i highly recommend this for you. Especially the songs, "Somebody's Baby" and "Rasied on the Radio." This is an awesome CD!!!


A pretty cool soundtrack to a particularly mediocre movie.   May 22, 2000
 7 out of 21 found this review helpful

And boyz oh boyz, isn't that ever familiar, as a matter of fact, I shall later review a soundtrack in which the music is great but it comes from a purely horrible movie, which I agreed with Roger Ebert about. The big hit from this album definetly had to be "Somebody's Baby", which is the original reason why I bought this album, really. There's also Ravyns' "Raised On The Radio", not too bad. My absolute favorite from this CD would have to be Don Felder's "Never Surrender", taken from his 1982 solo import album "Airborne", try to find it, it's real cool. Then comes both "Fast Times" songs, both Billy Squier and Sammy Hagar do real well in these rock tunes. My second favorite is next: Jimmy Buffet's Spicolli's Theme "I Don't Know" (That's the line that the stoned surfer was known for, Mr. Hand wrote it on the board, remember?). Finally, there's Donna Summer's "Highway Runner", being real funky, and then the definitive movie-ending tune Oingo Boingo's "Goodbye, Goodbye". So, in short, this soundtrack sure is pop-filled, if only the movie could have been funnier. Some comedy, huh? Buy this album, you'll be in for some Fast Times for sure!


A surprisingly charming CD which has "aged" very gracefully!   December 18, 2001
 5 out of 9 found this review helpful

I never really cared too much for the original movie. It came out when I was around 14, I didn't see it until I was approximately 16 or so... but just didn't care for it even though it was made for my age group and my time period because I thought it was gross and mean-spirited. I had only gotten laughs out of every scene with Sean Penn's wasted surfer goof, but enough about all of that.

We all know how the movie's "aging" has made it appealing because it serves as a time capsule for the period whether they love the film itself or hate it... but here's a geuinely amazing fact. While the movie has "aged" to become a photo snapshot of the 80s, the soundtrack sounds genuinely timeless!

For such an obnoxious movie (well, ok, to be fair it wasn't as obnoxious as others I could mention from back then, but still...), the soundtrack accompanying it is surprisingly genteel and fun, a feel-good collection of songs written during that period just before '83 saw a massive and destructive technological takeover in pop music. Rather than sounding "dated", it sounds fun and delightfully free of kitch. This one deserves a long life out there on the music store racks!

Most of the songs are of a soft or moderate tempo and... well, they just simply make you feel good. It's worth having this one just for the sigh-inducing "So Much in Love" by Timothy B. Schmit ALONE! Tracks 1-7 are guaranteed to make you melt with pleasure, with cute melodies, fun arrangements and easygoing vibes. The Go-Go's charming "Speeding" quickens things up just enough to add variety for a moment before Quarterflash's "Don't Be Lonely" arrives to chug along with its confident little bounce to make you smile.

Things begin rocking a little faster around Don Felder's "Never Surrender" but never so much that it disrupts your mood brought on by the disc's first half--even Sammy Hagar's contribution is so tounge-in-cheek that the effect is still accomplished!--this is a collection that knows what it's doing and precisely how to arrange the songs' order to produce just the right overall effect.

It made me happy and was fun to listen to with each track. Now how many soundtracks from that era do you own which you can honestly make that same claim with? And I say this as someone who's discovering the soundtrack AFTER the fact... I just now bought it and heard it for the first time here in 2001! (I just couldn't remember what it sounded like after seeing it only once or twice all those years ago and never knew anyone who owned it.)

An "80s time capsule"? Well... not really.

A truly enjoyable and lighthearted collection of music! You BET!