All of the songs were good, but I fell in love with the songs that the orchestra played. I listen to the CD in my car and it really makes me want to have a lead foot until I reach 88 MPH. I know it sounds stupid, but this music can get you excited. The score for this movie was very well done. If you have bought the soundtrack to "Superman", you know how excited you can get.

What I thought was strange was one of the songs. Do you remember when Marty comes back from the past and can't get the car started? The song that was being played on the radio where that homeless person was sleeping on the bench is on the CD. If you ask me, tracks 3 and 6 are the best.

This CD is worth your money.


Great symphonic tunes, and Huey Lewis & The News to boot!   February 12, 2001
Zagnorch (Terra, Sol System)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

All right, I admit it... my main interest in picking this up was not for the instrumentals. Like most folks, I wanted it for the two cuts by Huey Lewis and The News, 'The Power of Love' and 'Back In Time'. Yes, I really dug on those 80's bubble-gum/retro pop tracks back in my middle school days, and I needed to complete my HL&N collection, okay? And don't laugh, cuz you bought this OST back then for the exact same reason, and don't you deny it! Besides, with the boom of the 80's nostalgia market nowadays- with TransFormers, G.I. Joe, Masters of the Universe, Voltron and John Hughes-directed movies being just a few examples- this soundtrack will be stylin' once again in no time!

But even though my reasons for owning this recording was to add to my library of Reagan-era pop, it did introduce me to the world of symphonic music. Up until that time, I never cared much for symphony, be it classical or modern. Alan Silvestri's efforts added just the right tone to the movies' many tense and exciting moments. His BTTF overture got me curious enough to check out the works of other great notable soundtrack composers, including Jerry Goldsmith (Star Trek I, V, VIII & IX, Total Recall), James Horner (Star Trek II, III), Basil Poledouris (RoboCop, Starship Troopers, Conan) and especially John Williams (The Star Wars & Indiana Jones Trilogies, Superman The Movie). Of course it also helps that I'm a big fan of the films that these composers wrote music for. Ironically, my interests in other Silvestri pieces is minimal. I don't even know any other movies he's scored tunes for aside from the BTTF trilogy!

This soundtrack also introduced me to Eric Clapton. Sadly, I was less than impressed by his '(Heaven is) One Step Away'. Fortunately, I discovered other Clapton tunes that changed my preconceptions about his talent and abilities. Lindsay Buckinghams' 'Time Bomb Town' is pretty paranoid, and isn't exactly a cut that makes for a comfortable listen. But the many other tracks more than make up for these less-than-stellar performances.

'Late


"Totally Awesome" movie; Average Soundtrack.   December 24, 2003
JWP (San Jose, CA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

In short, the Back To the Future movie itself is just about my favorite from the 80s, maybe altogether. I've spent hours on message boards discussing it, and doubt I'll ever tire of the adventures of Doc & Marty.

That said, the soundtrack from the greatest movie ever, isn't quite up to the same level. It ain't bad, though. It's mixed with 80s and 50s, as well as rock, pop, and ballads.

1) "Power of Love," Huey Lewis -- The main attraction here. I don't think any 80's rock collection (or a music collection, for that matter) is complete without this energetic arena rocking pop tune.

2) "Time Bomb Town," Lindsay Buckingham -- To put it plainly, this song takes time to grow on you. Starting with mostly just a drumbeat and an accoustic guitar, it features slightly paranoid lyrics and hiccuping vocals set to a mid tempo beat. It turns into a slightly more rocking sound toward the end, but not too much. I would've preferred the lost hit "Trouble" in its place.

3) Orchestra from the movie. A great piece fitting with the background movie music.

4) "Heaven is One Step Away," Eric Clapton -- A bluesy, slow pop/rock tune that's just okay, but not great. You can hear it briefly on the sleeping bum's radio at the moment Marty returns to 1985.

5) "Back in Time," Huey -- His second song (which accurately describes the movie) is almost as good as the first. Also set to a pop beat, it's a little more rocking, but also a little less catchy and happy. Not much, though. It's still great, and if you liked "POL" you'll like this.

6) More orchestra music. Now featuring the piece with '55 Doc and the Clocktower scenes toward the end.

7) "Dance With Me Henry," Etta James -- This is the perfect example of a song I wouldn't have liked if not for the movie. A 50's uptempo R&B dance tune. It also may take time for you to like it.

8) "Night Train," Marvin Berry & The Starlighters -- An instrumental piece by the movie's soul/rock/R&B band. It's okay, but Id' have preferred another tune of the era not included, possibly "Mr Sandman."

9) "Earth Angel," Marvin Berry -- This 50's pop ballad is very pretty and fits in great. It's included at the scene of younger George & Lorraine at the high school dance.

10) "Johnny B. Goode," Marty McFly & The Starlighters -- Chuck Berry's oldies rocker is redone with Mark Campbell doing 'Marty's' vocals. A slightly more modern sounding, rocking version of the song. It also goes the full length of the original and doesn't include Marty's improvised hard rock guitar solo.

As said before, as great as the movie was, the soundtrack could've been better, but it's still recommended. The fact that there were only 7 real songs (and only 5 different artists altogether), and not more tunes from the 80's and the 50's drag it down to 3.5 stars.


Great Movie . . . Average Soundtrack   November 28, 2001
Lee DeWald (Nebraska)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful

As much as I love the "Back to the Future" series (they are my favorite movies of all time), I can't help but feel somewhat disappointed with this CD. I bought it expecting there would be some great film scores from the movie, but alas, that is not the case.

Not that what the CD offers isn't fine. This soundtrack does have the theme to the movie which is on Track 3 (a short version) and Track 6 (the long version). This is, in my opinion, Alan Silvestri's best work of all time. I sooooo want to play this score in our concert band, but I don't think it's ever going to happen.

Huey Lewis and the News were on top of the world when this movie came out, so their two songs in "The Power of Love" (Track 1) and "Back in Time" (Track 5) are featured on this CD. Lewis even makes a cameo appearance in the film, playing the part of someone who doesn't like Marty McFly's loud music.

My other favorite tracks, besides Tracks 3 and 6, are Tracks 9 and 10. Track 9 ("Earth Angel") is a memorable song that everyone who has seen the movie remembers. Who can forget that heart-pounding scene from the movie where Marty is about to be erased from existence? And Track 10 ("Johnny B. Goode") is an awesome song that is frequently played on my CD player. Unlike the movie version, however, this track plays the song in full. It doesn't cut into Marty doing his "rock'n'roll thing" in the middle of the song and creeping everyone out who attended the dance. Which is another classic scene from the movie, by the way.

In short, this soundtrack is okay. I am glad that I have it, since it rounds out the four music disks in the "Back to the Future" series, but I'm disappointed that so many of the musical score from the film was omitted from this CD. I don't know why we had to wait until the "Back to the Future Trilogy" CD came out to finally get the music from the first movie.

If you're a huge fan of this series, this CD will be a must. But if you're looking for film score music from the movie on this CD, you will be disappointed.