Music Heard in (but not on the soundtrack of): Xanadu

I recently had the urge to listen to some ELO (because of this post) and dug into my copy of the "Xanadu" soundtrack. Then it hit me, there are a few songs in the movie that are not on the CD.

Well, I did a little digging and came to find out that the Xanadu Soundtrack was to have been a 2 disc LP. When it was scaled back to a just one LP (no CDs back then), they had no choice but to drop several songs. So don't ge me wrong, I love the album we got, but I want more. So since a double CD isn't on the horizon, I at least wanted to compile in one place what I've been able to gather are all the songs left off.

Read more to see what I found...

It turns out, several Xanadu tracks that would have been on the second record were released as B-sides (back in the day, when we bought a hit song on a record, a lesser known song would be on the "flip-side" of the 45).

Below are the songs we know about, and a few I am just speculating are out there somewhere. Let's hope for a restored CD release for the 30th anniversary in 2010!

* Drum Dreams by Electric Light Orchestra (E.L.O.) - This is the instrumental section where the skaters in the club clap their hands and yell "Ho!" This was 45 rpm "B" side for "I'm Alive" and "All Over The World". Not on CD anywhere, as far as I know, but you can rip it from the DVD if you are geeky enough.

* Fool Country by Olivia Newton John (ONJ) - Part of Olivia's end-of-movie medley, but released as a stand-alone track. You can find this on Olivia's CD "Gold." By the way "Country" is the song with the lyrics "First Stage Out Of This Town." It is the medley of the 2 songs, but is only 2:28 - and nothing is added from what is heard in the movie.

* You Made Me Love You by ONJ - This was the B-Side of "Suddenly." I can't find it on CD anywhere. This plays in the background before Gene Kelley's daydream leading into "Whenever You're Away From Me."

* Love Changes All by ELO - Apparently not completed in time for the movie or the soundtrack, yet this song was intended for "Xanadu." You can find it on the ELO CD "Flashback," along with the Jeff Lynne vocal version of "Xanadu."

* The Xanadu Overture by ELO - A short orchestral piece that plays right at the end of the movie as the credits roll. This seems to have been a lead-in to "Love Changes All." If you listen closely to LCA, you can hear the Overture used.

* The Xanadu Finale - The epic medley that blends "Drum Dreams," "Xanadu," tap dancing," "Fool" and "Country" (aka "First Stage Out Of This Town") and "Xanadu" again.

* Musical Score by Barry DeVorzon - Along with the above, this could certainly fill out a second CD, if not a third!

By the way, Xanadu Kenny Ortega who would go on to coreograph and/or direct High School Musical, Cheetah Girls and HSM 2!

Kudos to the Xanadu Preservation Society, Kathy and Christopher (reviewers at Amazon) and many YouTubers for sharing such great info.

And something that NEEDS to be on the 30th Anniversary Deluxe 2-DVD set in 2010 (well, we hope) is the "Making Xanadu" TV special. For now, you can see it on YouTube (while you can), in several parts:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

file this under Music Heard In
Posted by on October 6, 2007 @ October 6, 2007 02:12 AM    
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