Swing Kids: Original Soundtrack
(Reviewed 1/18/00)

When the film Swing Kids came out in 1993, it helped to spark a nation-wide movement that has grown into the neo-swing culture of the 90's. The film took us back to Germany in the late 30's, where long haired youths dared to defy the Third Reich and indulge in the forbidden sounds of Jewish Benny Goodman, Black Duke Ellington, the great Ella Fitzgerald, and all the other "unsuitable" sounds that the Nazis abhorred. This album encapsulates this early obsession with big band with fully remastered (and in some cases, exquisitely re-recorded) tracks direct from the period. Shining moments are the wonderfully grainy and muffled "Flat Foot Floogee" (no one seems to know exactly what the lyrics are), "Goodnight, My Love," and Benny Goodman's orignal recording of "Swingtime in the Rockies." The re-recorded gems include the lighthearted "Daphne," a duet between a violin and a guitar, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon," this version of which has become one of the anthems of the new swing movement; the seamless medley of "Jumpin at the Woodside/Life Goes to a Party;" the Django Reinhardt classic, "Shout and Feel It" (one of my all time favorite tracks), and of course, the thundering "Sing Sing Sing," this version of which is widely regarded as one of the very best ever recorded. Finally, we are treated to afast, vintage version of the Lord's Prayer of swing, "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing!)" Besides the swing tracks, the rest of the album is filled with moody, sweeping original score work by noted film composer James Horner (Apollo 13, Titanic) that gets the listener thoroughly depressed before lifting their spirits with the swing that follows. It's some of Horner's very best work, and makes the album complete. Even when not functioning as a soundtrack to a somewhat mediocre film (though EVERYONE lives the dance scenes) this album is simply a must-have for anyone interested in swing. Grade: A+