SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 35:08 Min.
Released by RSO Records, collaborators Dean Pitchford, Michael Gore, and Lesley Gore assembled the nine tracks for the 1980 movie soundtrack. With a few exceptions, the tracks are supplied by the film’s cast. Two of Irene Cara’s songs: the ballad, “Out Here on My Own,” and the iconic title song subsequently scored Academy Award nominations in 1981 for Best Original Song, with the latter winning the award.
As a hodge-podge of pop sub-genres, the nine tracks are:
SIDE ONE:
- Fame (Vocalist: Irene Cara – 5:14)
- Out Here On My Own (Vocalist: Irene Cara – 3:11)
- Hot Lunch Jam (Vocalist: Irene Cara – 4:10)
- Dogs in the Yard (Vocalist: Paul McCrane – 3:13)
SIDE TWO:
- Red Light (Vocalist: Linda Clifford – 6:10)
2. Is It Okay If Call You Mine? (Vocalist: Paul McCrane – 2:40)
3. Never Alone (Vocalists: Contemporary Gospel Chorus of the High of Music and Art – 3:23)
4. Ralph and Monty (Dressing Room Piano) (Instrumentalist: Michael Gore – 1:49)
5. I Sing the Body Electric (Vocalists: Laura Dean, Irene Cara, Paul McCrane, Traci Parnell, & Eric Brockington – 4:59)
Note: This title is also presently available in CD and digital formats.
REVIEW:
The album’s content predictably sounds dated forty-three years later. For instance, though her track imitates vintage Donna Summer, Linda Clifford’s up-tempo disco track, “Red Light,” overstays its welcome. The film’s rising-star vibe, otherwise, is still readily accessible hearing tunes recorded by Irene Cara, Paul McCrane, and, most certainly, the ensemble’s show-stopping finale.
If anything, the album’s legacy is primarily due to Cara’s effervescent vocals. For this reason alone, Fame is worth re-discovery in whatever audio format listeners prefer.
PACKAGING:
While the tracks are listed on the album’s back side, the tracks (and their running times) appear on the actual record. The album’s interior is a vivid double-page spread of film stills.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 7 Stars
