Fame [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster] (CD - 1980)

Recorded at Media Sound, C.I., Columbia, A & R Studios, New York, New York in 1980. Includes liner notes by George Feltenstein.

Personnel: Paul McCrane (vocals, guitar); Eric Brockington (vocals, tambourine, background vocals); Irene Cara, Traci Parnell (vocals, background vocals); Linda Clifford, Laura Dean (vocals); Cliff Morris, Billy Cross, David Spinozza, Elliott Randall, Jeff Layton, Russ Traut, Jeff Mironov, Steve Khan (guitar); Michael Monaco (electric guitar); Frederick Buldrini, Lamar Alsop, Kathryn Kienke, Marilyn Wright, Joe Rabuska, Israel Chorberg, Lou Eley, Tony Posk, Carmel Malin, Alfons Schipani, Joyce Flissler, Leo Kahn, Leon Goldstein, Lenore Wolaniuk, Ariana Bronne, Joseph Malin, Sanford Allen, Regis Iandiorio, Harold Kohon, Suzanne Ornstein, Max Hollander, Jean Ingraham, Max Ellen (violin); Adam Abeshouse (electric violin); Sue Pray, Julien Barber, Helen Huybrechts, Maureen Gallagher, Lenore Weinstock, Seymour Berman, Carolyn Voight, Judy Geist, Evelyn Glover, Harold Coletta (viola); Julius Baker, Andrew Lolya, Phil Bodner (flute); Don Brooks (harmonica); Charles Russo, Willie Blount (clarinet); George Marge, Marsha Heller (oboe); Loren Glickman, Donald MacCourt (bassoon); David Tofani, David Glasser (alto saxophone); Dennis Morouse, Harold Vick (tenor saxophone); Ronnie Cuber (baritone saxophone); James Sedlar, Jon Faddis, Lew Soloff, Mike Lawrence , Randy Brecker, Danny Cahn (trumpet); Ron Sell, Sharon Moe, Albert Richmond (French horn); David Earl Taylor (trombone, bass trombone); Eddie Bert, Harry DiVito (trombone); Dave Bargeron, Barry Rogers (tenor trombone); Ray Chew, Rob Mounsey (piano, keyboards); Steve Margoshes, Lee Curreri, Michael Gore, Frank Owens (piano); Cliff Carter, Leon Pendarvis (keyboards); Tim Tobias, Suzanne Ciani, Kenneth Bichel (synthesizer); Lewis Paer, Ralph Oxman, John Beal, Ron Carter , Donald Palma (double bass); Chris Parker , Steve Jordan , Yogi Horton, Allan Schwartzberg, Bob Fisher (drums); Gordon Sayles, Desiree Lindsay, Anthony Evans (tambourine, background vocals); Delphia Shipman, Darryl Ware (tambourine); Crusher Bennet, Jim Ogden, Gordon Gottlieb, Anthony Lewis , Jimmy Maelen (percussion); Ullanda McCullough, April Lang, Robert Koch, Annie Sutton, Louise Bethune, Anthony Ogburn, Mary Wormworth, Cheryl Questell, Thais Hockaday, Deborah McDuffie, Maretha Stewart, Lisa Herman, Luther Vandross, Vicki Sue Robinson, Yvonne Lewis, Lisa Lowell, Kimberley Carlson, Vivian Cherry (background vocals).

Liner Note Author: George Feltenstein.

Recording information: A&R Studios, New York, NY; C.I. Recording Studios, New York, NY; Columbia (30th Street) Recording Studios, New York, NY; Media Sound Studios, New York, NY.

Arrangers: Gil Askey; Steve Margoshes; Leon Pendarvis.

Fame was a film directed by Alan Parker, a serious auteur (some would say overly serious, especially in light of the work that came later) who designed the film for posterity, and the same attitude carried over the music. Yes, the production techniques often do sound dated -- the over-reliance on state-of-the-art synthesizer ironically now sounds helplessly tied to the year of its creation -- but the music by Michael Gore is dynamic, varied, and alive, sung with real passion and vigor, and it still retains its essential spark 23 years after it was a pop culture phenomenon. Sure, it's glitzy and glossy, sounding like show tunes, but that's the tradition of this music, and it was done better than most Broadway tunes and movie soundtracks of the '80s. Years later, this still has the spark and vitality of kids trying to make their big break, no matter the kind of music they're singing, and that's one of the main reasons (along with Gore's fine compositions) Fame retains its power and entertainment value years later. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Given that Rhino/TCM's reissue of the original soundtrack to Alan Parker's 1980 film Fame arrived in spring of 2003, just as American Idol fever was reaching a boiling point, it was hard not to draw comparisons between the two, since both were forms of talent contests featuring talented unknowns desperate for stardom. What the Fame soundtrack reveals is that purposeful, artfully constructed fiction still has an edge over reality TV, since it does place a greater value on craft and therefore knows how to channel the passions of their featured stars better than AmIdol, which tends toward magnificent flameouts. That's also the nature of modern TV. Fame was a film directed by a serious auteur (some would say overly serious, especially in light of the work that came later), who designed the film for posterity, and the same attitude carried over the music. Yes, the production techniques often do sound dated -- the over-reliance on state-of-the-art synthesizer ironically now sounds helplessly tied to the year of its creation -- but the music by Michael Gore is dynamic, varied, and alive, sung with real passion and vigor, and it still retains its essential spark 23 years after it was a pop culture phenomenon. Sure, it's glitzy and glossy, sounding like show tunes, but that's the tradition of this music, and it was done better than most Broadway tunes and movie soundtracks of the '80s. Years later, this still has the spark and vitality of kids trying to make their big break, no matter the kind of music they're singing, and that's one of the main reasons (along with Gore's fine compositions) Fame retains its power and entertainment value years later. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine minimize