Vision Quest

by

Various Artists

Edit

I didn't really like the movie, Vision Quest, but the soundtrack is really good. It's likely to appeal to two audiences: 1) Madonna fans, and 2) 80s rock fans. There's a nice balance between pop (Madonna, Style Council), pop-rock (Journey, John Waite, Foreigner), and hard-rock (Dio, Red Rider). Of course, everyone's probably heard Madonna's "Crazy for You," which was her first hit ballad (unless you include "Borderline"). It still sounds great, and is really quite beautiful and sweet. You may not, however, have heard her second song on the soundtrack - "Gambler." It's more of an up-beat pop song. Although it's clearly not one of her best efforts, I think that this soundtrack is the only place to get it. My other favorite song on the CD is Dio's "Hungry for Heaven." I'm not a Dio fan, but this song is more melodic and poppy than most of their stuff - it's really great. If you like other 80s soundtracks (e.g., Flashdance, Footloose), you'll probably really enjoy "Vision Quest."

Vision Quest is a cult classic from 1985 that may well be best known for the number one song "Crazy For You" by Madonna that she also performed in the film. Madonna was a rising star when the film was released and the film garnered attention as it was her first appearance in a film. She sings the aforementioned "Crazy For You" and "Gambler" in a bar scene. Journey also scored a top ten hit with "Only The Young" which was originally recorded for their Frontiers album, but not released until the soundtrack. It has become one of their most enduring classics. Don Henley contributes one of the rarest songs in his catalog. It's a punchy track with backing vocals by Belinda Carlisle & Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's. The rest of the album is made of previously released tracks like "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner, "Change" by John Waite and "Lunatic Fringe" by Red Rider.