Pop/Rock/World CD Reviews
Rock School Soundtrack; Trillion Records
Music from a new documentary film on a real School of Rock for young people in Philadelphia
Published on June 07, 2005
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Rock School Soundtrack; Trillion Records CD **1/2:
This record contains music from the documentary film “Rock School” that was released on May 31st, 2005. The documentary centers on the Paul Green School of Rock Music that was started in Philadelphia in 1999 to teach young people to play and perform rock ‘n’ roll. You can do an Internet search for Paul Green and get information on the programs offered by the school. They have been expanding locations and are attempting to open schools across the country after the success of the first couple of years. The soundtrack is interesting in that the songs are performed by many of the original artists along with actual students who appear in the film. The artists are legends like Alice Cooper, Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan, Yes’ Jon Anderson, The Police’s Stewart Copeland, The Ramones’ Marky Ramone, Ann Wilson of Heart, Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine, and Billy Idol.
The material is much better than some band your teenage high-schooler is in—these are highly competent musicians, well recorded. The addition of the star-power assists on the songs push them up to a level that sounds like cover songs, or in the case of the original vocals (like Heart’s “Barracuda” or Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”), sound like updated re-recordings. The album is a fun listen, but it’s the documentary that sounds like it will be the big winner. As it is, the compilation is a good collection of rock tunes, but anyone truly interested will either already have this material, or want to seek out the original material. I do salute the musicians and singers who perform on these tracks. They’re impressive and show the skill needed to make a good record. If their material is good, when and if they decide to do so, their recordings should be well received.
Songs included are: “Black Magic Woman” with Gregg Rolie; “I Wanna Be Sedated” with Marky Ramone/Tyson Ritter; “School’s Out” with Alice Cooper; “Barracuda” with Ann Wilson; “Highway Star” with Ian Gillan; “LA Woman” performed by The Paul Green School of Rock Music; “Heart Of The Sunrise” with Jon Anderson; “Rebel Yell” with Billy Idol; “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” with Stewart Copeland; “Iron Man” performed by The Paul Green School of Rock Music; “Peace Sells” with Dave Mustaine; “Hocus Pocus” performed by The Paul Green School of Rock Music.
-Brian Bloom
This record contains music from the documentary film “Rock School” that was released on May 31st, 2005. The documentary centers on the Paul Green School of Rock Music that was started in Philadelphia in 1999 to teach young people to play and perform rock ‘n’ roll. You can do an Internet search for Paul Green and get information on the programs offered by the school. They have been expanding locations and are attempting to open schools across the country after the success of the first couple of years. The soundtrack is interesting in that the songs are performed by many of the original artists along with actual students who appear in the film. The artists are legends like Alice Cooper, Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan, Yes’ Jon Anderson, The Police’s Stewart Copeland, The Ramones’ Marky Ramone, Ann Wilson of Heart, Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine, and Billy Idol.
The material is much better than some band your teenage high-schooler is in—these are highly competent musicians, well recorded. The addition of the star-power assists on the songs push them up to a level that sounds like cover songs, or in the case of the original vocals (like Heart’s “Barracuda” or Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”), sound like updated re-recordings. The album is a fun listen, but it’s the documentary that sounds like it will be the big winner. As it is, the compilation is a good collection of rock tunes, but anyone truly interested will either already have this material, or want to seek out the original material. I do salute the musicians and singers who perform on these tracks. They’re impressive and show the skill needed to make a good record. If their material is good, when and if they decide to do so, their recordings should be well received.
Songs included are: “Black Magic Woman” with Gregg Rolie; “I Wanna Be Sedated” with Marky Ramone/Tyson Ritter; “School’s Out” with Alice Cooper; “Barracuda” with Ann Wilson; “Highway Star” with Ian Gillan; “LA Woman” performed by The Paul Green School of Rock Music; “Heart Of The Sunrise” with Jon Anderson; “Rebel Yell” with Billy Idol; “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” with Stewart Copeland; “Iron Man” performed by The Paul Green School of Rock Music; “Peace Sells” with Dave Mustaine; “Hocus Pocus” performed by The Paul Green School of Rock Music.
-Brian Bloom
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