Speed: Songs from and Inspired by the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the 1994 action film Speed directed by Jan de Bont, starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox Records on June 28, 1994, featuring selections of songs from and inspired by the film.[1] It was commercially successful in Japan, selling 100,000 copies and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).[2]
| Speed: Songs from and Inspired by the Motion Picture | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.png) | ||||
| Soundtrack album by various artists | ||||
| Released | June 28, 1994 | |||
| Length | 50:04 | |||
| Label | 20th Century Fox | |||
| Producer | Ralph Sall | |||
| Various artists chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editIn early 1994, producer Mark Gordon chose record producer Ralph Sall as the music supervisor for the film and its soundtrack. He was tasked to curate a concept album with a compilation of various songs from different eras and genres and featured a diverse range of artists, that would be similar to the film's genre. Thus, the resulting soundtrack consisted of songs mostly about speed, cars and travelling.[1]
Michael Kamen was initially considered to do the score of the movie, however De Bont chose Mark Mancina, who at the time worked in some Hans Zimmer scores like Days of Thunder, Where Sleeping Dogs Lie and True Romance.[3]
"Speed" is the main title song composed and recorded specifically for the film by singer-songwriter Billy Idol, which was a chart-topping success upon release.[4]
Reception
editLeslie Mathew of AllMusic summarized that: "Speed was one of most entertaining movies of the '90s, and the soundtrack is a very worthy companion piece."[5] Ty Burr of Entertainment Weekly criticized it as "a cynical album that feels like it was packaged by out-of-touch Hollywood ponytails" and assigned a D+ rating.[6]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Speed" | Billy Idol, Steve Stevens | 4:22 |
| 2. | "A Million Miles Away" | The Plimsouls | 3:41 |
| 3. | "Soul Deep" | Gin Blossoms | 3:06 |
| 4. | "Let's Go for a Ride" | Cracker | 3:07 |
| 5. | "Go Outside and Drive" | Blues Traveler | 4:51 |
| 6. | "Crash" | Ric Ocasek | 5:05 |
| 7. | "Rescue Me" | Pat Benatar | 3:01 |
| 8. | "Hard Road" | Rod Stewart | 4:28 |
| 9. | "Cot" | Carnival Strippers | 5:23 |
| 10. | "Cars ('93 Sprint Remix)" | Gary Numan | 4:02 |
| 11. | "Like a Motorway" | Saint Etienne | 5:43 |
| 12. | "Mr. Speed" | Kiss | 3:17 |
| Total length: | 50:04 | ||
Chart performance
edit| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[7] | 41 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[8] | 1 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[9] | 65 |
| UK Compilation Albums (OCC)[10] | 45 |
| US Billboard 200[11] | 32 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan (RIAJ)[12] | Gold | 100,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ a b "Speed: Songs From And Inspired By The Motion Picture (Soundtrack)". Amazon. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
- ^ "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 2002年2月度" [Gold Albums, and other certified works. February 2002 Edition] (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). 509: 13. April 10, 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
- ^ "Mark Mancina's interview on the podcast Kingdom of Dreams".
- ^ Quantick, David (September 10, 1994). "Singles". New Musical Express. p. 42.
- ^ Mathew, Leslie. "Review: Speed [Original Soundtrack]". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
- ^ Burr, Ty (August 5, 1994). "Speed". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Soundtrack – Speed". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 1994-07-05" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ "Official Compilations Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ "Soundtrack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ "Japanese album certifications – VARIOUS – ソングス・フロム・アンド・インスパイアード・バイ・ザ・モーション・ピクチャー「スピード」" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved August 6, 2024. Select 2002年2月 on the drop-down menu