Rocky Balboa Best Of Rocky [Compilation, Soundtrack]

While this album puports to be a "best-of" collection of all the Rocky music, there are key tracks missing that would have made this album an absolute knockout. That said, it is still an engaging and inspiring album, but whoever compiled the tracks left off some crucial additions. "Philadelphia Morning", the lonesome instrumental from the original Rocky is missing, as is "First Date". "Vigil", the hauntingly mournful Bill Conti composure from Rocky II is absent as well. Two other very worthy Rocky soundtracks that should have been included are "War" and "Training Montage" from Rocky IV. I also missed "Marines' Hymn/Yankee Doodle" (Apollo Creed's theme).

While this is a good anthology of the essential Rocky movie music themes, it would have been better if it were made into a 2-disc collection and included the tracks previously mentioned, (and more).

Jim "Konedog" Koenig

...for what it's worth, as a retrospective of the five previous Rocky movies, "Rocky Balboa" is a fitting tribute to the series.

Like many fans, I enjoyed Bill Conti's classy new compositions for the film itself. But I guess I can understand why MGM and Conti decided to release a "greatest hits" style album instead - after all, the film itself is kind of an appreciation of the Rocky legacy and a reflection on the old days, so it's rather fitting that this compilation would capture that same spirit.

Purists may be a bit upset over the fact that many classic tracks - such as "Going the Distance" - have been slightly edited. For example, in the beginning of the aforementioned song an audio clip from "Rocky II" has been inserted over the introductory instruments (Adrian telling Rocky to "win" as the song is starting up). It's cool, but also kind of annoying for people who just want the original songs in their original forms, and this trend continues throughout the album. Most of the time it's BEFORE the song starts (e.g. on "Gonna Fly Now" there's a quote from the Rocky Balboa film delivered by Stallone to the athletics board which lasts for about 10 - 15 seconds). Some of the quotes make the songs better, and some of them are just out of place and kind of freaky. It's strange to start getting pumped up by the familiar song and suddenly hear some loud voice telling you "WIN!", but whatever.

I particularly liked John X's remix of "Gonna Fly Now." It mixes quotes from the films in the series with updated instrumentals, but it doesn't totally rape the original as many remixes do - it's a respectful remix.

You also get the new Three Six Mafia song "It's a Fight" which is cool.

Overall my thoughts on this are: as a retrospective of the Rocky series with remastered tracks and some new material thrown in, it's pretty amazing. Many "greatest hits" compilations have been far worse. They had the smarts to keep the good tracks and not go for overkill - there's none of that awful early '90s rap soundtrack from "Rocky V" here. (Unless you are a huge fan of MC Hammer, in which case I advise you to go purchase the original Rocky V soundtrack.)

It's missing a few tracks that would have been nice - most notably the training theme from Rocky IV - but I also get the feeling that these tracks are more for the die-hard Rocky enthusiasts and would seem a bit out of place for the casual listener. That Rocky IV training theme was kind of outdated anyway, but hell, I love it for nostalgic value.

I'm disappointed that MGM didn't issue an actual soundtrack for Rocky Balboa (since Conti did some amazing work on the new film reminiscent of the original in many ways) but I'm hoping that may come out at a later point in time. Until then this is a great retrospective that fans will enjoy. Rip it to your PC and put it on your iPod for a workout session, it will have you thinking you're in a training montage in no time at all.

If you're enough of a fan to want the most memorable Rocky themes on a CD, but not enough of a fanatic to buy all the individual soundtracks, then this is the CD for you.

All the sound is remastered and is crisp and powerful sounding, and the flow of the mix is pretty good. A neat touch is the dialogue clips from various Rocky flicks being played before certain songs.

My only complaint would be the inclusion of some of the weaker songs from the Rocky mythos like Adrian when they could have included some of the training music from Rocky or Rocky IV like Philedelphia Morning or Training Montage.

But, it's so minor a complaint I can't deduct a star for a mix CD that'll please any Rocky fan. To have Redemption, Rocky's Reward, and Eye of the Tiger on a single disc is just great.

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