Customer Reviews

Grease

5 star:		(77)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm enjoying listening to this great soundtrack that I loved as a child after a long hiatus. I had it on 8-track 25 years ago. So it's fitting that I should get the 25th Anniversary Edition on CD. The 24 songs from the movie are just as everyone remembers them, so I'll talk about the Bonus Disc, which contains 10 alternative versions of the songs plus 2 previously unreleased instrumentals from the film.

Track 1 on the Bonus Disc is an instrumental version of the film's theme, "Grease", written and produced by Barry Gibb. Frankie Valli's voice has been replaced by a saxophone. The chorus is vocal, but the voices are not those in the original song. You could use this as a sing-along version, as it would be easy to sing over the sax. Tracks 2-5 are officially sing-along versions. "Summer Nights" includes the chorus vocals from the film and sounds good. "You're the One That I Want" has new chorus vocals of questionable merit. "Sandy" is a new arrangement. It's not as good as the film version, but you can sing along. Track 6 is the single version of "Greased Lightning" that you may have heard on the radio back in the day. It's differs from the original in that the bad words have been replaced for radio airplay. Tracks 7-8 are previously unreleased instrumentals from the film. "Greased Up and Ready to Go" is lively. Tracks 9-10 are mixes that I occasionally hear on the radio. The "Grease Megamix" and the "Grease Dream Mix" are fun, if awkward. Tracks 11-12 are Martian Remixes of "Summer Nights" and "You're the One That I Want". They retain the original vocals, but set them to a Latin rhythm. They make pretty good dance tracks.

This 2-disc set isn't in a jewel case. The case is paperboard with 4 panels that fold out. This is inside of a clear vinyl slip case on which the tracks are written. This isn't convenient packaging. On the bright side, the case won't crack in the mail. Tucked inside one of the panels is a booklet that contains lyrics and credits.

The "Grease: 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition" is a terrifically fun soundtrack to one of the all-time great movie musicals. And for all those preteen girls who go wild over the movie with each new generation, the bonus material is perfect for parties and horsing around.

Absolutely fantastic!!!!!!!!!

I love every single song on the CD and I've watched the film so many times I've lost track. Let's jus say enough times to know the words off by heart even when I'm only 17.

Disc 1 is like the original album, which I also own. 1 major flaw is that "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing" cuts off at the very end of it! I was upset by this, hence the 3 stars instead of 4. Disc 2 is a lot of fun w/some remixes and sing-a-longs, all in all, I'm pretty happy with it being that I'm a HUGE Grease fan. If you like Grease, you'll love this, it's fun. Too bad when they "remastered" it, they didn't catch there 1 mistake. Oh well, at least I have it on another album.

I never really thought that the "Grease" movie was all that great, but I admit I always thought it resulted in a pretty entertaining soundtrack. I agree with the review here titled "Don't Waste Your Money" though regarding this "deluxe" double disc anniversary reissue. The first disc is the same as the single disc version and isn't particularly mastered any better. The second disc (which is what makes this set so pricey) doesn't have a lot to offer. The two unissued tracks, "Greased Up And Ready To Go" and "Rydell Fight Song" and the sing-along versions of the hits are not worth the price of the second disc, the remixes are terrible, I never cared for the "mega-mix", the "dream mix" is worthless, and the "Grease" sax instrumental is pointless. What I did find interesting on the second disc is the single version of "Greased Lightning". This version substitues a couple of different lines for the ones that couldn't be played on the radio in 1978 (and I guess still shouldn't be). It also is mixed a little differently with Travolta's vocal more upfront and some additional electric guitar that was probably buried in the original mix. However, I couldn't justify buying this set for that one track. Thankfully, I was able to download that one song online for a buck.
I also agree with some other reviews here that what really needed to be done for the anniversary edition of the CD was to put the songs in the correct order, beginning with "Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing", then "Grease", then "Summer Nights", etc. This would also have made the repeat of the title track at the end of the disc unnecessary, and perhaps "Greased Up" and "Fight Song" could have been added to the original line-up.
Also, there is no liner notes in a set that really needs them. There should be an essay about the film and it's music, information about the unreleased tracks from the film and why they weren't on the original soundtrack LP, info about the single mix of "Greased Lightning", and a few notes about the creation of the remixes.
Anyone who already has the single disc version of this CD would be advised to think twice before "Grease"-ing the palms of Polygram for this over-priced product.

I'm 13 years old and I had never seen Grease, but when my mom told me I had to see I gave it a try, and now Grease is my absolute favorite movie!!! After I saw the movie I had to have the soundtrack!!! These are the best songs I have heard in a long time!! Its even better than the Eminem, 50 Cent, and Nelly stuff thats out today. If you want good music I suggest you buy the Grease soundtrack. Its all about having a good time! Grease 4ever baby!!!!

~*Mercury*~

Okay, I admit when I was a teenager I liked the music on this CD and I still do I guess. What's really interesting is that John Travolta and Stockard Channing actually sing their own music on the album.

There are some cheesy songs here, but overall it's pretty cool.

If you like the movie and the music, this is a good buy.

The musical Grease, like West Side Story, is based loosely on the theme of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, so we have the theme of opposing gangs, and the storyline of boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. The movie of the musical is a wonderful seventies take on a fifties theme and I would imagine that most people who enjoyed the movie-- and there must be millions of them-- would also enjoy this CD.

You have quite a variety of performers here. Olivia Newton John, with her crystal-pure voice sings the movie's greatest hit Hopelessly Devoted To You, and then you have her in duets with John Travolta, who also has some solo numbers nicely done with an adolescent break in his voice that belies his maturity at the time of the recording.

Also from the movie are a couple of songs by Stockard Channing, one of which, There Are Worse Things I Could Do (Than Have A Boy Or Two) is one of my great favorites, even though it is rather short.

Then you have a bunch of period fifties rock and doo-wop songs by top artists like Frankie Avalon and Sha Na Na. Almost all the songs are enjoyable and very well recorded. It really is one of the best, probably THE best, soundtrack albums you can get, better even than Dirty Dancing, which is also a favorite of mine.

Wonderful music for driving in the car, listening to while you do the housework, or just about anything else.

Seen the movie, loved it, own the LP, love it too. Are you a Frankie Valli fan? Or one of John Travolta or Olivia Newton-John? Then you'll love this CD packed with fun pop/rock songs as well as some romantic music. Just to give you an idea of how popular this music is, the song (sang by John Travolta and Olivia Newton John) "You're The One That I Want" went number ONE and several other tunes, namely "Hopelessly Devoted To You" sang By Olivia, "Summer Nights" sang by Olivia and John, "Greased Lightnin" sang by John, "Grease" sang by Frankie Valli, all did great on the charts. You also get performances by Sha Na Na and Stockard Channing, plus songs by other cool artists. There are 3 songs performed by Olivia and John together, two by John himself, and two by Olivia by herself. You get funky music, romantic tunes, and pop rock. This is great music to sing along too. Great for 70's parties, and music without cursing like you hear in much of the stuff today. You know it's really interesting, of all the music and movies ever put out, the ones that made the most money were ones without alot of profanity. This is a CD the whole family can listen to and enjoy. The music has a 50's slant to it, though it was released in the 70's. My Shibani also loves this CD as well as the movie.

"Grease" was a huge success as a Broadway musical prior and after hitting the big screen in 1978. The movie version was the one that transformed it into a true popular culture phenomenon, as it was a runaway box office success and then became a TV, cable, video DVD favorite. The movie was even re-released a few years ago. The movie owes as much of the success to this infectious soundtrack as it does to the charming performances of a cast led by John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, and Stockard ("There At Worse Things I Could Do") Channing, who put together charismatic and engaging performances, that make you smile and be part of the gang.

Most of the music from original musical ("Summer Nights" and "Beauty School Dropout" among others) made it to the movie and soundtrack. The original songs are fortified by monster hits, such as "You're The One That I Want", "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and the title song, which was a huge hit for Frankie Valli. Yes Frankie Valli had a huge hit in 1978! There are few soundtracks that are as much fun as this one and I of course give it 5+ stars.

The huge problem that I have with this remastered (finally and it does sound great !!!!!!) "Deluxe Edition" is that, along with several other titles are gauging the consumer's eyes out with 2 CD releases that retail for up to $29.99. Out of all the ones that I've heard, this is by far the worst as the 2nd CD (which only clocks in at 40 minutes) only has ONE song worth mentioning ("Grease Megamix") which you already may have via other collections. Seeing that the Megamix had good results (and it does flow very well), the powers that be cut and paste a horrible "Grease Dream Mix" (this is beyond bad) and shameless remixes of "Summer Nights" and "You're The One That I Want" that have no value whatsoever except to fill a second CD. The rest is what they call sing-a-long versions which are essential cheesy instrumentals for karaoke fans. Although the presentation of the discs is very cute, and all the lyrics are there just in the original LP, there NO updates, behind the scenes extras, or anything new. Nothing! It's pretty bad when I found out more about "Grease" in Olivia's awesome recent greatest hits release than I did here. For example did you know that "Hopelessly Devoted To You" was written and recorded after the movie had wrapped. It seems like the producers felt like they needed a strong ballad and her Olivia come back to an empty set to sing this amazing song.

If I am going to pay $29.99 or anything close, I would have expected these types of tidbits. In a nutshell, "Grease" especially now that is remastered, earns 5+ stars, but the shady folks at Universal should be ashamed not to have released this in a single CD and not to be so money hungry as "Grease" fans will pay almost anything to finally be able to hear this piece of Americana as clearly as possible. "Grease" = Stars, Universal (in this particular case) = 0. Universal has recently begun to implement a great lower pricing policy and they should be lauded for that, but if it comes at the risk of ripping off other consumers, then don't be surprised when some people burn CDs for everyone that they can. Good products (which this is) at a good price will bring people back to buying music so that the industry can continue to make a decent return in its investment.

The CD came quickly and was of excellent quality, even though it was used. The price was very reasonable