Soundtrack Sunday – "Bull Durham" (1988)

When it comes to soundtracks, I'm constantly surprised about what is still in print and easily available.

As long as the film remains popular, the music from it will be perennially available, no matter how dated it might be. After all, what would all those aerobics classes do without being able to buy a new copy of the Flashdance (1983) soundtrack?

There are exceptions, of course.

You'd be hard pressed to find a more popular baseball movie than Bull Durham (1988). So many of its best lines continue to be part of the American cultural vernacular. And it's one of the few baseball films that appeals almost equally to men and women

The soundtrack from it is pretty damn good as well, mixing previously released classics from John Fogerty ("Centerfield"), The Blasters ("So Long Baby Goodbye"), George Thorogood ("Bad to the Bone") and Los Lobos ("I Got Loaded") with some original Bennie Wallace/Dr. John collaborations.

Play "I Got Loaded" by Los Lobos

And yet …

The damn CD is out of print. Look it up on Amazon and you'll find used copies selling for no less than $60.

Weird.

Fortunately, I have the vinyl version of the soundtrack. And today I'll include some of my first vinyl rips. Just be forewarned: Until I get the hang of this thing, their quality could be a little dicey.

Earlier this week, I dissed Belinda Carlisle while also highlighting the work of Jane Weidlin. Just to continue to show that I have nothing against the Go-Go's (just their Reagan-loving lead singer), I'll go with "Middle of Nowhere" by House of Schock, a great pop song sung by Go-Go's drummer Gina Schock for the band's first and only album that somehow wound up on this soundtrack.

Play "Middle of Nowhere" by House of Schock

Next, we'll go with one of the three Bennie Wallace/Dr. John collaborations on the album. Wallace, for those who don't know, is an accomplished hard-bop saxophonist then signed with Blue Note Records, but doing film music during that period for extra money. It's always fun to hear jazz saxophonists jam with rock and pop musicians. This outing is no exception with three solid songs that close the album: "Try a Little Tenderness," "All Night Dance" (with Stevie Ray Vaughan doing the guitar solo) and "Love Ain't No Triple Play." We'll go with the latter, as it is baseball-themed and features the good doctor duetting with Ms. Raitt. (It also is the one song that is difficult to find anywhere else: The Vaughn collaboration is featured on the 1985 Blue Note album, Twilight Time.)

By the way, there's an extra bonus for Southern rock fans: The heart of Little Feat's rhythm section, Kenny Gradney and Ritchie Hayward, provide the backing for this track.

Play "Love Ain't No Triple Play" by Bennie Wallace/Dr. John with Bonnie Raitt

There's probably a back story about why this soundtrack is out of print – one that has little to do with the quality of the music or the dmand for the music. Maybe someone out there can enlighten us.

In the mean time, I think I'll continue to scratch my head …