Notting Hill Soundtrack Pt 2

Top: Notting Hill soundtrack cover. Clockwise: Spencer Davis Group; Shania Twain; Boyzone; and Elvis Costello.

While I was feeling under the weather yesterday, I watched a Hugh Grant mini-marathon, catching both 'Notting Hill' and 'Love Actually' on cable. It reminded me how much I liked the soundtrack to the former, and so I decided re-post my take on if from two years ago.

Last Monday, I posted the first of two installments featuring the music of 'Notting Hill', a charming movie with some great songs. If you missed the post featuring the music of Al Green, Ronan Keating, Lighthouse Family, and cuties 98 Degrees, click here. I couldn't find anywhere on to purchase the soundtrack, but you can buy import on used copies on Amazon. The soundtrack is a delightful cross-section of great Pop music, covering several decades. The first song in this post comes from 1966, and a band some may have forgotten about. British band Spencer Davis Group, featuring the talents of Spencer Davis, Peter York, and then unknown Steve Winwood and Steve's brother Muff Winwood had a hit with "Gimme Some Lovin'", written by Davis and the Winwood brothers. This was before Steve had been a member of supergroups Traffic and Blind Faith, and before he had his solo success. I love this song! This is the Spencer Davis Group singing "Gimme Some Lovin'".

1999 was a huge year for Canadian superstar Shania Twain. She was still riding high with the success of her third album, 'Come On Over', a follow-up to the smash 'The Woman In Me'. 'Come On Over' sold 20x Platinum in the US, and the eighth single was a part of the 'Notting Hill' soundtrack. The beautiful ballad "You've Got A Way", written by Twain and then husband/producer Mutt Lange, proved Shania was at the top of her game.

Well, the first installment had the first release from Ronan Keating as he embarked on his solo career. The soundtrack also included a huge hit for Keating's boyband, the mega-popular Boyzone. Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch, Ronan Keating, and the late Stephen Gately were the guys in this band, and they made sweet music throughout the 1990s for the UK and Europe. In 1998, the boys released a song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman, originally from the 1996 musical 'Whistle Down the Wind'. "No Matter What" was a huge hit for Boyzone, topping the charts around the world. It went to #12 in the US Adult Contemporary chart. Boyzone featured Ronan Keating, who had also contributed as a solo artist on the soundtrack. But for this song, he shared the lead vocals with a favorite of mine, the late Stephen Gately. In 1999, it was part of the 'Notting Hill' soundtrack.

One of my favorites off the soundtrack was the stunning cover of a song by Frenchmen Charles Aznavour and Herbert Kretzmer by Elvis Costello. I remember first discovering Costello in the 1980s, a New Wave star of the highest magnitude with hit after hit. By the mid-1990s, he selling power had diminished, but certainly not his talent. He recorded the Aznavour hit "She" for the soundtrack, and made it current, popular, and showed off what a great song it was.

Notting Hill Soundtrack Pt2

Top: Notting Hill Soundtrack cover. Clockwise: Spencer Davis Group; Shania Twain; Boyzone; and Elvis Costello.

Last Monday, I posted the first of two installments featuring the music of 'Notting Hill', a charming movie with some great songs. If you missed the post featuring the music of Al Green, Ronan Keating, Lighthouse Family, and Americans 98 Degrees, click here. I couldn't find anywhere on to purchase the soundtrack, but you can buy import on used copies on Amazon. The soundtrack is a delightful cross-section of great Pop music, covering several decades. The first song in this post comes from 1966, and a band some may have forgotten about. British band Spencer Davis Group, featuring the talents of Spencer Davis, Peter York, and then unknown Steve Winwood and Steve's brother Muff Winwood had a hit with "Gimme Some Lovin'", written by Davis and the Winwood brothers. This was before Steve had been a member of supergroups Traffic and Blind Faith, and before he had his solo success. This is the Spencer Davis Group singing "Gimme Some Lovin'".



1999 was a huge year for Canadian superstar Shania Twain. She was still riding high with the success of her third album, 'Come On Over', a follow-up to the smash 'The Woman In Me'. 'Come On Over' sold 20x Platinum in the US, and the eighth single was a part of the 'Notting Hill' soundtrack. The beautiful ballad "You've Got A Way", written by Twain and then husband/producer Mutt Lange, proved Shania was at the top of her game.



Well, the first installment had the first release from Ronan Keating as he embarked on his solo career. The soundtrack also included a huge hit for Keating's boyband, the mega-popular Boyzone. Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch, Ronan Keating, and the late Stephen Gately were the guys in this band, and they made sweet music throughout the 1990s for the UK and Europe. In 1998, the boys released a song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman, originally from the 1996 musical 'Whistle Down the Wind'. "No Matter What" was a huge hit for Boyzone, topping the charts around the world. It went to #12 in the US Adult Contemporary chart. In 1999, it was part of the 'Notting Hill' soundtrack.



One of my favorites off the soundtrack was the stunning cover of a song by Frenchmen Charles Aznavour and Herbert Kretzmer by Elvis Costello. I remember first discovering Costello in the 1980s, a New Wave star of the highest magnitude with hit after hit. By the mid-1990s, he selling power had diminished, but certainly not his talent. He recorded the Aznavour hit "She" for the soundtrack, and made it current, popular, and showed off what a great song it was.

Dance Recital 2012

Clockwise from top: Sweet dancers open the show; Glinda, the Good Witch, dances; Little Scarecrows dancing; Dorothy & a jitterbug; and more adorable dancers.

For the last several years, I have been invited to take pictures at the annual dance recital for Miss Heather's School of Dance. That comes with the territory when you're the uncle of a one-time student and current teacher at the school. This year, they chose the theme to be The Wizard of Oz, using music from the movie, as well as a few other sources. So I thought I would share the pictures and a couple of songs from the movie, only done by different artists. I will lead off with The Divine Miss M, Bette Midler, with a cut off the Bette Midler album of 1973, a medley of "Optimistic Voices" and "Lullaby of Broadway".

Clockwise from top: Precious Tin Woodsmen; Dorothy, Toto & the Scarecrow long for a brain; could the girls be any cuter?; Little lions and lionesses take to the stage; and Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, Tin Woodsman & others leaping.

Perhaps the only person who might be able to put as much into "Over The Rainbow" as Judy Garland is Philadelphia's own, Miss Patti LaBelle. So when I first heard her version of the song owned by Judy for several decades, I was blown away. Listen while you look at pictures of the dancers, from toddlers to adults, as they have fun on the stage at the Delaware State College.

Clockwise from top: The Wicked Witch is cute and can dance; the henchmen of the Wicked Witch; and The Flying Monkeys.

I just love the version of "If I Only Had A Brain" by Elvis Costello, with some great guitar work from noted musician Bill Frisell. This is from a 2009 broadcast of a special with Pop stars singing the great score by Harold Arlen and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg. Listen, and continue to enjoy the pictures.

Clockwise from top: Hip-Hop dancers join the festivities; the instructors join in, and a group takes on Modern Dance.

Cover Boys • Elvis Costello

Yes, perhaps at first glance, there are those who might find Elvis Costello to be an unlikely choice as a cover boy. He was all about his own rock music, a New Wave giant who was considered to be amazingly talented by so many. However, thanks to a couple of movie soundtracks, Elvis earned the title Cover Boy, and in the first instance, he covers a song by Burt Bacharach originally recorded by Dione Warwick. Elvis sang I'll Never Fall In Love Again for the film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, the 1999 release. Costello and Bacharach had collaborated before, writing the astoundingly beautiful God Give Me Strength for the movie Grace Of My Heart.



The song She was written and first performed by French troubadour Charles Aznavour. Also in 1999, Elvis recorded his cover of it to appear in the Julia Roberts/Hugh Grant film, Notting Hill.



Now, I've never questioned Elvis Costello's talent, but on the strength of these two cover songs, you gotta give him huge credit. Both were songs that were done to perfection by the original artists, yet he managed to bring something new to the songs, with great depth. For more about Elvis Costello, check out his official website here. In fact, I would suggest you go there just to play the 'Wheel of Fortune' cause it is great fun!