Last Action Hero (soundtrack)

Last Action Hero: Music from the Original Motion Picture is the soundtrack promoting the film Last Action Hero directed by John McTiernan starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was released on 8 June 1993 by Columbia Records. Among the performers whose songs were used on the soundtrack were AC/DC, Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Def Leppard, Fishbone, Megadeth, and Queensrÿche.
On July 10, the album reached number 7 on the Billboard 200 chart. On August 24, it was certified platinum in the United States for selling one million copies. This certification was granted by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Unlike the film, the soundtrack received favorable reviews and proved to be successful. Critics praised it for the selection of artists and its diversity.
The Last Action Hero: Music from the Original Motion Picture soundtrack features twelve tracks. Some artists specifically wrote premiere compositions for it, including Big Gun by AC/DC, Real World by Queensrÿche, and Last Action Hero by Tesla. Real World was created based on suggestions from Michael Kamen, who was friends with the members of Queensrÿche and had previously collaborated with them on their debut album The Warning (1984) and the single Silent Lucidity (1990). Guitarist Michael Wilton admitted that: Kamen told us he wanted a real haunting ballad, but nothing too sentimental. He also said the song should start slow, then finally break loose and really hit hard. Meanwhile, Tommy Skeoch from Tesla argued that it was actually the third or fourth time we were asked to do a movie, but it finally worked out this time. When we got the call about the movie, I felt good about it from the start. We were already writing songs for our next album (Bust a Nut, 1994), but we thought, why not write a song, it's just the right scenario. We wrote it in an hour and a half.
Jerry Cantrell, the vocalist and guitarist of Alice in Chains, claimed that the band did not write the songs What the Hell Have I and A Little Bitter specifically for the movie. He said that we were working on 'What the Hell Have I' and 'A Little Bitter' when we were asked to contribute to the soundtrack, and we thought they would be perfect. We're really happy with both songs, especially since they were the first recordings we did with our new bass player, Mike Inez. The musicians recorded both songs in the spring of 1993 during a break in their concert tour [pl] promoting the album Dirt (1992). Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian admitted that the track Poison My Eyes came from the sessions for the band's sixth studio album Sound of White Noise (1993) – When we were asked to do the soundtrack, we went back, changed the vocals again, and remixed the song. Then it sounded as good as everything on 'Sound of White Noise', so we knew it would be good for the soundtrack.
The composition Angry Again by Megadeth comes from the sessions for the band's fifth album, Countdown to Extinction (1992). Marty Friedman recalled: We didn't want to just make a 'one-off' movie song, so we took the opportunity to play another Megadeth track. We worked on 'Angry Again' with the mindset that it was as important as 'Symphony of Destruction' or 'Sweating Bullets'.
While Def Leppard was busy touring, they sent a sketch of the song Two Steps Behind, which acoustic version had appeared on the B-side of the single Make Love Like a Man a year earlier. Kamen added orchestral strings to the composition. The track Swim had appeared a few weeks earlier on Fishbone's album Give a Monkey a Brain and He’ll Swear He’s the Center of the Universe.
The first single promoting the soundtrack was Big Gun by AC/DC, released on May 24. The music video was directed by David Mallet, featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger (dressed in a characteristic outfit inspired by a school uniform, a trademark of guitarist Angus Young's stage attire). The song was used in trailers promoting the film, as well as in TV and radio campaigns. Thanks to heavy rotation on MTV, Big Gun proved to be a success, becoming AC/DC's first song to top the Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart.
Releasing the music video a month before the premiere of the film Last Action Hero (directed by John McTiernan) provided, according to Diarmuid Quinn, who was then Vice President of Marketing at Columbia Records, good promotion for both the soundtrack and the film. As part of further promotional efforts, four singles were released: Real World by Queensrÿche on May 31, What the Hell Have I by Alice in Chains on June 7, Angry Again by Megadeth on June 14, and Two Steps Behind by Def Leppard on August 24.
The premiere of Last Action Hero: Music from the Original Motion Picture took place on June 8. The album also included a live version of the song Dream On by Aerosmith, recorded during the MTV 10th Anniversary Special in 1991, where it was performed with an orchestra conducted by Kamen.
Expanding the promotional campaign, Columbia and Sony partnered with the fast-food chain Burger King and the retail chain Musicland, which distributed tray liners with discount coupons for purchasing the album and other movie-related merchandise at Sam Goody, Musicland, and Suncoast stores.
The soundtrack, unlike the film, which received negative reviews, turned out to be a success. Jason Birchmeier from AllMusic rated the soundtrack 4.5 stars out of 5, arguing: The film soundtrack has significant lasting value, serving as a wonderful snapshot of the turbulent hard rock scene of the early '90s. The author pointed out that the greatest strength of the album is its diversity. Billboard magazine wrote that the soundtrack is a monstrous collection of the heaviest metal names, ergo a feast for rock listeners. The reviewer described the entire release as a powerful package, unrivaled in star value and musical caliber.
The industry magazine Guitar School, which titled its article Last Guitar Heroes, wrote: When Columbia Pictures had to create the heaviest, most fierce, ass-kicking soundtrack the size of Arnold Schwarzenegger for their blockbuster hit, 'Last Action Hero', they called upon the world's best guitarists: Angus Young of AC/DC, who can spit out killer riffs like Jack Slater fires 9mm bullets; Marty Friedman, who can play with such incredible speed that compared to him, the chase scenes from the movie 'Raw Deal' (1986, dir. John Irvin) look like a walk in the park; Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, who can make his Gibson Les Paul sound heavier than the solid titanium skeleton of the Terminator.
Michael Christopher, in his extensive article dedicated to the soundtrack, wrote that looking back on it today, it's an interesting mix, but upon its release, it was the sonic embodiment of a changing musical landscape. It was a time when Aerosmith, Alice in Chains, Megadeth, and Cypress Hill made sense to be part of the same tracklist. When it comes to rock, grunge, metal, and where hip-hop intersects, the boundaries blurred.
On 26 June 1993, the soundtrack debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200 chart, making a "hot debut". By July 10, it had risen to the 7th position. Besides the United States, it also reached the 7th spot on the New Zealand Top 40 Albums Chart. On August 10, after reaching the threshold of 500,000 copies sold in the United States, it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Two weeks later, on August 24, the album surpassed one million copies sold, earning it a platinum certification from the RIAA. All five singles achieved placements in the top 25 of Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart.
In 2014, Jennifer Wood from the Rolling Stone ranked the soundtrack in the 20 Soundtracks to Bad Movies list. In her explanation, the author acknowledged that Arnold Schwarzenegger lacked acting talent, which, in her opinion, was one of the reasons why John McTiernan's long-awaited post-postmodernist approach to He-Man action movies failed at the box office. Wood positively evaluated the soundtrack, stating that it managed to surpass the source material reminiscent of a flop, thanks to songs by artists such as Alice in Chains, AC/DC, Def Leppard, Cypress Hill, Fishbone, Anthrax, and Aerosmith.
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