The Wraith
When compared to other movies I’ve featured here, The Wraith isn’t that obscure. It has a pretty big cast, including Charlie Sheen as the title character, Nick Cassavetes, Randy Quaid and the only motherfucker uglier than Quaid, Clint Howard. When I was a kid I loved this damn movie and all its stupidity, from the gasoline-drinking sidekick to Sheen’s awesome super-duper ghost car. I recently picked it up on DVD used but I’m afraid to watch it in fear that my childhood memories of the film have been tainted with the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia.
When digging around the internets trying to find funny little tidbits about the movie and all I could find was that Mike Marvin, the director of The Wraith, previously wrote the screenplay to Hot Dog…The Movie and the followed that up by directing Hamburger: The Motion Picture. I guess he never got around to Pizza: The Mini-Series.
Tim Feehan – Where’s The Fire
Feehan is a Canadian rocker who apparently achieved some level of success in his homeland of the great white north. This track is straight-up 80s Adult Top 40 rock, complete with gratuitous synth solo and vaguely motivational lyrics.
Honeymoon Suite – Those Were The Days
More Canadians! More generic 80 metal! These guys sound like an up-north version of Great White (with an exceptionally good guitar player). This song is on their anthology release, which is not only in-print, but dirt cheap, so I’m not putting the track up.
Stan Bush – Hearts vs. Heads
That’s right, Stan “You Got The Touch” Bush. I bet you thought all he did was the song from Transformers? You’re totally wrong! This song is like a romantic version of “The Touch.” Interesting side-note about Stan Bush, he won an Emmy for a song in Guiding Light, and according to his bio page he’s “the ultimate rock singer.” He’s also very modest.
LaMarca – Hold On Blue Eyes
I have no idea who this is. Sounds like Richard Marx’s less talented little-brother. He has a MySpace though (of course he does) so go nuts if you want to find out more about the dude.
Jill Michaels – Young Love, Hot Love
Excellent guitar work on a track that otherwise sounds like a Lita Ford B-side.
Ozzy Osbourne – Secret Loser
You can get this track on Ozzy’s 1986 album The Ultimate Sin. That album is supposedly out of print, but it’s not exactly hard to find. Also, this track sucks in a non-ironic/funny way so it’s not really worth the effort anyways.
Lion – Never Surrender
More “dude, you’re so totally awesome, you can totally get the girl/win the karate tournament/pass your LSAT” rock, which really seemed to be the rage in the 80s. It’s kind of vanished now and that’s a shame. What does the current generation listen while doing push-ups? Where’s their “Eye Of The Tiger?”
James House – Bad Mistake
This song is so dreadfully generic I’m not going to even Google this bastard’s name to find out more about him. You do it, I’m tired.
Ian Hunter – Wake Up Call
The former lead singer of Mott The Hoople contributed this track, which hasn’t appeared anywhere else since. I’ve always thought that all Ian Hunter songs should be credited to “Ian Hunter And His Hair.”
Bonnie Tyler – Matter Of The Heart
I love Bonnie Tyler’s voice, and since she sang two of the best power-ballads of the 80s (“I Need A Hero” and “Total Eclipse Of The Heart”) she gets a lifetime pass from ridicule from me. She gives a good vocal on this track, but only so much can be done to a generic wannabe Jim Steinman pop song.