"Jersey Boys: Music from the Motion Picture and Broadway..."

[StevePulaski]

Jersey Boys: Music from the Motion Picture and Broadway Musical (2014)
By: Various Artists

Rating: ★★★½

Clint Eastwood's Jersey Boys was a film that, from the first frame, I fell in love with. It's uncanny recreation of a time period when music was a sensational, emotionally-impacting event that could only be embraced once in a while, its tremendous live singing and acting on all fronts, and its overall atmosphere, effectively staying true to its play roots, were all elements I quickly embraced and found complete joy in watching.

With the real-life Four Seasons member Bob Gaudio has taken the liberty of compiling a soundtrack that houses the music of John Lloyd Young, who played Frankie Valli in the film and on stage, the original Broadway musical Jersey Boys, including various medleys, the original songs of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, and even spare songs by Erich Bergen and Katie Gatewood to add to the period's recreation. Jersey Boys: Music from the Motion Picture and Broadway Musical offers an exquisite blend of old, new, and relatively recent that provide for a winning combination.

The Four Seasons' trifecta of hits like the infectious "Sherry," the uptempo, high-pitched ditty "Big Girls Don't Cry," and the equally catchy "Walk Like a Man" are included, all performed by the incredibly talented Young, Gatewood's upbeat "My Boyfriend's Back," and Valli's original versions of "Sherry" and "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" are some of the twenty-five tracks that make up the album. Some tunes are filler, like the worthless prelude and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," which is cut short. However, the culmination of talent on display here is unforgettable and worth putting up with sporadic instances of padding.

The Jersey Boys film soundtrack hits all the right components for a collection of Valli, Young, and musical tunes (save for maybe "Grease" and "Opus 17"). It's a delightful and thoroughly pleasant endeavor, rich in its inclusions that do nothing but accentuate the impeccable natural talent of everyone involved.

Recommended tracks (in order): "Sherry" (John Lloyd Young version), "Working My Way Back to You" (John Lloyd Young version), "Walk Like a Man" (John Lloyd Young version), "Big Man in Town" (John Lloyd Young version), "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" (Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons version), "Dawn (Go Away)" (Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons version), and "My Boyfriend's Back."