After looking for some other singers of the timeless Kenny Loggins original title tune, Blake Shelton was asked to sing the song and rather than change it, Blake and producer John Shanks have just modernized it and inserted Blake’s strong vocals into the tune. “Where The River Goes,” a new solo song from Zac Brown is featured on the soundtrack and it’s one damn fine story song. What’s weird is that this song is credited as “Zac Brown from Zac Brown Band” on the soundtrack yet it feels like it could be a fantastic tune from either of the ZBB albums (especially since the ZBB members play and sing on this song). I can also see a bluegrass band taking this song’s innate high and lonesome sound and turning it into the next great bluegrass song.
Recent Big Machine Label Group signee, 15 year old Ella Mae Bowen debuts on the soundtrack with her take on “Holding Out For A Hero,” a song Bonnie Tyler took to #2 in 1985. Ella Mae certainly showcases a strong voice that fits the emotion of the song. Actress/singer (and Warner Brothers Nashville artist) Jana Kramer takes on Deniece Williams and ‘twangs it up’ with Scott Hendricks and Chris Stevens helping Kramer with the countrified take on the iconic dance pop song. Hunter Hayes and Victoria Justice sing the fourth and final remake from the original film soundtrack, a modernized country/pop take on “Almost Paradise” the song sung by Nancy Wilson and Mike Reno (lead singer of Loverboy). The young singers (Hayes is 20 and Justice is still a teenager) do a nice job on the song and if the film becomes as iconic as the original Footloose, It’s possible this song will become another big radio hit.
As for other songs on the soundtrack, Current Survivor contestant and former WB artist Whitney Duncan showcases “So Sorry Mama,” a song from her 2010 album Right Road Now, Cee-Lo Green and Kenny Wayne Shepherd take on the R.L. Burnside delta blues tune “Walkin’ Blues,” and “hip hop artist “David Banner (Featuring Denim) takes on a new track called “Dance The Night Away,” a song made explicitly for the film.
Big & Rich released “Fake I.D.” earlier this year and it became a minor radio hit for the group along with Muzik Mafia vocalist Gretchen Wilson (they toured together this summer too) while singer Lissie’s “Little Lvoin’” makes an appearance on the soundtrack as does indie rock band A Thousand Horses, a southern rock band that recalls classic (I.E. early Aerosmith) on “Suicide Eyes.” The album’s other track is the greasy delta blues tune “Magic In My Home” from Jason Freeman
Whether or not you like this soundtrack will likely come down to whether or not you like the updated take on Footloose, itself. The four remade tunes aren’t too different from the originals to call them ‘essential’ yet as a fan of mainstream country music, I actually prefer the ‘countrified versions’ of the songs on this album. The eight other songs are pretty damn strong too, particularly “Where The River Goes” from Zac Brown and “Magic In My Home” from Jason Freeman.
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